Integrating CMMI and Agile Development: Case Studies and Proven Techniques for Faster Performance Improvement

Chapter 1. Introduction and CMMI/Agile Primers

1.1 Introduction and CMMI Primer

The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) for development is a process improvement maturity model for the development of products and services developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI).

There is no single prescribed best way to use the CMMI model. If one examined the breadth of possibilities, at one extreme is what could be called the “imposition” method. This is the method that “imposes” a documented process for each of the process areas and related practices within the model. The imposition method is the easiest answer to the common question, “Can’t you just tell me what the CMMI says I have to do?”

At the other extreme is what could be called ...