Process Improvement Essentials

Chapter 6. The Capability Maturity Model Integration (for Development)

SINCE ITS INTRODUCTION JUST OVER 15 YEARS AGO, THE CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL HAS QUICKLY become a major player in the IT world of process improvement and quality management. Today, it runs second only to its more established relative, the ISO 9001 program, in acceptance and use around the world. And in terms of momentum, CMM is probably leading. It is being adopted as the preferred IT quality standard by more and more businesses, organizations, and government agencies. With ISO and Six Sigma, it has taken its place as one of a trio of quality management options the executive world is looking to. Its rising popularity can be attributed to many factors. It is relatively compact. It is specifically shaped to the needs of technology development. And it is a public-domain specification, free to anyone who wants to use it.

Perhaps more important, the CMM framework has been proven to work. Its benefits have been demonstrated both quantitatively and qualitatively. The corporations that have adopted its recommendations and consciously applied them within their technology development projects have seen measurable performance improvements. Planning estimates and projections have become more accurate. Work paths have become more established. Efficiencies have increased. Defect rates and rework have dropped.

And so, CMM’s potential for impact makes it a worthwhile model that should be at least tangentially understood by IT ...