ITIL-CMMII Comparison

Today we can see and understand that many IT organizations are striving to improve how they do
business throughout the organization. In doing so, many organizations undertake a number of quality
initiatives with the aid of different models and frameworks, including:
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
SEI CMMII
ISO 9000
As the organization looks for these different initiatives, several questions are being asked:
Overlapping between the models?
What about contradictions?
Relationships between them?
How to get the highest return on investment from the efforts?
The following table compares the three models in relation to:
Level of abstraction
Audience
Approach
Granularity

Level of Abstraction Audience Approach Granularity

(perceived view)

CMMI Collection of best practices for Specifically developed Provides quantifiable 25 Process
software development, product for software goals, practices and an Areas
integration, suppliers development, product approach Specific
management and integration, suppliers for what to do without
maintenance, ordered along a management and Being prescriptive.
maturity / capability levels maintenance Assessments are
organizations conducted to determine
if a maturity level /
capability level has
been attained
ITIL A framework of best practices Specifically developed Provides service 48 modules/
documented in an abstract for IT Service objectives and some processes
Fashion to be applicable to any Management and key activities and key Specific
IT organization. Operations indicators for review.
Process maturity was measured Maturity measurements.
to determine, if maturity level
has been attained for ITIL
processes

ISO 9001 A generic quality management Originally developed for Provides high level 23 high level
model with emphasis on auditing manufacturing, but auditable requirements requirements
generic enough to be without how to General
applied to any guidance
product/service to prepare for an audit.
organization Organizations either
pass or fail the audit.
 CMMII Main focus on processes,
customers, quality of deliverables.
Management (style), policy and training
are important factors for success. Specific
for software development and
maintenance

Touch points with ITIL: cooperation,

leadership and management buy-in are
essential

ITIL Main focus on processes, customer

and cost/quality equation. Management
(style), policy and training are important
factors for success. Specific for IT service
management

Important observations
The focus for CMMI is software development, integration, deployment and maintenance, while the focus for
ITIL is service management/operations. In reviewing, the touch points between the two (see graph and the
tables in appendix), the amount of duplication is small in comparison to the number of interfaces and touch
points. This suggests the need for:
strongly synchronized work efforts
clear definition of interfaces, roles, and responsibilities
participation from both efforts at a level appropriate to the density of the touch points (e.g., joint
process action team membership, subject matter expert guidance, and/or process reviewer)
By identifying the touch points between the groups, and promoting best practices using the CMMI
and ITIL in their respective areas, the organization can leverage expertise and experience from
within and from without .
The most significant touch point ist, documented in the graph below, in the area of Configuration
and Change Management. There is no contradiction between the two models (CMMI and ITIL), so
the teams should develop a unified process (the what), with targeted procedures (the how).
In CMMI, the Process Areas are ordered along a Maturity Model with maturity levels. The ITIL
processes are ordered in sets.

ITIL to CMMI Touchpoints

The focus of both ITIL and CMMI initiatives should be on improvement within the respective Development
and TIOG organizations, as well as on improved cooperation between the two organizations.

The most practical approach to this is addressing issues and problems in a collaborative way.

For those with an appetite for more theoretical and academic insights, the following
cross-reference tables are provided.

These are the main touch points for ITIL processes and the Development function in the production
environment. In this environment Development can be seen as a supplier and as an extension of the
support organization. (The touch points are identified for fourteen ITIL processes that were part of the
PinkScan for TIOG. Other ITIL processes are left out of scope.)
For the IT organization / Division, Development units / groups can be seen as a user / client. roles and
responsibilities could be defined and agreed as.

ITIL Process Output TO Development Input FROM Development CMMI Level and
practice
CM SP 1.2 , 2.1 , 2.2
Helpdesk , Incident Documentation regarding
Application related incidents PI SP 2.2
Management Application support
RM SP 1.3
Problem Application problems Application related solutions, CM SP 1.2 , 2.1 , 2.2
Management work-arounds. PI SP 2.2
RM SP 1.3
M&A SP 1.1
PMC SP 1.1 , 1.6 ,
2.1 , 2.2 , 2.3
PP SP 2.3
Change Application Requests Requests for Change initiated RM SP 1.2 , 1.3 , 1.4 ,
Management for Change (functional by Development 1.5
changes) change schedules RSKM SP 1.1
CM GP 2.4
CM ; SP 1.2 , 2.1 , 2.2

PI SP 2.2
RM SP 1.3
PMC GP 2.2
PP GP 2.2
PP SP 2.7

RM SP 1.3

RSKM GP 2.2

Configuration Information regarding IT Information on Applications: CM SP 1.1 , 1.2 , 3.1

Management infrastructure: components,
relationships, versions, status,
etc. Naming conventions
Software Control & Hardware configuration,
Distribution system software versions,
release schedules,
Computer , Batch-online times
Network Back-up mechanisms
Operations Run schedules
Documentation requirements
Customer Contacts regarding operations
Relationship
Management
versions, relationships, status
Application versions, planned CM GP 2.2 , 2.7
releases, release notes, CM SP 1.3
documentation, training PP SP 3.1
requirements TS SG 3 , SP 3.2
Run times, file transfer, PP GP 2.2
dependencies. Back-up PP SP 2.4
requirements. Documentation CM SP 1.2
for operations, error codes ... TS SG 3 ; SP 3.2
Contacts regarding App. RD SG 1 , 2 , 3 ; SP
1.1 , 1.2 , 2.1 , 3.1 ,
3.2 , 3.3 , 3.4 , 3.4
RD GP 2.7
RM SP 1.1 , 1.2 , 1.3
VAL GP 2.7
VAL SP 1.1
IPM SP 2.1
 ITIL Process Output TO Development Input FROM Development CMMI Level and
practice
Service Level Functional requirements, Advise regarding solutions, IPM SG 2 ; SP 2.1,
Management constraints constraints 2.2
IT SP 2.4
VAL GP 2.7
VAL SP 1.1
RD GP 2.7
RD SG 1 , 2 , 3 ; SP
1.1 , 1.2 , 2.1, 3.1,
3.2, 3.3, 3.4 , 3.5
RM SP 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
Capacity Performance requirements, Hardware specifications, PP GP 2.2
Management storage specifications, Capacity, storage and
processing specifications processing requirements, PP SP 1.4, 2.4, 3.2
Hardware specifications, testing results
Testing (performance, VAL SP 1.2
capacity) requirements
Availability Availability requirements Availability (constraints) RD GP 2.7
Management (hours, critical time frames,
etc.) RM SP 1.2

Security Security requirements Application authorizations, CM GP 2.2, 2.7

Management Data classification possible incompatibilities CM SP 1.2
Authorization tables PP SP 3.1
Contingency Business criticality of data and Participation in risk RM SP 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
Planning application assessment PI SP 2.2
DR requirements for Development contacts PMC SP 1.3
Development functions regarding DR team PP SP 2.2, 2.3
RSKM SG 2; SP 1.1,
2.1, 2.2, 3.2
Planning and IT Goals, objectives, calendar, Development goals, objectives, PP Process Area
Control scheduled activities and calendar, scheduled activities PMC Process Area
projects, resources required, and projects, resources, etc. RSKM Process Area
budgets, etc. IPM Process Area
IT Process Area
PI Process Area
Business IT Business requirements Advise regarding IT solutions, IPM GP 2.7
Alignment regarding IT possibilities and constraints IPM SG 2 ; SP 1.4
PMC GP 2.7
PCM SP 1.5, 1.6
RD GP 2.7
RD SG 1, 2, 3 ; SP
1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2,
3.3, 3.4, 3.5
RM SP 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
VAL GP 2.7
VAL SP 1.1