Capability

Maturity
Model
Part One - Overview
History
 1986 - Effort started by SEI and MITRE
Corporation
 assess capability of DoD contractors

 First version published in 1991

 closely related to TQM
 goal is customer satisfaction
 not required that customer be "delighted"
Some Fundamental Ideas
 Process improvement is based on
small steps, rather than revolutionary
innovation.

 CMM is not exhaustive or dictatorial.

 CMM focuses on processes that are of
value across the organization.
Benefits of using the model
 helps forge a shared vision of purpose of
process improvement within the organization
 establishes common language for the software
process
 defines a set of priorities for attacking problems
 supports measurement
 via reliable appraisals
 objective
 supports industry-wide comparisons
Risks of using the model
 "All models are wrong; some models are
useful."
 Not a silver bullet.
 Does not address all of the issues that are
important for successful projects.
 For example
 how to hire and retain good people
 expertise in the application domain
Levels

1. Initial
2. Repeatable
3. Defined
4. Managed
5. Optimizing
Level 1 : The Initial Level
 ad hoc, sometimes chaotic
 overcommitment leads to a series of crises
 during a crisis, projects abandon plans
 capability is characteristic of individuals,
not the organization
 when a good manager leaves, the success leaves
with them
Level 2 : The Repeatable Level
 Planning is based on experience with
similar projects
 past successes can be repeated

 Policies for Managing and Implementation

 installed basic management controls
 track costs and schedules
 notice and deal with problems as they arise
Level 3 : The Defined Level
 Standard Processes defined across the
organization and used by all projects
 standard set of roles, activities, quality tracking, etc
 each project uses a tailored version of this
standard process

 Training Program is in place to ensure

everyone has the skills required for their
assigned role
Level 4 : The Managed Level
 Quantitative Quality Goals
 for both Products and Processes

 Organization-wide Process Database

 meaningful variations in process performance
can be distinguished from random noise
 actions are then taken to correct the situation

 Products are of predictably high quality

Level 5 : The Optimizing Level
 Organization has the means to identify
weaknesses and strengthen the process
proactively
 teams analyze defects to determine their cause,
and disseminate lessons learned throughout the
organization
 major focus on eliminating waste
 e.g. reduce amount of rework
 Defect prevention
Technology change management
Key Process Areas Process change management

by maturity level Quantitative process management

Software Quality Management

Organization process focus

Organization process definition
Training program
Integrated software management
Software product engineering
Intergroup coordination
Peer Reviews

Requirements management
Software project planning This is a
Software project tracking and oversight somewhat handy
Software subcontract management hierarchy of activities.
Software quality assurance
Software Configuration management
Don't skip levels
 For example,
 collecting detailed data (level 4) is
meaningless unless the data is from
projects that use a consistent process
(level 3)
Reality Check...
 Is CMM well-suited for
everyone?
Criticisms of CMM
 CMM is well suited for bureaucratic organizations
such as government agencies and large
corporations.
 Its formality is a hindrance to projects where time-to-
market is more important than quality.

 Promotes process over substance.

 For example, emphasizing predictability over service
provided to end users.

en.wikipedia.com
Who uses CMM
 75% of organizations are probably
Level One.
 To get to Level Two, you must have control
over the requirements documents. Hence,
shrink-wrap companies like Microsoft are
Level One.

 75% of Level Five organizations are in

India.
Level Comparison - Risk
 Level 1
 Just do it

 Level 2
 problems are recognized and corrected as they occur

 Level 3
 problems are anticipated and prevented, or impacts
minimized

 Levels 4 and 5
 sources of problems are understood and eliminated
Level Comparison - People
 Level 1
 success depends on individual heroics
 fire fighting is the way of life
 Level 2
 people are trained and supported by management
 success depends on individuals
 Level 3
 people are trained for their role(s)
 groups work together
 Levels 4
 strong sense of teamwork in every project
 Level 5
 strong sense of teamwork across the organization
 everyone does process improvement
Level Comparison - Measurement
 Level 1
 ad hoc data collection and analysis

 Level 2
 individual projects use planning data

 Level 3
 data collected for all processes
 data shared across projects

 Levels 4
 data standardized across the organization

 Level 5
 data used for process improvement
Quiz 1
 Your Role : SQA specialist
 Situation :
 Initial Unit Testing reports indicate a bug rate
of 4.5 / KSLOC.
 Further checking finds
 Average initial bug rate is 3.1 per KSLOC
 StdDev of 0.5
 weighted rate is also higher than average

 What CMM level enables this amount of

visibility into the process?
Quiz 2
 Your Role : Project Manager
 Phase : Unit Testing
 Problem : You notice that design,
implementation, and testing of the database
component will probably take 3 weeks instead of
the planned 4 weeks. These tasks are not on
the critical path.
 Possible Actions?
 and what level CMM characterizes that action?
Quiz 3
 Your Role : Project Manager
 Phase : Planning
 Task : Schedule the Testing of the Database
 Estimated Duration: 3 days
 Required Resources:
 the database requirements specs
 the implementation (source code)
 real data from customer
 test person that has a DB Test certificate

 How do the different capability levels affect

your ability to schedule and monitor this
task?
Quiz 4
 Your Role : a development team leader
 Problems :
 Well into development, you get an email indicating a
change in the interface requirements based on a demo
of the prototype done with the customer. The change
will require a good amount of code rework.

 What would be the reaction of groups with

 Level One
 Level Three
 Level Five
Next . . .
 Key Process Areas
 Key Practices
 Common Features