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CMM Overview
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The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a list of five separate stages that an organization goes through as it improves. It describes these stages, and explains why it is necessary that a company progress through them. CMM focuses on improving the methods an organization uses to develop products and software.
One of the first organizations to use CMM was the Department of Defense. During the Cold War, this department used CMM to improve the efficiency of technology development.
In the past several decades, the use of CMM has spread from the government to other development groups. Today, many corporations follow the model to help maintain efficiency and constantly improve.
Initial Level
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The first level the CMM process describes is the Initial Level. Here, the process by which new products are developed is not organized. At this first stage, no processes exist and products are developed through trial and error.
While many products begin their development at this chaotic stage, it is not suitable as a long-term solution. Companies developing products in the Initial Level must improve their methods to stay competitive.
Repeatable Level
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As the process of product development within a company improves, it enters the second second stage known as the Repeatable Level. Here, basic organization begins to form.
During this level, the processes used to build successful products are documented and guidelines for project management become defined. This allows product construction to be repeated, without having to be redeveloped every time building begins anew.
Defined and Managed Levels
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The next stages are the Defined and Managed Levels. During these two stages, the processes and methods used to create the product become more refined and better documented. The more a process is defined and documented, the easier it is for an organization to produce flawless products.
Standardization comes to the forefront during the Defined Level, reducing the time and effort needed for product creation. The Managed Level takes this standardization one step further, by monitoring large amounts of production data and analyzing it to make the processes more efficient.
Optimizing Level
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The final stage of the CMM improvement model is the Optimizing Level. During this level, every process used in the production of the product is being constantly monitored and improved. The necessary improvements at this point are small, but important to the ongoing efficiency of production.
The Optimizing Level is constant and continues as long as the product is being produced. If a company decides to develop a separate, new product, the entire CMM model begins again for that product.
eHow Article: CMM Software Process
