Capability Maturity Model (CMM)

A model developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie Mellon University that describes how organizations develop software. The model identifies five levels or steps organizations go through as they become more sophisticated in their use of process. Level 1 organizations aren't effective in using processes. Level 5 organizations are mature in their use of process and routinely manage and improve processes. Most organizations fall between Level 2 and 3. We argue that the same general concepts that apply to software organizations apply to any organization that attempts to organize around business processes. Since the original CMM model was created, it has been extended by SEI (CMMI) and several alternative models of how process maturity evolves have been developed. There are, for example, process maturity models available from the OMG and from Queensland University of Technology (QUT).