Book by Mary Beth Chrissis, Mike Konrad and Sandy Shrum

Published in 2006

5 Stars

At times it seems that the software development world is equally divided between those who worship the CMMI and those who vilify it.

While the role of software in our society has grown tremendously over the past several decades, the industry has also been plagued by what is often called “the software crisis,” resulting in hugely expensive projects that are ultimately cancelled, or completed late and over budget, or that result in defective or simply mediocre products.

The United States government established the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in 1984 to deal with this problem, and to institute a system for judging the abilities of government contractors to actually deliver the software that they promised.

The work of the SEI resulted in the release of a Capability Maturity Model® for Software, which has since evolved into the broader Capability Maturity Model Integration, or CMMI.

Both models include a series of levels, through which software development organizations are encouraged to evolve, beginning with levels 0 or 1 and culminating with the ascent to level 5. Movement from one level to the next is acknowledged to require considerable effort and discipline.

The CMMI is rigorously defined by a published text that, in its latest incarnation, version 1.2, runs to 704 pages, and defines specific process areas and practices for each level. It is accompanied by an appraisal method known as SCAMPI that, with the help of an SEI-certified lead appraiser, allows interested organizations to receive objective feedback about their capability level.

While the CMM and its successor, CMMI, have met with a great deal of success and industry acceptance, these models also have many vocal critics who advocate for competing approaches.

Note that the complete text of the CMMI is available for download from the Software Engineering Institute Web site: CMMI 1.2