CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL

for Software (CMM)

Version 1.1
Maturity Level – 3 (Defined Level)
 Characteristics of a Level3
Organization
• At CMM level 2, the focus is on projects
• At CMM level 3, the emphasis shifts to the
organization
– Best practices are gathered across the organization
– Processes are tailored as appropriate
• The organization supports the projects by establishing
– Common processes for engineering and management
– Common measurements
– Training
• The process capability is based on a common, organization
wide understanding of the activities, roles and
responsibilities
 Key Process Areas

• Organization process focus (OPF)

• Organization process definition (OPD)
• Training program (TP)
• Integrated software management (ISM)
• Software product engineering (SPE)
• Intergroup coordination (IGC)
• Peer reviews (PR)
 Organization Process Focus

• Purpose is to establish the organizational

responsibility for software process activities that
improves the overall process capability
• Involves
– Establishing a group such as a software engineering
process group (SEPG).
– Developing and maintaining and understanding of
the organization’s processes via this group.
– Coordinating the activities to assess, develop,
maintain and improve these processes
 OPF - Common Features
• Commitment
– Written organization policy (A documented
procedure) for coordinating software
process development and improvement
across the organization.
– Participation of senior management in
carrying out the activities cited above.
– Activities are overseen by senior
management.
 OPF - Common Features
• Ability
– Group that is responsible for software
process activity should always exist
– Providing adequate resources
– Training to perform the activities pertaining
to process definition and improvement to
the group/s including SEPG
• Measurements
– To determine status of activities pertaining
to organization process focus
 OPF - Activities

• The strengths and weaknesses of the software

processes used are identified relative to a
process standard
– The software process is assessed periodically, and
action plans are developed to address the assessment
findings
• Organizational-level process development and
improvement activities are planned
– The organization develops and maintains a plan for its
software process development and improvement
activities.
 OPF - Activities

• Software process development and

improvement activities are coordinated across
the organization.
– The organization's and projects' activities for
developing and improving their software processes are
coordinated at the organization level.
– The use of the organization's software process
database is coordinated at the organizational level.
– New processes, methods, and tools used in the
organization are monitored, evaluated, and, where
appropriate, transferred to other parts of the
organization.
 Organization Process
Definition
• Purpose is to develop and maintain a usable set
of software process assets that improve process
performance and provide a basis for cumulative,
long-term benefits.
• Involves
– Developing and maintaining the organization’s
standard software process such as descriptions of
software life cycle, process tailoring guidelines and
criteria, process database and related process
documentation.
– Defining standards for documenting standard
software processes and tailored software processes
and revised tailored processes.
 OPD - Common Features
• Commitment
– Written organizational policy (A documented procedure)
for developing and maintaining a standard software
process and related process assets.
• Ability
– Providing adequate resources
– Training to individuals on process definition and
maintenance.
• Measurement
– To determine the status of process definition activities.
• Verification
– By quality assurance group through review / audit.
 OPD-activities
• A standard software process for the ORGANISATION is
developed and maintained
– The organization's standard software process is documented
according to established organization standards.
– The organization's standard software process is developed
and maintained according to a documented procedure.
– Descriptions of software life cycles that are approved for use
by the projects are documented and maintained.
– Criteria for process tailoring for projects' are developed and
maintained.
• Information related to the use of the organization’s
standard software process is collected, reviewed, and
made available
– The organization's software process database is established
and maintained.
– A library of software process-related documentation is
established and maintained
 Training Program

• Purpose is to develop the skills and knowledge of

individuals so they can perform their roles effectively
and efficiently.
• Involves
– Establishing a group for fulfilling the training needs of
the organization
– Defining and establishing standards for training
– Identifying the training needs of the organization,
projects, and individuals
– Selecting appropriate method / process for training
– Developing and/or procuring training to address
these needs
– Evaluating the effectiveness of training imparted
 TP - Common Features
• Commitment
– Written organizational policy for meeting the training
needs
• Ability
– Training group should exist
– Providing necessary resources
– Necessary skills and knowledge to perform their
training activities
– Orientation on the training program
• Measurement
– To determine the status of the training program
– To determine the quality of the training program
 TP - Activities
• Training activities are planned
– Each software project develops and maintains a
training plan that specifies its training needs.
– The organization's training plan is developed and
revised according to a documented procedure.
– The training for the organization is performed in
accordance with the organization's training plan.
• Training for developing the skills and knowledge needed
to perform software management and technical roles is
provided.
– Training courses prepared at the organization level are
developed and maintained according to organization
standards.
 TP - Activities
• Individuals in the software engineering group and
software related groups receive the training necessary to
perform the roles.
– A waiver procedure for required training is established
and used to determine whether individuals already
possess the knowledge and skills required to perform
in their designated roles.
– Records of training are maintained.
 Integrated Software
Management
• Purpose is to integrate the software engineering
and management activities into a defined software
process, tailored from the organization’s software
process assets.
• Involves
– Developing the projects defined software process
by tailoring the organization’s standard software
process
– Managing the software project according to this
defined software process.
– Managing project’s size, effort, cost, schedule, staffing
and other resources.
– Sharing the process data and the lessons learned
across software projects.
 ISM - Common Features
• Commitment
– Written organizational policy for planning and
managing the project
• Ability
– Adequate resources and funding
– Training on how to tailor the organization's standard
software process
– Training to software managers in managing the
technical, administrative and personnel aspects of
software project.
• Measurement
– To determine the effectiveness of the integrated
software management activities.
 ISM - Activities
• The project’s defined software process is a tailored
version of the ORGANISATION’S standard software
process.
– The project's defined software process is developed
and revised by tailoring the organization's standard
software process
• The project is planned and managed according to the
project’s defined software process
– The project's software development plan, which
describes the use of the defined software process, is
developed and revised according to a documented
procedure
 ISM - Activities
• The project is planned and managed according to the
project’s defined SOFTWRE process
– The organization's software process database is used
for software planning and estimating.
– The size of the software work products (or size of
changes to the software work products) is managed
– The project's software effort and costs are managed
– The project's critical computer resources are managed
– The critical dependencies and critical paths of the
project's software schedule are managed
– The project's software risks are identified, assessed,
documented, and managed
– Reviews of the software project are periodically
performed to determine the actions needed to bring the
software project's performance and results in line with
the current and projected needs of the business,
customer, and end users, as appropriate
 Software Product
Engineering
• Purpose is to consistently perform a well designed
engineering process that integrate all the software
engineering activities to produce correct, consistent
software products effectively and efficiently.
• Involves
– Performing the engineering tasks to build and
maintain the software using appropriate tools and
methods.
– Documentation required is developed and reviewed to
ensure they are appropriate for subsequent tasks.
– Revising the appropriate documents when changes
are approved.
 SPE - Common Features
• Commitment
– Written organizational policy for performing software
engineering activities.
• Ability
– Providing adequate resources
– Training to members of software engineering group to
perform their technical assignments.
– Orientation to related software engineering disciplines.
– Orientation in the technical aspects of the software
project.
• Measurement
– To determine the functionality and quality of the
software products.
– To determine the status of software product
engineering activities
 SPE - Activities
• The software engineering tasks are defined, integrated,
and consistently performed to produce the software
– Appropriate software engineering methods and tools are
integrated into the project's defined software process
– The software requirements are developed, maintained,
documented, and verified by systematically analyzing the
allocated requirements according to the project's defined
software process
– The software design is developed, maintained, documented,
and verified, according to the project's defined software
process, to accommodate the software requirements and to
form the framework for coding
– The software code is developed, maintained, documented,
and verified, according to the project's defined software
process, to implement the software requirements and
software design
– Software testing is performed according to the project's
defined software process
 SPE - Activities
• The software engineering tasks are defined, integrated,
and consistently performed to produce the software.
– Integration testing of the software is planned and performed
according to the project's defined software process.
– System and acceptance testing of the software are planned
and performed to demonstrate that the software satisfies its
requirements
– The documentation that will be used to operate and maintain
the software is developed and maintained according to the
project's defined software process
– Data on defects identified in peer reviews and testing are
collected and analyzed according to the project's defined
software process
 SPE - Activities
• Software work products are kept consistent with each
other
– Consistency is maintained across software work
products, including the software plans, process
descriptions, allocated requirements, software
requirements, software design, code, test plans, and
test procedures.
 Intergroup Coordination
• Purpose is to establish a means for the software
engineering group to participate actively with other
engineering groups so that the project is able to
satisfy the customer’s needs effectively and
efficiently.
• Involve
– Disciplined interaction and coordination of the
project engineering groups with each other to
address system-level requirements, objectives, and
plans.
– Defining working interfaces and interactions between
various engineering groups and support groups.
 IGC - Common Features
• Commitment
– Written organizational policy for establishing
interdisciplinary engineering teams
• Ability
– Adequate resources
– Support tools used by different engineering groups are
compatible
– Training on team work to all managers
– Orientation in processes, methods and standards used
by various groups.
– Orientation to engineering group in working as a team.
• Measurements
– To determine the status of Intergroup coordination
activities.
 IGC - Activities
• The customer’s requirements are agreed to by all affected
groups.
– The software engineering group and the other engineering
groups participate with the customer and end users, as
appropriate, to establish the system requirements.
• The commitments between the engineering groups are
agreed to, by the affected groups.
– A documented plan is used to communicate Intergroup
commitments and to coordinate and track the work
performed.
– Critical dependencies between engineering groups are
identified, negotiated, and tracked according to a
documented procedure.
– Work products produced as input to other engineering
groups are reviewed by representatives of the receiving
groups to ensure that the work products meet their needs.
 IGC - Activities
• The engineering groups identify, track, and resolve
INTERGROUP issues.
– Representatives of the project's software engineering
group work with representatives of the other
engineering groups to monitor and coordinate
technical activities and resolve technical issues.
– Intergroup issues not resolvable by the individual
representatives of the project engineering groups are
handled according to a documented procedure.
– Representatives of the project engineering groups
conduct periodic technical reviews and interchanges.
 Peer Reviews
• Purpose is to remove defects from the software
work products early and efficiently. An important
effect is to develop a better understanding of the
software work products and of defects that might be
prevented
• Involves
– Methodical examination of work products by the
producer’s peers to identify defects and areas where
changes are needed.
– Identifying products that will undergo a peer review in
the project’s defined software process and schedule as
part of the project planning activities.
– Identifying and training the review team for performing
effective reviews.
– Recording the review defects and removing them from work
products.
 PR - Common Features
• Commitment
– Written organizational policy for performing peer
reviews
• Ability
– Adequate resources.
– Training for peer review leaders on how to lead peer
reviews
– Training for reviewers on objectives, principles and
methods of peer reviews.
• Measurements
– To determine the status of peer review activities.
 PR - Activities
• Peer review activities are planned
– Peer reviews are planned, and the plans are
documented.
• Defects in the software work products are identified and
removed.
– Peer reviews are performed according to a documented
procedure.
– Data on the conduct and results of the peer reviews
are recorded.
End of Defined Level (L3) KPAs