SW-CMM

Framework Name: Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for Software

Published Date: Version 1.1, February 1993

Description: The Capability Maturity Model for Software (SW-CMM or CMM) is a model used by organizations for appraising the maturity of their software processes and for identifying practices that will increase the maturity of those processes. It was developed by the Software Engineering Institute, in cooperation with industry representatives.

The architecture of the SW-CMM is composed of levels (describing the overall maturity level of an organization) that consist of Key Process Areas (KPAs):

Relation to Other Frameworks: The SW-CMM, SECM, and IPD-CMM are being integrated by the CMMI project.

Source of Framework:

• Soft copy of the SW-CMM, Version 1.1 is available in PDF format directly from the SEI.
• NASA's hypertext version of the SW-CMM (including the key practices document) was produced at the University of Houston Clear Lake as part of the Repository Based Software Engineering program.
• A French version of the SW-CMM is available from the Applied Software Engineering Center (ASEC), Montreal, Canada.
• Hard copies of the SW-CMM may be obtained from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161-2103, (703) 487-4600.
• Hard copies of the SW-CMM may be obtained from the Defense Technical Information Center, Attn: FDRA Cameron Station, Alexandria, VA 22304-6145, (800) 225-3842 or (703) 767-8274.

Related Links:

• SEI's description of the SW-CMM provides a high-level description of the SW-CMM, along with links to other CMM-related pages on the SEI Web server.
• SEI's CMM Version 2, Draft C, provides information about the revision of the Software CMM from Version 1.1 to Version 2.0 and provides access to Draft C. Currently there are no plans to release CMM V2.0.
• The Software Engineering Program Office (SEPO) of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) has generic processes that provide sample policies and procedures by KPA, as well as considerable other information relevant to the SW-CMM. SEPO is the software engineering focal point for the Naval Command, Control, and Ocean Surveillance Center RDT&E Division (NRaD).
• ESSI-SCOPE provides links to pages describing software process improvement approaches. "ESSI-SCOPE is an EU funded project that aims to raise awareness of quality issues in software products, and to introduce some of the work associated with product evaluation which assists in improving the quality of products."
• CMM Level 2 Focus Group contains the text of the Level 2 SW-CMM KPAs and additional pointers to resources related to each Level 2 KPA. It also includes a discussion database related to Level 2 KPAs.

Related Consortium Products (course and services are available to Consortium members and affiliates only):

• Understanding the Capability Maturity Model Course: This course presents the structure and features of the SW-CMM. Emphasis is on use of the SW-CMM as a benchmark and guide for process improvement and for process assessments and evaluations. The course includes highlights of the practices of the Key Process Areas at each maturity level.
• CMM Evaluations: The CMM Evaluation is an interim evaluation method that is somewhat less expensive than the CBA IPI and is not CAF compliant. A CMM Evaluation can help determine what process improvement activities are necessary before a formal CBA-IPI, CBASS, or Software Capability Evaluation (SCE), and is thus an essential tool for process improvement planning. A CMM Evaluation includes a review of organizational policies, procedures, and guidelines for compliance with the SEI CMM. Specific guidance is provided in defining alternative process definition and modeling techniques. A baseline of the current software processes is developed based on the documentation reviews and associated interviews with appropriate project personnel. This baseline then provides a basis for planning further process improvement activities.
• CBA-IPI and CBASS: The CMM-Based Appraisal for Internal Process Improvement (CBA-IPI) helps an organization determine its SEI maturity level and identify findings pursuant to individual Key Process Areas (KPAs). The Consortium’s CBASS (CMM-Based Assessments) offers an automated approach to the CBA-IPI, implementing, in a compressed schedule, the same process defined for a CBA-IPI by the SEI. An SEI-authorized lead assessor and assistant conduct CBASS training, pre-assessment documentation review, and on-site interviews with appropriate project and organizational personnel to determine the maturity level of an organization.
• Managing Process Improvement: A Guidebook for Implementing Change: This guidebook is available to the public. It provides practical guidance on how to successfully initiate and sustain a process improvement program in your organization by following a well-defined set of activities, called the process improvement process. Written for implementers and sponsors of process improvement, the guidebook is distilled from a broad base of industry experience and research in systematic process management.
• Managing Process Improvement Course: This course presents a process for managing and implementing systematic process improvements. The course also includes material on the technology transfer process and concepts detailed in the Consortium's Using New Technologies: A Technology Transfer Guidebook. This is typically a 2-day course that integrates parts of other technologies (Applied Software Measurement, Reuse Adoption, and Technology Adoption).
• The Software Measurement Guidebook: This guidebook is available to the public. This guidebook is a comprehensive, project ready set of quantitative methods designed to assist member companies in measuring, managing, and improving their software products and the processes used to create them.
• Software Measurement and the Capability Maturity Model Course: This course is an overview of software measurement and examples that are related to each of the SW-CMM levels. The course also discusses measuring the progress of process improvement, sizing software with function point analysis, and estimating effort and schedule with COCOMO.
• Compliance Frameworks Comparison Course: This 2-day course describes the relationships, similarities, and differences among maturity models, technical and quality standards, and contractor selection vehicles, with which member companies' processes may need to comply.
• Quagmap: This tool (available to Consortium members only) supports mapping organizational and projects' process documents to each other and to various compliance frameworks and printing mappings of one framework to another. The Consortium provides a number of framework-to-framework mappings with the tool and allows users to create others. The compliance frameworks currently included in the tool database are ISO 9001:2000, CMMI SE/SW V1.0, SW-CMM V1.1, MIL-STD-498, J-STD-016, ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 12207, IEEE/EIA 12207, RTCA DO-178B, SE-CMM, ISSEP, ISSEP ’99, IEEE 1220, MIL-STD-499B, EIA/IS 632, SSE-CMM, EIA/IS 731, and EIA 632. The tool provides the capability to print compliance matrices and reports identifying gaps in compliance.
• Using New Technologies: A Technology Transfer Guidebook: This guidebook is available to the public. This guidebook will help you manage the forces of technological change quickly and successfully by helping you understand and perform effective technology transfer, maximizing the benefits from your technology investments and increasing your competitive edge.
• Process Definition and Modeling Guidebook: This guidebook is available to the public. This guidebook provides guidance on efficiently developing and evolving a quality set of process definitions for directing and improving product development. This version of the guidebook matures the process definition and modeling technology by incorporating material developed as a result of lessons learned from technology use and includes examples and guidance on automated tools and techniques. The guidebook also includes a flexible set of templates and techniques for capturing and representing processes and explains how to use the template–based information to produce guidebooks, training materials, and models.
• Integrated Systems and Software Engineering Process (ISSEP): The ISSEP model defines a set of management and technical activities and, most importantly, defines the mechanisms to coordinate and control the development effort. The ISSEP model integrates the set of management and technical development activities, incorporates risk management activities, and complies with major systems and software engineering standards, including the SW-CMM. The technical report is available to the public; courses are available to Consortium members and affiliates.