Capability maturity model

The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a development model created after study of data collected from organizations that contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense, who funded the research. The term "maturity" relates to the degree of formality and optimization of processes, from ad hoc practices, to formally defined steps, to managed result metrics, to active optimization of the processes.

The model's aim is to improve existing software development processes, but it can also be applied to other processes.

The Capability Maturity Model was originally developed as a tool for objectively assessing the ability of government contractors' processes to implement a contracted software project. The model is based on the process maturity framework first described in the 1989 book Managing the Software Process by Watts Humphrey. It was later published in a report in 1993 and as a book by the same authors in 1995.

Though the model comes from the field of software development, it is also used as a model to aid in business processes generally, and has been used extensively worldwide in government offices, commerce, industry and software-development organizations.

In the 1960s, the use of computers grew more widespread, more flexible and less costly. Organizations began to adopt computerized information systems, and the demand for software development grew significantly. Many processes for software development were in their infancy, with few standard or "best practice" approaches defined.

As a result, the growth was accompanied by growing pains: project failure was common, the field of computer science was still in its early years, and the ambitions for project scale and complexity exceeded the market capability to deliver adequate products within a planned budget. Individuals such as Edward Yourdon,Larry Constantine, Gerald Weinberg,Tom DeMarco, and David Parnas began to publish articles and books with research results in an attempt to professionalize the software-development processes.

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