In the 1980’s the Software Engineering  Institute of the Carnegie Melon University formed and partnered with the US Department of Defence (DoD) to develop a model that could be used to assess how likely a software development contractor was to deliver a quality on time product.

Software development at the time was notorious for being late, over budget and not satisfying all the requirements.  The DoD was eager to find a tool that would help them select vendors that could deliver.

Price matters, but a product that works  can trump price when the result of defects and failure can be catastrophic. (e.g., the software in a jet fighter).

Capability Maturity Model Integrated

The current version of the original model is called the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI).  The model comes in three flavours now and can be used to assess organizational maturity on a scale of 1 (chaos) to 5 (highly capable, consistent and sustainable).

The key feature of this methodology is the requirement to define, communicate and practice.  With consideration to continuos improvement, reviewing and updating ongoing is a critical aspect.

Does it Work

I have had the good fortune to be exposed to the model on a number of occassions in different ways.  I have implemented the processes from definition to practice as well as observed the outcomes from organizations operating  at both high and low maturity levels.

In every case,  with successful implementation and certification as a level 3 maturity or better, I have observed significant  material improvements. (For lower maturity organizations it’s never clear what the outcome will be.)

Three key benchmarks in software or product development projects (on time, on budget, on scope) typically change from being achieved less than 40% of the time before CMMI is implemented to over 80% after.