Skip to main content

What is CMMI?

The following menu items explain what CMMI is and how it can benefit your company. If you are interested in what it takes to deliver your project on time, please read on.

You might assume that CMMI is for NASA, Boeing, or other giant corporations – but that’s far from the truth!

Depending on how you implement the second or third level of CMMI, the return on investment can start as low as 10 people… Furthermore, CMMI in no way inhibits agile processes like XP or Scrum; CMMI merely points out the shortcomings of XP or Scrum, which, once corrected, will be one hundred percent ready for the third level of CMMI, which can also lead to time/cost returns associated with the third level.

Conservative estimates suggest that using software development processes that are compatible with CMMI level three can result in a return on investment of up to four to twenty times, depending on the implementation method chosen. Depending on the current maturity level, the resulting value can be increased by up to 30 percent for the same level of effort.

The real story

CMMI stands for Capability Maturity Model Integrated. The integrated model was developed in 2001 as a result of changes to the original CMM model created in 1992.

How did it start?

The first study on the CMM was commissioned by the US Department of Defense. The Department of Defense wanted to identify the key elements that could bring the delivery of IT projects closer to the expected time/cost projections. The study was commissioned from the Software Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University in 1988. The faculty published the results and the first CMM report in 1992.

What did they find?

The real value of CMMI is that it shows which program development, project management, or organizational management processes are the key to greater time/cost performance.
CMM and CMMI refer to these processes as key process areas (KPAs), which are absolutely necessary to achieve capability maturity. In other words, CMMI points out the capabilities that need to be addressed to increase value.

How was this determined?

The research was based on a number of projects. The key processes were selected and then grouped according to time/cost and projections. On this basis, the five levels of capability maturity mentioned above were identified. It could be said that by using certain process groups, a significant and sudden improvement in the time/cost and forecasting ratio can be achieved. The researchers also noted that there is no gradual improvement, if a process is missing, there will be an immediate and significant decline. This is illustrated by the following picture:

What are these process groups?

In Briefly, it looks like this:

► To move from level 1, also called “heroic management”, to level 2 and significantly reduce time/cost overruns, you need to adopt and apply the processes of requirements management, project planning, project monitoring, and configuration management, as well as a few other processes (7 KPAs, or key process groups, in total).

► To move from the second to the third level, a few more processes need to be applied. Examples include monitoring, planning, validation, and decision analysis. In addition, there is also a need for organizational processes such as the design, preparation, and training of defined processes, and tools, templates, standards, etc. are also required (10 more KPAs, i.e. key process groups).

► The fourth level is characterized by quantitative management of projects and processes.

► The fifth level also requires continuous improvement and forecasting and measurement based on quantitative data.

Don’t panic!

Don’t be intimidated by levels four and five – start by reaching level two and then aim for level three. This shouldn’t be too difficult, as these are all basic things you’ve heard of, and some of them you’re probably already using. And remember – you’re one small step closer to level three – fantastic, keep it up!

Recommended reading

You probably have more questions or want to find out more. We recommend you read:

What are the different levels of maturity?
Which level should you aim for? Do I need a CMMI certificate? (FAQ)
Is there a complete list of all the processes required to achieve the levels?
What exactly do I need to do to reach levels 2 and 3?

A paying investment

To present you with an alternative view that performance improvements will significantly improve current time/cost performance, we have inverted the bell curve.

As you will read below, the return on investment is fully profitable, and you will be able to profit fourfold or even twentyfold.

Why it pays:

Time/cost variations have a big impact on the bottom line, be it financial or reputational. For example:

And, to turn the word serious:

If it took 20% more time, it would mean the marketing team is on hold, the service is not available as promised, and the revenue stream is delayed for us.
A shift in the time/cost ratio pair will have an impact on other projects. This leaves less money for other projects, which hinders the company’s strategy and other tactical moves.
From a commercial point of view, if the company has a profitability of 10%, it is roughly estimated that $100 000 for someone means that they have to raise that amount to $1 000 000 in production and sales to just cover their costs. The overrun has a direct impact on the organization’s balance sheet of financial results and the value of our shares.
In a public administration environment, by reaching level 3, better delivery/support of public services can be achieved through ICT. Furthermore, the ICT organization foresees that unit development and demand will no longer cause more stress as it will be predictable and controllable.

Our investment to acquire the processing and training for the anticipated CMMI Level 3 program development and to make the process second-order, the investment charts will show an average saving of up to 50% time/cost per unit output that is included in the project. If someone backs out or has doubts, tell them that if you could do 10% – 30% more, that wouldn’t be bad.

But in all seriousness, a solid 10% uplift, with an ROI (return on investment) of 4 to 20 times is entirely possible. The return is four times the investment if you develop it all on your own, and thirteen times if you purchase a process, such as IBM Rational’s MethodComposer, or up to twenty times, but only for full, level three complaints, such as SmartMethod (all of which include continuing education). Office experience based on our program proves that 10% improvement is achievable almost immediately, while 20% is also achieved quickly.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

For more information on return on investment, see our sample company files.

So what if you’re looking to reduce forecast variation, or generally reduce your current time-to-cost ratio, in addition to delivering the promised and improved performance, CMMI will tell you what capabilities to target.

Which level to aim for?

The question often arises as to which level to target and whether formal surveys are necessary.

The primary objective should be to achieve time/cost returns, which is the third level of CMMI. Rather than formal recognition, it is more appropriate to target measurable improvements in processes and practices.

Of course, to achieve improvements in processes, you may indeed need a full assessment that highlights current gaps. The other strategy that can be used is to simply replace your deficient processes with a complete set of CMMI-compliant processes to achieve rapid improvement.

Why the third level?

It is worth targeting the third level, as this level provides excellent induction training. Without induction training, new team members will not be familiar with the processes, which will result in a sub-optimal project. In the short term, especially in the case of major staff changes, new employees will be unwillingly relegated to the second level, or worse, to the first level or below!

Consider this too: If you replace twenty percent of your employees every year, after two years nearly half of your employees will not know the working methods (regardless of the method you choose). It’s like washing dishes under running water – the costs will be huge!

Hence, to permanently improve your processes and achieve time/cost benefits, you must move up to the third level.

But why not the fourth or fifth level?

No one is trying to stop you, and you will soon see for yourself that further time/cost benefits and quality improvements are worth investing in. But as with all sports, it’s worth building a fit, mature team first before entering international competitions.

But then why not stay at level 1?

Because it costs money and leads to staff attrition, quality failures, and so on (see the article “A return on investment”).

Tip:
To survive the effort of moving processes forward and make lasting improvements, start by gathering the right metrics. Without them, you’ll only get stuck at the second level and lull yourself into the false belief that processes cost money. However, the misconception of higher costs is only true if you don’t take into account the actual reductions, as explained in the “processes cost more” section.

Note: the right metrics are not just time and cost – which are completely insignificant in themselves. You’ll also need some other metrics, such as the capability maturity of the project, to arm yourself against a pessimistic attitude.

CMMI vs others

CMM research (note the absence of the “I”) is not based on opinions but on measurable differences.

CMM and CMMI are very different from, say, ITIL/itSMF or OPM3, which also use maturity levels. However, these maturity levels are based more on the collective opinion of a standard group, whereas in CMM and CMMI the maturity levels are based on the time/cost correlation in the processes used.

Cobit has adopted the CMMI levels, but with a much broader control (from strategy, through governance, to IT operations, i.e. ITIL).

Observations on the time/cost relationship between CMM and CMMI have been confirmed by the Standish Chaos report, the Spice project, and many other studies.

PRINCE2 and PMBOK are collective opinion standards. CMMI’s key processes and specific practices point out gaps in the work area to achieve measurable time/cost improvements.

The CMMI integrated model combines four different capability models. However, there are conflicting views on the integration of the models. For example, Requirements Development and Requirements Management have been separated, but the question arises as to whether in practice these two departments can be separated. Similarly, the third level of the “new” (CMMI) integrates the process groups, but the question may arise whether all processes have a pure time/cost correlation.

CMMI has made significant improvements by moving the analysis and measurement processes from the fourth to the second level. However, this is a lesson learned (and a very important lesson), not the result of observing the internal processes of the second level.

The US Department of Defense has stopped further funding for CMMI research. This is probably because there have been no major changes in key processes since the original CMM research in 1992, except for integrated processes. This is good news, as it clearly shows that even after 17+ years, we can still be sure of what makes a real difference in project performance.

In light of this last, positive finding… if we know what makes the difference, why not get started?

CMMI negative levels

This section brings a smile to your a man’s and of course, does not reflect the official CMMI levels or CMU-SEI materials. Still, you may recognize some of its characteristics.
Shortly after the CMMI (1992) emerged, some people felt it necessary to clarify the other (negative) end of the scale. The following is a quote from an email from 1993-1994.
Here is a quick overview of the expanded CMM levels from Tom Schorsch, newly appointed Major in the US Air Force.
According to the CMU-SEI data, 70% of all software organizations are at Level 1 (Chaos) on the Capability-Maturity Model (CMM). In reality, in many cases, they are lower than just the Chaos level, but there is no lower level in the CMM system.
This article defines and describes the lower levels and their associated Counterproductive Behaviors (KPAs). Of course, in the SEI CMM, KPA stands for Key Process Area.

The four levels of underdevelopment:

-Level 0: Carelessness (Indifference): not allowing a development process to succeed. Attempting to avoid a development process that does not allow for a successful outcome. Considers management and quality assurance activities as overheads and unnecessary expenses that are essential to software development processes.

-Level 1: Obstructive (Counterproductive): Introduces processes that lead to undesirable results. Places great emphasis on strict definition and adherence to processes. Riddled with ritualistic rituals.

-Level 2: Contemptuous (Arrogant): Ignores great, institutionalized software engineering. There is a huge gap between software development activities and software improvement processes. There is a total lack of training program

-Level 3: Undermining (Sabotage): neglecting to develop its own features, instead deliberately discrediting the efforts of competing organizations in software development processes. Payoff failure and poor performance.

Where does your organization fit in? Hopefully, it is in the positive range.

Partners

Hörmann Hungary

“The system has met our expectations, it is very helpful in areas where we use it, such as: leave records, fault logging, delegating service work, and CRM.

The colleagues at Office42 have an excellent knowledge of the system and are always very helpful and knowledgeable.”

Impulse Project SRO

“We have been using Bitrix24 since 2016 as part of a partnership that has fundamentally changed the way information flows within our business.

It has been perfectly tailored to our daily operations, providing maximum support for the display and storage of incoming and outgoing information with an easy-to-use interface that is fit for the 21st century.”

Saubermacher Hungary

“Our organization uses CRM, PM, and Drive as well as messaging functions primarily. These make it much easier to organize daily work, organize tasks, and communicate directly.

To the best of my recollection, we have never had an inquiry and we have not received a response/solution suggestion.”

Arc relocation Hungary

“Our company has been using Bitrix24 for 7 years now, covering almost the entire spectrum of our processes.

All our services are tracked in it, from order to invoicing, which is a great help for us, and it can also be used well with other external applications, so our overall assessment is very positive.”