Home » Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) » Process

Process maturity models

Process maturity models

The Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon created a standard in the mid-90s called the "Capability Maturity Model." This model could "rank" an organization's software development lifecycle from one to five based on its process maturity.

CMMI, successor to CMM, uses these five maturity levels:

  • Initial: ad hoc, chaotic processes
  • Managed: some processes are in place
  • Defined: processes improved over time and standardized
  • Quantitatively Managed: metrics used and analyzed
  • Optimizing: continual improvement via metrics with little variation

COBIT, giving credit to CMM, uses these six maturity levels:

  • Non-existent: no process
  • Initial/Ad Hoc: no standard process
  • Repeatable but Intuitive: similar procedures but no formal training, with lots of individual knowledge required
  • Defined Process: standardized and documented processes
  • Managed and Measurable: metrics used to ensure processes used
  • Optimized: processes are refined and working well

(The text summaries describing each maturity level are not from the sources; they are summaries for the reader's benefit.)

Process assessments will often use maturity models like these to help quantify how an organization is performing.

Contacts and Resources
#1Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 09/05/2008 - 20:05.

Process Models focused on services

The IT Services Qualification Center (ITSqc) at Carnegie Mellon has gone beyond the original work in software and systems development with the CMM and CMMI in developing a pair of process models specifically targeted at the IT services environment. The eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers (eSCM-SP) is designed for use by service providers, while the companion eSourcing Capability Model for Client Organizations (eSCM-CL) is intended to provide best practices for client organizations that are managing their providers.

These models are in use worldwide, by some of the largest customers and service providers, and by smaller organizations, as well.

More information about these models (and downloadable copies of the Models) can be found at http://itsqc.cmu.edu