CMMI

The Software Engineering Institute released the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for software in 1990. After its initial release, the SW-CMM was adopted successfully by many organizations. Released as a successor to the CMM, the CMM Integration (CMMI) integrates the three CMMs into a set of core practices. 

Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMI) is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes. You can use it to guide process improvement across a project or an entire organization. CMMI provides guidance to integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, help set process improvement goals and provide a point of reference for appraising current processes.

In CMMI models, process areas describe key aspects of such processes as configuration management, requirements management, product verification, systems integration, and many others. The most widely recognized depiction of the CMMI is described below:

• Level 1 (Initial): Process is unpredictable, poorly controlled, and reactive
  
• Level 2 (Managed): Process is characterized for projects and is often reactive. Basic processes are established and there is a level of discipline to stick to these processes
  
• Level 3 (Defined): Process is characterized for the organization and is often proactive. All processes are defined, documented, standardized and integrated into each other
  
• Level 4 (Quantitatively Managed): Processes are measured and controlled by collecting detailed data on the processes and their quality
  
• Level 5 (Optimizing): Continuous process improvement is adopted and in place by quantitative feedback

An organization begins at Level 1 which is essentially an ad-hoc non-repeatable set of processes or simply an organization which has not been rated. As process capability is demonstrated in specific areas, an organization is rated at one of the higher levels.

Telelogic enables support for the CMMI with various products including Telelogic Dashboard and Telelogic Rhapsody. With its Library of best practices, compliance tracking, and intelligent data collectors, Telelogic Dashboard provides a solution for all tasks identified in the CMMI Measurement & Analysis process area. It assists an organization of any size to implement a measurement program that manages system, software, and IT development as well as support for any process improvement initiative. Telelogic Rhapsody provides either direct or indirect support for the key areas of requirements management, project monitoring, project control, and configuration management. 

These supports along with the inherent benefits of Telelogic products' key enabling technologies aid customers to improve their level of CMMI compliance.