Capability Maturity Model ®
The Center for Project Management's Project Process Architecture (PPA™) and the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI's) Capability Maturity Model® (CMM®) have a complimentary relationship.

The CMM was developed by the SEI at the Carnegie Mellon University as part of an Air Force funded project. The primary objective of the research work was to define a framework to assess the capabilities of software contractors bidding for work for the Defense department. Early in their assessment of a number of software organizations, the researchers discovered that those organizations with formal, well-defined processes produced much better software than those with ad hoc processes. The end result of the study was a well defined, and well-bounded maturity improvement process grouped into five distinct levels:

1. Initial: The software organization performs its work in an ad hoc and often chaotic fashion, where most people follow their own processes with no uniform guidance from the organization.
   
   
2. Repeatable: The software organization at this level has in place rigorous project management processes and practices, and the software professionals perform their work in accordance with the stated practices. The organization is able to track the cost, schedule, and functionality of its projects.
   
   
3. Defined: At this level, the principles and best practices of software development and management are fully documented, understood, and practiced by software professionals with demonstrated strong support from management.
   
   
4. Managed: At this stage the principles, practices, and processes of software development and management are inculcated fully into the day-to-day work practices of software developers. Additionally, quality targets are established for both software processes and products, and quality data is collected consistently and uniformly.
   
   
5. Optimized: Software organizations at this level are able to devote their efforts to continuous process improvement.
   
   

To be able to mature to any one of the levels (past Level 1), software practitioners need to change their ad hoc work practices to those of professional engineers - well-defined formal processes that consistently produce high-quality software efficiently.

Each of the five levels of CMM has a specific set of Key Process Areas (KPAs) associated with them. The KPAs for Level 2 are:

• Requirements Management
• Project Planning
• Project Tracking
• Quality Assurance
• Configuration Management
• Subcontractor Management

A deeper analysis of the Project Planning and Project Tracking KPAs shows that they include the following key words:

• Plan to perform the work
• Constraints and goals
• Estimates
• Schedule
• Software risks
• Negotiations
  
• Resource constraints and capabilities
• Progress tracking
• Schedule tracking
• Adjustments of plan
• Corrective action
• Dependencies between groups
• Milestone completions
• Tracking of critical resources
• Measurement data
  

The Center's Project Process Architecture (PPA™) incorporates each of these key activities, and prepares the IT professionals to perform their work in a consistent manner based on well-documented processes (PPA™ includes detailed templates that aid the professionals in completing their project management activities).

Additionally, the CMM requires a specific set of practices to ensure institutionalization of KPAs. These key practices are:

• Commitment to Perform
       This means that the executive management of the organization clearly
       and completely comprehends the KPAs, and has specifically set
       forth a policy statement outlining its commitment to well defined
       and consistently followed project management practices. The Center
       assures this through its in-depth Executive Briefing session.
  
  
• Ability to Perform
       This means that the IT professionals have the ability to practice
       the project management practices put forth by the two KPA's listed
       above. The Center provides a complete set of education, facilitation,
       and consulting services to equip IT professionals to effectively
       and efficiently perform their project management activities.
  
  
• Measurement and Analysis
       This means that the project managers use well defined quantitative
       measures to assess the status of project planning and tracking
       activities. The PPA™ incorporates specific steps for the project
       manager to measure and analyze the project status - nine specific
       vital signs are used to assess the "health" of any project.
  
  
• Verifying Implementation
       This means that routine reviews by peers, quality assurance groups,
       and managers are conducted to ensure that appropriate activities
       for each KPA are being followed. The PPA™ includes specifically
       designed instruments to help fulfill these requirements. Examples
       are: Project Outlook Assessments (at the end of Pre-Launch and
       Launch stages), 40 Questions the Sponsor Should Ask of a Project
       Manager, and the Post-Implementation Assessment review list.

From the information above, it is obvious that CMM Level 2 (Repeatable) requires that the software development group first institute, and then routinely practice, rigorous project management processes to plan and execute their work. The Center's PPA™ and associated services are designed to help IT organizations attain Level 2 maturity in an efficient and effective manner.