CMMI v2.0 — Interactive Study Manual

CMMI v2.0 is a process improvement framework used by organisations to build and improve their capabilities in software development, services, and supply chain management. It provides a structured approach to improving performance by defining what good processes look like — not prescribing exactly how to implement them.

5

Maturity Levels

3

Capability Levels

20

Practice Areas

4

Categories

2

Views (Staged/Cont.)

🏗 CMMI v2.0 — The 4 Categories

🔨 Doing

Processes that directly produce value — requirements, design, development, testing, and delivery.

📊 Managing

Planning, monitoring, and controlling work — project management, risk, and supplier management.

⚙️ Enabling

Infrastructure that supports doing and managing — process management, measurement, and decision making.

📈 Improving

Continuous improvement of performance — process and performance management, causal analysis.

CMMI v2.0 key changes from v1.3: Simplified language, removed process area groupings, introduced Practice Groups, added Performance Factor concept, stronger focus on business value, and clearer connection between capability and performance outcomes.

Maturity Levels describe the Staged View of CMMI — the overall organisational maturity based on which practice areas have been implemented. Each level builds on the previous. Maturity Level applies to the organisation, not individual processes.

5

Optimising

Optimising — Continuous Improvement

The organisation continuously improves its processes based on quantitative understanding of business objectives and performance data. Innovations are identified and deployed systematically.

Causal Analysis Innovation Continuous improvement ~Top 5% of orgs

4

Quantitatively Managed

Quantitatively Managed — Predictable

Processes are controlled using statistical and quantitative methods. Performance is predictable. Sub-processes are identified and managed to achieve specific quality and performance objectives.

Statistical control Quantitative objectives Predictable performance

3

Defined

Defined — Standardised Organisation-Wide

Processes are well-characterised, understood, and described in standards, procedures, tools, and methods. The organisation has a standard set of processes tailored for each project.

Organisational standards Tailoring guidelines Process assets

2

Managed

Managed — Project Level

Projects are planned, monitored, and controlled. Requirements are managed. Processes are planned and performed according to policy. Work products are controlled and maintained.

Project planning Requirements mgmt Configuration mgmt

1

Initial

Initial — Ad Hoc

Processes are unpredictable, poorly controlled, and reactive. Success depends on individual heroics. Commitments are often not met. Common starting point for most organisations.

Ad hoc Unpredictable Hero-dependent

📊 Industry reality: Most organisations benchmark at Maturity Level 2–3. Level 4 and 5 organisations are rare — primarily found in aerospace, defence, and high-reliability software sectors where process predictability is mission-critical.

CMMI v2.0 defines 20 Practice Areas organised into 4 categories. Each Practice Area contains a set of practices that represent good process behaviour. Use the filter to browse by category.

🔨 Doing

Requirements Development & Management (RDM)

Elicit, develop, analyse, and manage stakeholder and product requirements throughout the lifecycle

Goal: Requirements are defined, agreed, and maintained

🔨 Doing

Process Quality Assurance (PQA)

Provide objective insight into processes and their associated work products through evaluations and audits

Goal: Non-compliances are identified and addressed

🔨 Doing

Verification & Validation (VV)

Ensure selected work products meet requirements (verification) and that the product meets user needs in its intended environment (validation)

Goal: Defects identified early, product meets purpose

🔨 Doing

Technical Solution (TS)

Design, develop, and implement solutions to requirements — covering architecture, detailed design, and product component implementation

Goal: Solutions are designed and built to requirements

🔨 Doing

Product Integration (PI)

Assemble product components, ensure they function together, and deliver the integrated product

Goal: Components integrate successfully into the product

🔨 Doing

Peer Reviews (PR)

Identify and eliminate defects in work products early using structured peer examination of artifacts

Goal: Defects found before testing — lower rework cost

📊 Managing

Estimating (EST)

Develop and maintain estimates for planning purposes — size, effort, cost, and schedule

Goal: Realistic estimates based on data

📊 Managing

Planning (PLAN)

Establish and maintain plans that define project activities — work breakdown, schedule, resources, risk

Goal: Realistic plans agreed with stakeholders

📊 Managing

Monitor & Control (MC)

Understand project progress and performance against plans — take corrective action when needed

Goal: Deviations identified and managed promptly

📊 Managing

Risk & Opportunity Management (RSK)

Identify and manage risks that threaten project performance — and opportunities that could improve it

Goal: Risks mitigated, opportunities exploited

📊 Managing

Supplier Agreement Management (SAM)

Manage the acquisition of products and services from suppliers — contracts, performance, and acceptance

Goal: Suppliers deliver as agreed

⚙️ Enabling

Configuration Management (CM)

Establish and maintain integrity of work products using configuration identification, control, status accounting, and audits

Goal: Work products are controlled and traceable

⚙️ Enabling

Decision Analysis & Resolution (DAR)

Analyse possible decisions using formal evaluation processes with documented criteria

Goal: Decisions based on structured analysis

⚙️ Enabling

Measurement & Analysis (MA)

Develop and sustain a measurement capability used to support management information needs

Goal: Data-driven decision making

⚙️ Enabling

Organisational Training (OT)

Develop skills and knowledge to perform roles effectively — training needs analysis, delivery, effectiveness

Goal: People have the skills required

⚙️ Enabling

Governance (GOV)

Establish and maintain process governance including senior management sponsorship and accountability

Goal: Leadership drives process improvement

⚙️ Enabling

Implementation Infrastructure (II)

Establish and maintain the infrastructure needed to plan, implement, and sustain process improvement

Goal: Improvement is supported and sustainable

📈 Improving

Process Management (PCM)

Establish and maintain organisational process assets and deploy standard processes across the organisation

Goal: Standard processes tailored and deployed

📈 Improving

Process Asset Development (PAD)

Define, develop, and improve process assets — standard process definitions, guidelines, and templates

Goal: Process assets drive consistent execution

📈 Improving

Managing Performance & Measurement (MPM)

Maintain a quantitative understanding of the performance of selected processes to achieve quality and performance objectives

Goal: Quantitative performance targets achieved

📈 Improving

Causal Analysis & Resolution (CAR)

Identify causes of defects and other problems — and take action to prevent them from recurring

Goal: Root causes eliminated, not just symptoms

In CMMI v2.0, Capability Levels apply to individual Practice Areas in the Continuous View. Unlike Maturity Levels (which are organisational), Capability Levels let you assess and improve one practice area at a time — useful for targeted improvement.

0

Incomplete

The practice area is not performed or does not achieve its purpose. Practices are missing or only partially done.

1

Initial

Practices in the practice area are performed, but not consistently. Success depends on individual skill — not repeatable process.

2

Managed

Practices are planned, monitored, and adjusted. Work products are controlled. Results are repeatable within the project or team.

3

Defined

Practices are tailored from organisational standards. They are well understood, documented, and consistently applied across the organisation.

4

Quantitatively Managed

Statistical methods are used to understand process variation. Performance is predicted within quantitative bounds.

5

Optimising

Continuous improvement is built into the process. Innovations are proactively sought and deployed. Root causes of variation are eliminated.

⚡ Staged vs Continuous: Use Maturity Levels (Staged) for benchmarking and appraisals against the whole organisation. Use Capability Levels (Continuous) for targeted process improvement in specific areas — more flexible and practical for most organisations.

CMMI v2.0 provides two representations — two different ways to look at the same framework. Both cover the same 20 practice areas and practices, but they organise and measure improvement differently.

🏛

Staged View — Maturity Levels

Organises practice areas into 5 predefined levels. All practice areas in a level must be achieved to claim that maturity level.

→ Used for organisational benchmarking
→ Supports CMMI appraisals (SCAMPI)
→ Provides a clear roadmap with milestones
→ Better for executive communication
→ "We are a CMMI Level 3 organisation"
→ Required for government / DoD contracts

🎯

Continuous View — Capability Levels

Allows each practice area to be rated independently on a 0–5 capability scale. Organisations choose which areas to improve.

→ Used for targeted improvement
→ Flexibly focus on highest-value areas
→ Permits different levels per practice area
→ Better for internal improvement programmes
→ "Our RDM is CL3, our SAM is CL2"
→ More common in commercial organisations

Which to use? If your goal is certification, contract eligibility, or external benchmark — use the Staged View and pursue a formal SCAMPI appraisal. If your goal is internal improvement — use the Continuous View to focus investment where it matters most.

📋 SCAMPI Appraisal Methods

SCAMPI A Most rigorous — official appraisal that produces a maturity/capability rating. Required for DoD certification. Led by CMMI Institute-authorised Lead Appraiser.

SCAMPI B Less formal — identifies areas of strength and weakness. Does not produce an official rating. Used for gap analysis and improvement planning.

SCAMPI C Lightest weight — quick assessment for readiness check. Reviews documentation and interviews. Useful early in improvement journey.

CMMI is often compared to ISO 15504 (SPICE), ISO 33000, and other process improvement frameworks. Understanding the differences helps organisations decide which framework — or combination — best fits their context.

Dimension	CMMI v2.0	ISO 15504 / 33000	COBIT 2019	ISO 9001
Focus	Process capability & maturity for software/systems/services	Process assessment standard (aligned with CMMI)	IT governance & management	Quality management system
Levels	5 Maturity Levels or 0–5 Capability Levels	0–5 Capability Levels (similar to CMMI)	0–5 Capability Levels	Certified / Not certified
Scope	Software, systems engineering, services, supply chain	Software and systems processes	All enterprise IT governance	Any industry quality system
Certification	SCAMPI appraisal — organisational rating	ISO assessment	COBIT Foundation / Design cert	ISO 9001 certification (audit)
Best for	Software/systems orgs seeking process maturity	International process assessment	IT governance, risk, compliance	General quality management
Industry use	Defence, aerospace, software, IT services	Automotive (ASPICE), safety-critical	Enterprise IT, regulated industries	Manufacturing, services, ISO-regulated
Relationship	—	ISO 15504 was influenced by CMMI	Complementary — CMMI for processes, COBIT for governance	CMMI can co-exist with ISO 9001

CMMI + COBIT: The two frameworks are highly complementary. COBIT defines governance and management objectives (what needs to be achieved). CMMI defines how to improve the processes that achieve them (how mature is the execution). Many large enterprises apply both.

38 flash cards covering CMMI v2.0 key concepts, practice areas, and exam-relevant knowledge. Click a card to flip it.

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