2 cissp ® Official Study Guide Eighth Edition

Software Capability Maturity Model
The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University introduced the 
Capability Maturity Model for Software, also known as the Software Capability Maturity 
Model (abbreviated as SW-CMM, CMM, or SCMM), which contends that all organi-
zations engaged in software development move through a variety of maturity phases in 
sequential fashion. The SW-CMM describes the principles and practices underlying soft-
ware process maturity. It is intended to help software organizations improve the maturity 
and quality of their software processes by implementing an evolutionary path from ad hoc, 
chaotic processes to mature, disciplined software processes. The idea behind the SW-CMM 
is that the quality of software depends on the quality of its development process.
The stages of the SW-CMM are as follows:
Level 1: Initial
In this phase, you’ll often find hardworking people charging ahead
in a disorganized fashion. There is usually little or no defined software development 
process.
Level 2: Repeatable
In this phase, basic lifecycle management processes are introduced. 
Reuse of code in an organized fashion begins to enter the picture, and repeatable results 
are expected from similar projects. SEI defines the key process areas for this level as 
Requirements Management, Software Project Planning, Software Project Tracking and 
Oversight, Software Subcontract Management, Software Quality Assurance, and Software 
Configuration Management.
Level 3: Defined
In this phase, software developers operate according to a set of formal, 
documented software development processes. All development projects take place within 
the constraints of the new standardized management model. SEI defines the key pro-
cess areas for this level as Organization Process Focus, Organization Process Definition, 
Training Program, Integrated Software Management, Software Product Engineering, 
Intergroup Coordination, and Peer Reviews.