(CMM) The Software Engineering Institute's model of software engineering that specifies five levels of maturity of the processes of a software organisation. CMM offers a framework for evolutionary process improvement. Originally applied to software development (SE-CMM), it has been expanded to cover other areas including Human Resources and Software Acquitition.

The levels - focii - and key process areas are:

Level 1 Initial - Heroes - None.

Level 2 Repeatable - Project Management - Software Project Planning, Software Project Tracking and Oversight, Software Subcontract Management, Software Quality Assurance, Software Configuration Management, Requirements Management.

Level 3 Defined - Engineering Process - Organisation Process Focus, Organisation Process Definition, Peer Reviews, Training Program, Inter-group Coordination, Software Product Engineering, Integrated Software Management.

Level 4 Managed - Product and Process Quality - Software Quality Management, Quantitative Process Management.

Level 5 Optimising - Continuous Improvement - Process Change Management, Technology Change Management, Defect Prevention.