Showing with the concept which calls the organizational ability of enterprise and the group and the project team etc. maturity, general term of various reference models which were made in order decides the ability level, to assure advanced capability. There is many also a thing which points to the thing of SW-CMM (CMM for Software) which is the software ability maturity model which has become the basis.

Originally, Wide Area Telephone Service (Watts S. Humphrey) the professor wrote, in the underlay, you made "Managing the Software Process" the mark C pork (Mark C. Paulk) of the Carnegie-Mellon university and building Curtis (Bill Curtis) and others including improvement, maturity of software development ability is measured, "the software ability maturity model: SW-CMM "is the originator (1991 issue).

Deriving from here, it regards the system engineering, "SE-CMM: System Engineering ability of CMM "and software supply is measured," SA-CMM: Software Acquisition CMM ", maturity model" P-CMM of talent development ability: People CMM ", the integrated product development maturity model" IPD-CMM which focuses on product development: Integrated Product Development CMM "and so on, the various maturity models were born specific classified by field. These are named generically "CMMs".

However when such as CMM, usually there is many a thing which points to SW-CMM which has become the basis. Recognition and process improvement ahead supplying the software development (SPI: Software process improvement) as an index of for the sake of, because it is adopted widely in the entire world, is because also degree of distinction is high.

Summary of the level is in SW-CMM as follows.

* Level 1: The early stage where process is not established
* Level 2: When it depends on the project leader and the technician of specification
* Level 3: Beginning and ending the stage which has the process which is consistent as standard
* Level 4: When measures the process which is standardized keeps refining quantitatively, and converting
* As for level 5 optimizing standard process with the difference of technical important matter environment, the stage which is used

Concerning SW-CMM, it is integrated in CMMI without V2.0 where the Carnegie-Mellon university software engineering laboratory (CMU/SEI) which is that compilation management group is in the midst of drawing upbeing published, this has become the succession model.