First things first:
- CMMI-DEV, V1.3 = "CMMI® for Development, Version 1.3" = Improving processes for developing better products and services
Main concepts:
- Process Areas (PA): A cluster of related practices in an area that, when implemented collectively, satitsfies a set of goals considered important for making improvements in that area.
- PA Groups: Support, Project Management, Process Management, Engineering
- Specific Goals (SG): A required model component that describes the unique characteristics that must be present to satisfy a process area.
- Capability Level: Achievement of process improvement within an individual process area; defined by appropriate SG and GG for a PA.
- Specific Practice (SP): An expected model component that is considered important in achieving a specific goal (SG); the specific practices (SPs) describe the activities expected to result in achievement of the SG of that area.
- Generic Goals (GG): A required model component that describes characteristics that must be present to institutionalize processes that implement a process area.
- Institutionalization: The ingrained way of doing business that an organization follows routinely as part of its corporate culture.
- Stakeholder: A group or individual that is affected by or is in some way accountable for the outcome of an undertaking; may include project or work group members, suppliers, customers, end users, and others.
- Relevant Stakeholder: A stakeholder that is identified for involvement in specific activities and is included in a plan.
- Maturity Level (ML): Degree of process improvement across a predefined set of process areas in which goals in the set are attained.
- Process Performance: A measure of results achieved by following a process.
- For a full glossary of terms see [1, 3].
There are 22 Process Areas for CMMI-DEV and you can find the full list or process areas here.
Sources:
- [1] "CMMI-DEV 1.3 - Technical Report", SEI, CMU/SEI-2010-TR-033 / ESC-TR-2010-033, Nov. 2010 (available at http://www.sei.cmu.edu; this is "the bible")
- [2] "CMMI for Development - Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement", 3rd. Ed.; Mary Beth Chrissis, Mike Conrad, Sandy Shrum; Addison-Wesley
- [3] "CMMI for Development Quick Reference" (available from http://www.sei.cmu.edu)
