Maturing Extreme Programming Through the CMM

Extreme Programming (XP) and the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) are two recently emerging models addressing the difficulty of developing and delivering high-quality software products. The CMM introduces 5 levels of maturity and gives guidelines for what to do at an organizational level, while XP gives explicit guidelines for how to develop software at a project level. Together these models form a comprehensive framework for structuring the software development organization. Drawing from previous researches in software engineering as well as personal experiences of coaching XP teams this paper analyzes and gives practical suggestions for how to handle the combination of the two models. The paper shows that it is not only possible, but also advantageous to use XP as a springboard for reaching the highest CMM maturity level and assuring the long-term goals of the software development organization.