The Level 4 Software Process from the Assessor ’ s Viewpoint

for an invited paper at the December, 1996 Conference of the International Software Consulting Network Brighton, U.K. From the time the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) was developed (late ‘80s, early ‘90s), it was a matter of speculation whether software organizations existed or would be assessed at the higher maturity levels, levels 4 and 5. In the last two years, a few organizations with processes at these high levels have been reported. But most assessors (including compilers of the CMM) have never seen a Level 4 or Level 5 company. This paper describes a Level 4 company (one therefore in the top 2% of all organizations ever assessed) from the viewpoint of an outside assessor. Features that make this particular Level 4 process a paradigm case of implementing the CMM are described as well as innovations that go beyond the CMM and contribute to noteworthy robustness of implementation (institutionalization). The description serves as a brief case study of Level 4 practices and as an example for other organizations following the CMM road map. One hopes that with time a whole series of case studies will appear as organizations climb the maturity scale to Levels 4 and 5 and choose to make known how they implemented the CMM in their business environments. Section