It's also possible that IT organizations don't want to spend the time and resources to implement the specific CMM processes. Furthermore, advancing to new CMM levels and actually certifying any advancement has oftentimes proven to be a difficult process, as the SEI has to-date certified only a limited number of qualified assessors. SEI's Pederson said that could simply be a matter of perception, but contends it is more likely a bootstrapping issue. However, we won't accept people onto the assessment team unless they've gone through two assessments. The problem is that by the time an assessment opportunity arises, it may be with a company that competes with the company for which the candidate-assessor is employed.
Chances are they'll have to wait for the next assessment opportunity.
Regardless of their feelings about CMM, both Rice and Giga's Narsu are firm believers in the importance of process. And that is just what an increasingly larger number of firms are doing, said Strigel at the Software Productivity Centre. However, it's important to note that installing CMM and getting the disciplines are important, but installing CMM and creating a bureaucracy is wrong. Philip E. Courtney is a marketing consultant and technical journalist with nearly 20 years experience in the IT industry. The Capability Maturity Model for Software is organized into five maturity levels.