This effort is aimed at two problems with the current proliferation of models. First, the existing models have a large amount of overlap. For instance, most address planning, configuration management, and other basic areas, and they are not consistent in doing so. Second, the structure and vocabularies of the models are not compatible. Some are staged, some are continuous, and no translation of levels exists.
Internal structures differ, for example, goals versus practices.
Basic nomenclature for the same thing differs as in Key Process Areas, Process Areas, Key Focus Areas, and Focus Areas. The CMMI effort will first merge the software, systems engineering, and IPD models. The first product for review will be a software capability model. CMMI will produce a CMMI Framework database of items such as technical content, rules, training material, and assessment methods. This task was determined to be too large in scope for the initial project, and may occur in the future.