SW-CMM describes five levels of software process maturity. Companies at the lowest level act tactically and take risks with quality. At the highest level, companies act strategically and produce consistently high quality products. Each of the five levels was given a name and assigned attributes. Either no processes are in place, or the few processes that are in place are abandoned during a crisis.
People document what they do, and there is planning at the project level.
Certain individuals get things done consistently, and project management practices are established. A defined software process is in place that includes standards, procedures, and verification mechanisms. Process quality can be quantified and performance variations are detected. In that case, the management decided to create an internal agreement about management practices. The agreement was to outline how people resources would be managed between different functional groups on projects.