In organizations that are SEI Level 1, there are usually cultural barriers that must be addressed first to enable process improvement to succeed. Many organizations prematurely focus on developing detailed engineering processes when they suffer from the chronic scheduling problems of Level 1. The processes are bound together to become the best-practices guide or procedures manual, regardless of how good or applicable the content is. Progress is then declared. When organizations plan inadequately and overcommit themselves, there is little time to perform even the basic tasks of development and testing.
Product defects become numerous, rework increases, and detailed procedures are ignored.
The intent of adopting the practices of SEI Level 2 is to provide a solid management foundation for software development. This results in a stable environment that enables further improvements to be made. Process stability comes from the increase in accuracy and predictability of schedules, early identification and attention to problems, the management of commitments, and the control of changes to the product. Many organizations that initiate a process improvement program rush to write process documents. These documents can become large, all-encompassing, and overwhelming and are often ignored.