CMMI Appraisal
CMMI is a maturity model used to appraise how consistently an organisation performs the practices that deliver its products and services.
- Standard
- CMMI v2.0
- Indicative timeline
- 9-18 months
- Discipline
- Compliance & Security
- Assessment type
- Independent third-party assessment
The standard
Overview
Capability Maturity Model Integration is a model of organisational practice maintained by ISACA. Version 2.0 organises practice areas into capability areas and categories covering doing, managing, enabling and improving work, with views for development, services and supplier management. Organisations are rated on maturity levels one to five, or on capability levels for individual practice areas.
CMMI is appraised, not certified. A benchmark appraisal is conducted by an appraisal team led by a certified lead appraiser, and the result is published in ISACA's appraisal results system. Defence, aerospace, government and large prime contractors use maturity ratings when qualifying suppliers, because a rating says something about consistency rather than about a single project.
UKCert works through the model practice area by practice area. We review process assets, project records and measurement data against the intent of each practice, note where evidence is thin, and set out what must be in place before an appraisal is attempted.
Who this is for
- Software and systems engineering organisations delivering complex projects
- Defence, aerospace and government suppliers asked to show a maturity rating
- IT services and managed service providers bidding for large contracts
- Product companies scaling delivery across multiple teams or sites
- Organisations with inconsistent performance between projects
What it gives you
Why organisations certify
What a certified CMMI v2.0 assessment gives you once the certificate is issued.
Consistent Delivery
Practices are defined once and used across projects, so results depend less on which individuals happen to be assigned to a piece of work.
Bid Qualification
Public sector and prime contractor tenders often ask for an appraisal rating. A current benchmark result answers that question without lengthy supplier questionnaires.
Measured Performance
Maturity levels four and five require quantitative management. Estimation, defect and cycle time data replace opinion when decisions about capacity and commitments are made.
Fewer Rework Costs
Peer reviews, verification and configuration control catch defects earlier. Work is corrected while it is still cheap to correct rather than after delivery.
Structured Improvement
The model gives a defined order for improvement. Practice areas are addressed in sequence rather than reacting to whichever problem was most recent.
Clear Governance
Roles, review points and decision authority are documented. Sponsors and project managers know what is expected of them and when escalation should happen.
Scope
What the assessment covers
The areas an assessor works through. Your final scope is confirmed in writing before any audit is booked.
- Practice area coverage across selected views
- Maturity level or capability level target setting
- Process asset library and tailoring guidelines
- Estimation, planning and monitoring records
- Peer review and verification evidence
- Configuration management and change control
- Measurement and performance objectives
- Appraisal readiness and evidence mapping
How it runs
The assessment, stage by stage
From first enquiry to certificate. Each stage is agreed with you before it starts.
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Scope and View
We agree which organisational unit, projects and model view apply, whether development, services or supplier management, and which maturity or capability level is realistic for the sponsor's objectives.
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Readiness Review
Existing process documentation, project artefacts and measurement data are compared with the practices in scope. The output is a gap list ordered by the effort each item will take.
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Process Definition
Missing process assets are written or revised: procedures, templates, tailoring rules and measurement definitions. These are then used on live projects so that real evidence accumulates.
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Evidence Collection
Each practice is mapped to artefacts and affirmations from the sample projects. Gaps in coverage become visible early, while there is still time to run the practice properly.
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Appraisal Conduct
A benchmark appraisal is planned and run by an ISACA Partner organisation, using a certified lead appraiser and trained appraisal team who examine objective evidence, interview participants and rate each practice area in scope. UKCert prepares the evidence base; it does not conduct the appraisal or issue the rating.
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Rating and Sustainment
The rating is recorded and published by ISACA and holds for three years. A sustainment appraisal can extend it, provided the practices have continued to be used and evidenced.
Questions
CMMI v2.0 — frequently asked
Anything here that does not cover your situation, put it to an assessor rather than guessing at it.
Same discipline
Other schemes in Compliance & Security
Certifying against more than one standard?
Where you hold several standards, shared clauses are assessed once in a combined visit rather than as separate audits. Talk it through with an assessor before you decide what CMMI v2.0 should sit alongside.