CMMI Institute

What is CMMI?

The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)® is a proven set of global best practices that drives business performance through building and benchmarking key capabilities.

Helicopter lifting off from an aircraft carrier

Originally created for the U.S. Department of Defense to assess the quality and capability of their software contractors, CMMI models have expanded beyond software engineering to help any organization in any industry build, improve, and measure their capabilities and improve performance.

For over 30 years, high-performing organizations around the world have achieved demonstrable, sustainable business results with CMMI.

Descriptive Practices Focused on Improvement

CMMI best practices focus on what needs to be done to improve performance and align operations to business goals. Designed to be understandable, accessible, flexible, and integrate with other methodologies such as agile, ISACA's CMMI models help organizations understand their current level of capability and performance and offer a guide to optimize business results.

How capable is your organization?

All organizations have capabilities. What many don't have is a process by which they can measure their different capabilities against best practices and pinpoint which ones are driving higher performance.

  • 50%

    don’t have standard processes, process assets, and job aids.

  • 42%

    have no established planning process.

  • 41%

    aren’t encouraging employees to build organizational capabilities.

  • 33%

    cite difficulties in monitoring plans and making adjustments when needed.

  • 54%

    do not measure what matters.

Why Build Capability?

Knowing your organization’s key capabilities creates new value.

When an organization’s distinctive capabilities are clearly defined, everything and everyone within the organization begins to positively reinforce each other. The business takes on new life as people know and focus on putting standard processes in place to strengthen their key capabilities.

Organizations that know their capabilities see results:

  • Increased customer satisfaction.
  • Increased probability of capturing new and repeat business.
  • Increased profit through improved quality and less rework.
  • Increased productivity.
  • Decreased risks.

Learn More


 
When an organization's distinctive capabilities are clearly defined, everything and everyone within the organization begins to positively reinforce each other.

CMMI Performance Solutions

Designed to meet the challenges of the changing global business landscape, CMMI drives business performance through building and benchmarking key capabilities.

The core of CMMI is a proven set of global best practices organized by critical business capabilities which improve business performance. These critical capabilities address the biggest challenges common to any organization, including:

  • Engineering and Developing Products
  • Improving Performance
  • Delivering and Managing Services
  • Sustaining Habit and Persistence
  • Managing Business Resilience
  • Planning and Managing Work
  • Selecting and Managing Suppliers
  • Ensuring Quality
  • Managing the Workforce
  • Supporting Implementation

Using CMMI

Explore the many different ways practitioners and organizations can get started with the CMMI.

Adoption Guide

Adoption Guide

Whether you are new to CMMI or an existing user, the Adoption Guide is your roadmap and first step on your performance improvement journey. View an overview of the Adoption Guide.

CMMI Models

Customized Views for Different Needs

CMMI consists of customized views that apply to different business environments, enabling organizations to create a view of the model that meets their specific performance improvement needs. Explore Development, Services, SuppliersPeopleData, Safety, Security, and Virtual.

CMMI Training and Certifications

CMMI Training and Certifications

ISACA's CMMI Training Courses and Certifications are designed to prepare individuals to successfully understand and adopt the CMMI to achieve better performance results.

CMMI Appraisals

CMMI Appraisals

CMMI appraisals help businesses identify strengths and weaknesses of existing organizational performance and processes. The results provide a clear path to adopt model best practices.

Connect with a CMMI Consultant

Connect with a CMMI Partner

ISACA has experienced partners to get you started on your journey to improve your organizational performance. Contact an ISACA Partner through our Partner Directory. Have questions? Submit your request here.

Explore CMMI Resources

Explore CMMI Resources

Visit the CMMI Resource Center and browse through our collection of presentations, webinars, articles, case studies, and whitepapers to answer all your CMMI questions.


Customized Views to Meet Different Performance Improvement Needs

CMMI is a set of customized views that apply to different business environments, enabling organizations to create a view of the model that meets their specific performance improvement needs.
 

  • Does your organization struggle to deliver quality products and services that meet customer needs due to:

    • Cost overruns?
    • High defect rates?
    • Missed deadlines?

    Then you need CMMI® Development

    CMMI best practices will help your organization improve efficiency, speed, and product quality fueled by a lower number of defects.

    Luc Chiasson, Group Leader of Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement, CAE

    How it can help

    CMMI Development is an integrated set of best practices that improves an organization’s capability to develop quality products and services that meet the needs of customers and end users.

    Key Benefits

    • Increase quality
    • Reduce cost
    • Improve time-to-market
    • Improve product lifecycle management
    • Gain organizational agility
    Explore CMMI Development
  • Does your organization struggle to deliver quality services for customers due to:

    • Service disruptions?
    • Re-work?
    • Cost overruns?
    • Time delays?

    Then you need CMMI® Services

    CMMI has taken our service delivery to the next level. It has helped build internal strength, synergizes our efforts better, and brought us to a level of zero defects

    Mike Doobay, Global Leader for Minacs Marketing Solutions and Minacs IT Services

    How it can help

    CMMI Services is an integrated set of best practices that improves an organization’s capability to efficiently and effectively deliver quality service offerings that meet market and customer needs.

    Key Benefits

    • Gain customer loyalty
    • Develop resiliency
    • Improve time-to-market
    • Increase quality
    • Reduce cost
    Explore CMMI Services
  • Does your organization struggle to identify and manage suppliers in a way that maximizes supply chain efficiency due to:

    • Misunderstood expectations?
    • Capacity and resource shortages?
    • Changes in requirements?

    Then you need CMMI® Suppliers

    We are excited about the continued employment and improvement of these processes for acquiring the best possible systems for our customers and end users.

    Chris Beres, General Manager of LinQuest Corporation's Space Systems Engineering and Integration Group

    How it can help

    CMMI Suppliers is an integrated set of best practices that improves an organization’s capability to identify and manage suppliers and vendors in a way that maximizes supply chain efficiency and reduces risk.

    Key Benefits

    • Meet growth demands
    • Keep pace with product demands
    • Reduce supply chain risk
    Explore CMMI Suppliers
  • Does your organization struggle to maximize workforce performance due to:

    • Lack of employee skill sets and resources?
    • Turnover and poor morale?
    • Workflow bottlenecks?

    Then you need CMMI® People​

    In my opinion, CMMI People can be beneficial to an organization which is people, quality and customer-focused. Any organization serious about business performance, people development, and organization strategy and goal alignment, should adopt this model.

    Dr. Jaideep Devare, Managing Director of Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd. (MIBL)

    How it can help

    CMMI People is an integrated set of best practices that help identify skill gaps, break down workflow bottlenecks, and empower team members to develop skills that will help the organization succeed.

    Key Benefits

    • Drive organizational growth
    • Mitigate bottlenecks
    • Retain talent
    • Ensure agility
    Explore CMMI People
  • Does your organization struggle to leverage its data assets due to:

    • Disparate silos?
    • No formal process or clear strategy?
    • Lack of support from leadership?
    • Little confidence in the integrity of the data?

    Then you need CMMI® Data​

    I'm deeply impressed by the completeness and polish of CMMI Data as a comprehensive catalog of processes required for effective data management. Even after decades in the business, the broad scope and business focus of the model changed the way I think about data management.

    Bob Lambert, Data Architect at Anthem

    How it can help

    CMMI Data is an integrated set of best practices to help organizations build, improve, and measure their enterprise data management function and staff.

    Key Benefits

    • Improve decision-making
    • Improve efficiency and reduce costs
    • Improve data confidence
    • Increase effectiveness of data governance programs
    Explore CMMI DATA
  • Does your organization struggle to integrate security standards and requirements and:

    • Spending too much time reacting to threats?
    • Have low customer confidence?

    Then you need CMMI® Security

    The CMMI model taught us to think in favor of the customer and be very thorough in terms of delivering our development projects.

    Jii Tomiceck,CP & General Manager, Honeywell, Czech Republic

    How it can help

    CMMI Security is an integrated set of best practices that improves
    performance and key capabilities for organizations to assess, enhance, and improve their approach to security beyond compliance.

    Key Benefits

    • Increase customer confidence
    • Develop resiliency
    • Improve employee morale and turnover
    • Easily integrate popular standards and requirements
    Explore CMMI Security
  • Does your organization struggle with its safety strategies due to:

    • Too much risk?
    • Low employee morale and high turnover?

    Then you need CMMI® Safety

    The CMMI journey has helped us develop a culture of process transformation with predictable delivery.

    Devender Malhorta,Vice President and Global Head of Quality and Enterprise Risk Management, Wipro

    How it can help

    CMMI Safety is an integrated set of best practices improves
    performance and key capabilities for organizations to assess, enhance, and improve their safety strategies.

    Key Benefits

    • Increase quality
    • Reduce risk
    • Improve employee morale and turnover
    • Develop resiliency
    Explore CMMI Safety
  • Does your organization struggle in an increasingly virtual world due to:

    • Exposure to vulnerabilities?
    • Operational disruptions?

    Then you need CMMI® Virtual

    How it can help

    CMMI Virtual is an integrated set of best practices to help organizations develop the skills necessary to understand best practices, tools, and techniques for virtual business environments to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.

    Key Benefits

    • Identify and decrease exposure to vulnerabilities
    • Plan ahead for operational disruptions
    • Improve operational efficiencies
    Explore CMMI Virtual

Learn how CMMI can improve your organization's performance, quality, and profitability.

Request follow-up from a CMMI expert to learn how to get started.

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