Responsibilities under the Capability Maturity Model

Abstract

Software Engineering teams in organizations of all types and sizes are facing increasing pressure to deliver high-quality, complex products in highly competitive, complex and global environments. Concurrent with the increased mission-critical status of software and the reduced time to market inherent in many software development environments is the drive for higher quality which is increasingly being measured by process assessments. The Software Capability Maturity Model (CMM) developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University addresses key process areas (KPAs) for progressively higher (or more mature) levels of software development. Incumbent within these different levels of software development maturity are clear indicators of appropriate professional responsibilities for software engineers. The CMM is focused on process, however, and does not directly address people or teams and the issues arising from changing professional responsibilities. This chapter examines these responsibilities, many of which have new or renewed importance for software development professionals, in the context of the software maturity levels defined by the SEI CMM.