Developed by the software community in 1986 with leadership from the SEI. The CMM describes the principles and practices underlying software process maturity. It is intended to help software organizations improve the maturity of their software processes in terms of an evolutionary path from ad hoc, chaotic processes to mature, disciplined software processes. The focus is on identifying key process areas and the exemplary practices that may comprise a disciplined software process. What makes up the CMM? The CMM is organized into five maturity levels: Initial Repeatable Defined Manageable Optimizing Except for Level 1, each maturity level decomposes into several key process areas that indicate the areas an organization should focus on to improve its software process. Level 1 Initial Level: Disciplined process, Standard, Consistent process, Predictable process, Continuously Improving process Level 2 Repeatable: Key practice areas - Requirements management, Software project plan