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Anuj Sharma, Lovely Professional University Unit 14: Maturity Model and Quality Standards

Unit 14: Maturity Model and Quality Standards

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
14.1 CMM (Capability Maturity Model)
14.1.1 Five levels of CMM
14.2 ISO 9000
14.3 Software Engineering Standards
14.4 Summary

14.5 Keywords
14.6 Self Assessment
14.7 Review Questions

14.8 Further Readings
Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Explain CMM.
• Describe the elements of ISO 9000.
• State the various software engineering standards.
Introduction

The goal of every organization is to achieve sustainable excellence in its operations. Every organization
should have a proven framework to improve the performance of their information technology systems
to meet their current requirements. It should be flexible enough to adjust to their varying business
needs. However, it is a challenge to achieve this in the face of global competition, rapid technological
innovation, and changing customer demands. This is because most organizations work with poorly
designed IT applications, operate with high budget, and are often late to deliver their projects.
Quality assurance is a process by which the organizational structure of an organization can be defined.
Quality assurance methods can be implemented through the application of maturity models and
systematic procedures. A maturity model helps the organization to develop and support its information
systems. It also helps the organization to accomplish its work with high quality and low cost. The
maturity model helps to control complexity of today’s huge systems. CMM is one such model which
will be discussed in detail in this chapter.
Software Quality Assurance through quality management system is a process-driven approach with
specific steps to attain goals. A quality management system gives out the framework that allows an
organization to assess and improve process capability, manage risk effectively, and achieve customer
satisfaction and loyalty. It is a big challenge in this world to achieve this state, considering the present
day’s situation of the IT industry.
A quality management system is a realistic and sensible method, which promotes a methodical
approach towards the development of product. They make products and services well-organized
through persistent improvement, enabling international recognition and patronage. These standards
make sure that popular characteristics of products and services bring in safety and reliability to
products thereby improving customer satisfaction. ISO 9000 is one such standard which will be
discussed in detail in this chapter.

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