Process areas can be grouped into four categories:

·   Process Management

·   Project Management

·   Engineering

·   Support

Although we are grouping process areas this way to discuss their interactions, process areas often interact and have an effect on one another regardless of their defined group. For example, the Decision Analysis and Resolution process area provides specific practices to address the formal evaluation that is used in the Technical Solution process area for selecting a technical solution from alternative solutions. Technical Solution is an Engineering process area and Decision Analysis and Resolution is a Support process area.

Being aware of the interactions that exist among CMMI process areas and which process areas are Basic and Advanced will help you apply CMMI in a useful and productive way. The following sections describe the interactions of process areas within the categories and only briefly describe the interactions among process areas in other categories. Interactions among process areas that belong to different categories are described in references within the Related Process Areas section of the process areas in Part Two. Refer to Chapter 2 for more information about references.