An appraisal by a trained team of professionals used as a discriminator to select suppliers, to monitor suppliers against the contract, or to determine and enforce incentives. Evaluations are used to gain insight into the process capability of a supplier organization and are intended to help decision makers make better acquisition decisions, improve subcontractor performance, and provide insight to a purchasing organization. (See also "appraisal" and "assessment.")
Achievement of process improvement within an individual process area. A capability level is defined by the appropriate specific and generic practices for a process area. (See also "generic goal," "generic practice," "maturity level," and "process area.")
In the continuous representation, a list of process areas and their corresponding capability levels. (See also "achievement profile," "target profile," and "target staging.")
The profile may be an achievement profile when it represents the organization's progress for each process area while advancing through the capability levels. Or, the profile may be a target profile when it represents an objective for process improvement.
A model that contains the essential elements of effective processes for one or more disciplines and describes an evolutionary improvement path from ad hoc, immature processes to disciplined, mature processes with improved quality and effectiveness.
A process that can satisfy its specified product quality, service quality, and process-performance objectives. (See also "stable process," "standard process," and "statistically managed process.")
Causal Analysis and Resolution (process area)
The analysis of defects to determine their cause.
configuration control board
Judicious use of means to effect a change, or a proposed change, on a product or service. (See also "configuration management.")
Configuration Management (process area)
Capability Maturity Model
Capability Maturity Model Integration
The basic structure that organizes CMMI components, including common elements of the current CMMI models as well as rules and methods for generating models, appraisal methods (including associated artifacts), and training materials. The framework enables new disciplines to be added to CMMI so that the new disciplines will integrate with the existing ones. (See also "CMMI model" and "CMMI Product Suite.")
One from the entire collection of possible models that can be generated from the CMMI Framework. Since the CMMI Framework can generate different models based on the needs of the organization using it, there are multiple CMMI models. (See also "CMMI Framework" and "CMMI Product Suite.")
Any of the main architectural elements that compose a CMMI model. Some of the main elements of a CMMI model include specific practices, generic practices, specific goals, generic goals, process areas, capability levels, and maturity levels.
The complete set of products developed around the CMMI concept. These products include the framework itself, models, appraisal methods, appraisal materials, and various types of training. (See also "CMMI Framework" and "CMMI model.")
CMMI for Development +IPPD
The variation of a process that exists because of normal and expected interactions among the components of a process. (See also "special cause of process variation.")
(See "operational concept.")
An audit conducted to verify that a configuration item, or a collection of configuration items that make up a baseline, conforms to a specified standard or requirement. (See also "audit," "configuration item," "functional configuration audit," and "physical configuration audit.")
The configuration information formally designated at a specific time during a product's or product component's life. Configuration baselines, plus approved changes from those baselines, constitute the current configuration information. (See also "product lifecycle.")
An element of configuration management consisting of the evaluation, coordination, approval or disapproval, and implementation of changes to configuration items after formal establishment of their configuration identification. (See also "configuration identification," "configuration item," and "configuration management.")
A group of people responsible for evaluating and approving or disapproving proposed changes to configuration items, and for ensuring implementation of approved changes. (See also "configuration item.")
Configuration control boards are also known as change control boards.
An element of configuration management consisting of selecting the configuration items for a product, assigning unique identifiers to them, and recording their functional and physical characteristics in technical documentation. (See also "configuration item," "configuration management," and "product.")
An aggregation of work products that is designated for configuration management and treated as a single entity in the configuration management process. (See also "configuration management.")
A discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to (1) identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a configuration item, (2) control changes to those characteristics, (3) record and report change processing and implementation status, and (4) verify compliance with specified requirements. (See also "configuration audit," "configuration control," "configuration identification," and "configuration status accounting.")
An element of configuration management consisting of the recording and reporting of information needed to manage a configuration effectively. This information includes a listing of the approved configuration identification, the status of proposed changes to the configuration, and the implementation status of approved changes. (See also "configuration identification" and "configuration management.")
A capability maturity model structure wherein capability levels provide a recommended order for approaching process improvement within each specified process area. (See also "capability level," "process area," and "staged representation.")
Acts or deeds used to remedy a situation, remove an error, or adjust a condition.
Items that can be purchased from a commercial vendor. (COTS stands for commercial off the shelf.)
computer software configuration item
"The party (individual, project, or organization) responsible for accepting the product or for authorizing payment. The customer is external to the project (except possibly when integrated teams are used, as in IPPD), but not necessarily external to the organization. The customer may be a higher level project. Customers are a subset of stakeholders. (See also "stakeholder.")
In most cases where this term is used, the preceding definition is intended; however, in some contexts, the term "customer" is intended to include other relevant stakeholders. (See also "customer requirement.")"
The result of eliciting, consolidating, and resolving conflicts among the needs, expectations, constraints, and interfaces of the product's relevant stakeholders in a way that is acceptable to the customer. (See also "customer.")
CMMI-DEV 1.2
