What is CMMI? A Model to Optimize Development Processes
CIO, Friday, May 15th, 2026
CMMI is a process improvement model that helps organizations streamline development and create efficient, productive cultures.
The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), developed by Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute, is a process and behavioral model designed to help organizations improve performance and develop better products and services. CMMI provides five maturity levels ranging from incomplete to optimizing, with the goal of reaching Level 5 where processes are stable and organizations continuously improve.
The CMMI Institute recently unveiled the CMMI AI Maturity (AIM) framework to address AI governance, ethics, and integration across enterprise systems. CMMI V3.0, released in 2023, now focuses more on business performance needs and integrates better with agile and Scrum processes while emphasizing safety and security.