Level 1
Performed

Level 2
Managed

Level 3
Established

Level 4
Predictable

Level 5
Optimizing

People

Success depends on individual heroics.
“Fire fighting is a way of life.”
Relationships between disciplines are uncoordinated, perhaps even adversarial.

Success depends on individuals and management system supports.
Commitments are understood and managed.
People are trained.

Project groups work together, perhaps as an integrated product team.
Training is planned and provided according to roles.

A strong sense of teamwork exists within each project.

A strong sense of teamwork exists across the organization.
Everyone is involved in process improvement.

Process

Few stable processes exist or are used.

Documented and stable estimating, planning, and commitment processes are at the project level.

Integrated management and engineering processes are used across the organization.

Processes are quantitatively understood and stabilized.

Processes are continuously and systematically improved.

Technology

The introduction of new technology is risky.

Technology supports established, stable activities.

New technologies are evaluated on a qualitative basis.

New technologies are evaluated on a quantitative basis.

New technologies are proactively pursued and deployed.

Measurement

Data collection and analysis are ad hoc.

Planning and management data is used by individual projects.

Data is collected and used in all defined processes.
Data is systematically shared across projects.

Data definition and collection are standardized across the organization
Data is used to understand the process qualitatively and stabilize it.

Data is used to evaluate and select process improvements.