You must make three selections to apply CMMI to your organization for process improvement:

1.      Select a part of the organization.

2.      Select a model.

3.      Select a representation.

Selecting the work groups to be involved in your process improvement program is critical. If you select a group that is too large, it may be too much for the initial improvement effort. The selection should also consider organizational, product, and work homogeneity (i.e., whether the group’s members all are experts in the same discipline, whether they all work on the same product or business line, and so on).

Selecting an appropriate model is also essential to a successful process improvement program. The CMMI-DEV model focuses on activities for developing quality products and services. The CMMI-ACQ model focuses on activities for initiating and managing the acquisition of products and services. The CMMI-SVC model focuses on activities for providing quality services to the customer and end users. When selecting a model, appropriate consideration should be given to the primary focus of the organization, projects, or work groups as well as to the processes necessary to satisfy business objectives. The lifecycle processes (e.g., conception, design, manufacture, deployment, operations, maintenance, disposal) on which an organization concentrates should also be considered when selecting an appropriate model.

Select the representation (capability or maturity levels) that fits your concept of process improvement. Regardless of which you choose, you can select nearly any process area or group of process areas to guide improvement, although dependencies among process areas should be considered when making such a selection.

As process improvement plans and activities progress, other important selections must be made, including whether to use an appraisal, which appraisal method should be used, which work groups should be appraised, how training for staff should be secured, and which staff members should be trained.