Chesapeake Bay Area LandSat 5 Thematic Mapper (1998) NASA—Goddard Space Flight Center
The Chesapeake Bay is a highly productive economic engine. It is also a fragile ecosystem. Its best use and long-term prospects depend on making decisions that are based on an understanding of the complex relationships that exist between nature and humans.
Similarly, CMMI products are complex structures containing multiple layers of information. To achieve the highest benefit, CMMI users need to be aware of this complexity and the subtle relationships between and across the information layers. In Part II of this book, we discuss the CMMI architecture and components, to help the reader more clearly understand how CMMI is structured and how its parts relate to one another and to integrated continuous improvement as a whole.
In which the reader is introduced to CMMI—its contents, objectives, limitations, accomplishments, and history.
In which we describe the various elements and materials found in the CMMI models. Their relative importance is discussed to some extent, and the locations of the materials are elucidated.
Chapter 5. CMMI Representations
In which we describe two model representations—staged and continuous—and explain how they are accomplished within CMMI. A discussion of how the continuous representation can approximate the staged representation is presented.
Chapter 6. CMMI Dimensions for Measuring Improvement
In which we explain the manner by which the CMMI models—in both representations—guide and measure the improvement of processes. Both the capability and maturity dimensions are addressed. The concept of generic practices is introduced and their role in CMMI explained.
In which the CMMI process dimension is described in detail, so that the practitioner may understand the relationship between the goals, practices, and improvement dimensions.