What CMMi for Services is
CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration), administered by ISACA, is a globally recognised model for improving how an organisation performs its work and for measuring the maturity of those processes. The Services view — CMMi-SVC — applies the model to organisations whose core business is establishing, managing and delivering services rather than building products. It describes the practices that make service delivery reliable, repeatable and improvable, and provides a scale for benchmarking how well an organisation performs them.
The maturity levels
CMMI is structured around five maturity levels:
- Level 1 — Initial: delivery is ad hoc and unpredictable
- Level 2 — Managed: processes are planned, performed and measured
- Level 3 — Defined: processes are standardised across the organisation
- Level 4 — Quantitatively Managed: performance is controlled using quantitative techniques
- Level 5 — Optimizing: the organisation continually improves performance
Clients procuring outsourced or managed services often ask providers to demonstrate a particular maturity level as evidence of dependable delivery.
Appraisal, not certification
As with the rest of the model, CMMI maturity is confirmed through an appraisal, not a certification. The formal method is SCAMPI, conducted by an appraisal team led by a certified Lead Appraiser, and the result is typically valid for three years. Organisations are described as “appraised at” a maturity level rather than “certified.”
How ABS supports CMMi-SVC
ABS has supported organisations with CMMi since 1991, and our Certified Lead Appraisers are among the most experienced worldwide — certified lead assessors recognised by the CMMI Institute. Our consultants bring a minimum of 8–10 years’ hands-on experience implementing CMMI.
We support service organisations end to end on the journey to their target maturity level: gap analysis and current-state assessment, CMMi overview training, a process-improvement strategy and roadmap, defining and documenting service-delivery processes, establishing a measurement framework, software quality assurance (SQA) support, SCAMPI facilitation, and appraisals conducted by our Lead Appraisers. The goal is service delivery that holds up under scrutiny and improves over time.
It suits IT service providers, BPO and managed-services firms. Organisations that also build software often pair it with CMMi for Development, and those managing large supplier relationships with CMMi for Acquisition. See the full CMMi & Process category for related work.
Common questions
How is CMMi for Services different from CMMi for Development?
Both use the same five-level maturity scale and appraisal approach, but they target different work. CMMi for Development focuses on designing and building products and systems; CMMi for Services focuses on establishing, managing and delivering services such as IT services, BPO and managed services.
Who needs CMMi for Services?
Service-delivery organisations — IT service providers, BPO firms, managed-services and support organisations — particularly those competing for contracts that ask suppliers to demonstrate a defined service-management maturity.
