Cleanroom Software Engineering Implementation of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for Software
Richard C. Linger
Mark C. Paulk
Carmen J. Trammel
Technical Note
CMU/SEI-96-TR-023
The Capability Maturity ModelSM for Software (CMMSM) [CMU 95] developed by the Software Engineering Institute, and Cleanroom Software Engineering [Mills 87, Linger 93, Linger 94] developed by Dr. Harlan Mills and his associates in IBM and other organizations, share a common concern with software quality and the effectiveness of software development. The principal focus of the CMM is on process management maturity; the principal focus of Cleanroom is on rigorous engineering processes. The CMM management processes and the Cleanroom engineering processes are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
The Capability Maturity Model for Software describes the principles and practices underlying software process maturity. It is intended to help software organizations improve the maturity of their software processes through an evolutionary path from ad hoc, chaotic processes to mature, disciplined software processes. The CMM is organized into five maturity levels. The maturity levels are defined in terms of 18 key process areas (KPAs) that characterize project performance at each level.
Cleanroom software engineering is a theory-based engineering process for development and certification of high-reliability software systems under statistical quality control. Cleanroom is intended to help software organizations improve their ability to apply engineering discipline to software development. Cleanroom is defined in terms of 14 processes that implement the technology and operations involved in Cleanroom software development.
This report defines the Cleanroom software engineering implementation of the Capability Maturity Model for Software. The definition is expressed in terms of a mapping of the 14 Cleanroom processes into the 18 CMM key process areas. The CMM key process areas and the Cleanroom processes are briefly summarized in this report. They are defined in detail in the following references: Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute (Principal Contributors and Editors: Mark C. Paulk, Charles V. Weber, Bill Curtis, and Mary Beth Chrissis), The Capability Maturity Model: Guidelines for Improving the Software Process, ISBN 0-201-54664-7, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, Ma., 1995.