Achieving and maintaining CMMI maturity level 5 in a small organization

CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) models are collections of best practices that help organizations improve their processes. This article reports on the authors' experience in achieving and maintaining CMMI Maturity Level 5 in a small organization. Economic achievements, success factors, and lessons learned are reported by using real-life examples from almost 10 years of improvement process. This article could be a valuable and unique reference for practitioners intending to pursue high-maturity CMMI level, particularly in small organization settings. The importance of this topic and lack of similar experience reports make it a valuable contribution to the state of the practice. The first Web extra at http://youtu.be/HMbgNSFxkpE is an audio recording in which IEEE Software Multimedia Editor Davide Falessi speaks with Shane Oleson and Shannon Taylor of Keymind about how the organization achieved and maintained CMMI Maturity Level 5. The second Web extra at http://youtu.be/RKpKBo7roZI is an audio recording in which author Kathy Mullen introduces a custom Web-based tool called the Keymind Measurement Reporting Tool