• Maturity Levels: a 5-Level process maturity continuum - where the uppermost (5th) level is a notional ideal state where processes would be systematically managed by a combination of process optimization and continuous process improvement.
  
  
• Key Process Areas: a Key Process Area (KPA) identifies a cluster of related activities that, when performed collectively, achieve a set of goals considered important.
  
  
• Goals: the goals of a key process area summarize the states that must exist for that key process area to have been implemented in an effective and lasting way. The extent to which the goals have been accomplished is an indicator of how much capability the organization has established at that maturity level. The goals signify the scope, boundaries, and intent of each key process area.
  
  
• Common Features: common features include practices that implement and institutionalize a key process area. There are five types of common features: commitment to Perform, Ability to Perform, Activities Performed, Measurement and Analysis, and Verifying Implementation.
  
  
• Key Practices: the key practices describe the elements of infrastructure and practice that contribute most effectively to the implementation and institutionalization of the KPAs.

CMMI categorizes companies into five levels:

1. Initial (chaotic, ad hoc, individual heroics) - the starting point for use of a new process.
2. Managed - the process is managed according to the metrics described in the Defined stage.
3. Defined - the process is defined/confirmed as a standard business process, and decomposed to levels 0, 1 and 2 (the latter being Work Instructions).
4. Quantitatively managed
5. Optimized - process management includes deliberate process optimization/improvement

• Transparency: CMMI ensures that our clients understand the rationale for the estimates and schedule. As part of Level 4, Symphony documents and shares the risks, constraints, issues and dependencies of the project thereby ensuring total transparency in setting and meeting the client’s expectations.
  
  
• Predictability: CMMI ensures that regular status reports contain quantifiable completion status, risk index and impact of outstanding issues to provide predictability and to our clients. These are extremely essential for early warning and proactive course correction that lead to minimized financial impact on the project.
  
  
• Cost Savings: Using metrics collected from numerous projects, Symphony provides accurate estimates with all the documented risks, assumptions and constraints to our clients. This results in lower contingency budgets that result in lower project cost.

• CMMI means, I as a client, will be forced to do additional documentation: This is not true, CMMI ensures that we as a company adhere to standards while providing us the flexibility to manage your expectations. It ensures that we measure out processes, and definitely does not mandate you to do any additional documentation. Remember, client satisfaction is an important measure for CMMI.
  
  
• CMMI forces organization to choose an SDLC and stick with it: On the contrary CMMI ensures that we measure basic parameters such as risk, issues, and other project metrics IRRESPECTIVE of the SDLC. In fact it provides us the flexibility to choose any SDLC that is suited for the client and the project and ensures that that the risks and issues are well monitored and controlled ensuring higher rate of success.
  
  
• CMMI requires additional overheads and the cost gets passed on the client: This is not true. CMMI enables us to reduce cost for our clients. By ensuring that we use metrics for all aspects of software delivery, our estimates are accurate, require us to build less buffer and contingency, and hence less cost to you.  Also, you as a client do not need any investment, CMMI is designed for companies like Symphony to mature its internal operations so that benefits can be passed on to you.