Introduction to CMMI from the Software Quality Institute (SQI), Australia. Capability Maturity Models ®* (CMMs) have been used since 1991 by public and private organisations as a principal means of organisational improvement. Process improvement is seen by these organisations as the means by which they can better achieve their business objectives.

To further refine the means which organisation process improvement might be achieved, in 1998 the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Project was initiated to develop an integrated set of models, training, and appraisal methodologies to support enterprise-wide process improvement. The CMMI Project is a joint venture between industry, government, and the Software Engineering Institute (SEI).

The Software Quality Institute (SQI) at Griffith University, Australia is a Software Engineering Institute Transition Partner for CMMI. The CMMI is has been evaluated by the Defence Materiel Organisation to determine its suitability for managing risks involved with software intensive acquisitions for the Department of Defence and tenderers will be required to provide details of any current process improvement activities. The SQI participated in a number of these evaluation CMMI appraisals.