"While the CMM focus on goals and generality makes it widely applicable, this leaves the application problems largely in the hands of the users. Kim Caputo's book provides a pragmatic guideline for how to address the CMM in an organizational context. The many examples and frequent war stories make for enjoyable reading and provide practical insight into the problems and challenges ahead." -Watts S. Humphrey The Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model (CMM) has been widely adopted by companies seeking enhanced quality and heightened productivity in software development. The CMM enables managers to measure their organization's capabilities against a recognized standard and to determine their relative level of software process maturity. This unique book offers step-by-step instruction on how to put the CMM into practice and how to conduct software process improvement within your own organization. Drawing on her first-hand experience leading process improvement groups in a large corporation, the author provides sound advice on how to get started, points out the problems that are likely to be encountered, and offers workable solutions that have been proven effective in CMM implementation. This book is precisely the guide she would have welcomed when first performing this critical task.The accompanying CD-ROM contains a range of templates, sample documents, and presentation materials that will facilitate the work of both new and experienced software process professionals.