The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a framework for judging the maturity of an organization's software processes. It describes five levels of process maturity: Initial, Repeatable, Defined, Managed, and Optimizing. At lower levels, processes are ad hoc or inconsistent. At higher levels, processes are more defined, measured, controlled, and continuously improved. The CMM was developed by the Software Engineering Institute to help organizations improve their software development process.