New goal - We want to be CMM level 3

For those who don't know CMM stands for 'Capability Maturity Model'. It's a set of standards designed to help an organisations software processes to the point that a software project is easily repeatable. What this actually means is simply the common sense practices will take place instead of the normal panic.
So, right at the start of a software development project proper specifications would be provided, changes to the spec would be monitored and, if required, the schedule for the project will be changed based on known schedule impacts due to schedule changes.
All of this is based on existing projects and on one key item - lessons learnt which should always take place towards the end of a project and be recorded and reviewed for the next project.

CMM levels have next to no bearing on IT management processes. For the IT side of things you have ITIL.

I can sort of see what they are trying to do here, like any set of standards CMM is pretty much common sense.

Briefly, CMM breaks the software development process down into these levels:

1. Initial (chaotic, ad hoc, individual heroics) - the starting point for use of a new process.
2. Managed - the process is managed in accordance with agreed metrics.
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. Optimizing - process management includes deliberate process optimization/improvement.

So the basics of CMM can be applied to any process but it's really designed for software development.

Another thing that made me both laugh and cry was when I asked about the 'level 3' were supposed to meet and to confirm that it actually was CMM level three I was told by the meeting chair that he wasn't exactly sure when measurements were being used but knew that by just doing the DR processes for each site we would be granted level 3.

Of course, as soon as the documents are written they are out of date. We also have several data centre moves coming up in seven months so I feel an exercise in futility coming on.