CMMI - Level 1 - INITIAL

Level 1 is called the Initial or Ad-Hoc Level.

Level 1 is an immature state. The software process is characterized as ad hoc, and occasionally even chaotic. Few processes are defined, and success depends on individual effort. Here there is no objective basis for judging product quality or for solving product or process problems. Therefore product quality is difficult to predict. Activities intended to enhance quality such as reviews and testing are often curtailed or eliminated when projects fall behind schedule.

Below points are the characteristics of this level:

- The processes within the organization are highly unstable and unpredictable
- During crisis, all the processes and procedures are either abandoned or skipped
- The projects are purely person dependant. i.e., when the persons involved leave the project or the company, things come to a halt. Also, the performance depends on the capabilities of the individuals rather then the organizational capability.
- Even if some processes remain, they are constantly changed or modified as the work progresses. (i.e.., the process is ad hoc).

There are NO process areas at Level 1. Level 1 is just a denotation of ad-hoc behaviour.

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