CMMI Institute of Carnegie Mellon University of the United States of America has appraised LeadSoft Bangladesh Limited, a subsidiary of LEADS Corporation Limited, at CMMI Level 5 for Software development. The company was able to earn this unique and prestigious appraisal due largely to the financial and other supports from Bangladesh High-Tech Park Authority of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology on a continuous basis throughout the appraisal process.
LeadSoft Bangladesh Limited has always been committed to quality standards & processes, practicing the same and delivering quality software products. In 2002 it was certified as an ISO 9001-2008 company, and continues to hold that certification. Since 2008 LeadSoft has been a CMMI Level 3 company, and now it has been appraised at CMMI Level 5.
The Capacity Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a process model that provides a clear definition of what an organization should do to promote behaviors that lead to improved performance. With 5 “Maturity Levels” and 3 “Capability Levels” CMMI defines the most important elements required to build great products or deliver great services, and wraps those all up in a comprehensive model. CMMI helps organizations in identifying & achieving measurable business objectives, building better products, keeping customers happy and ensuring that the organization works at an optimum efficiency.
The model is comprised of a set of „Process Areas”; each area is intended to be adapted to the organizational culture and behavior. CMMI does not prescribe any process. It is a book of “what”, and not “how”, and does not define how the organization should behave. More accurately, it defines which behaviors need to be identified and improved. Thus CMMI is a “behavioral model”, as well as a “process model”. It is not a “standard” like ISO or similar quality criteria. Hence getting an appraisal at a Level (1 to 5) is not a certification, but a „rating‟.
CMMI was developed at the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University of the United States of America, with participation from Defense, Industry, Government and Academia. It is now being operated & maintained by „CMMI Institute‟, an operating unit of the same University. There are multiple flavors of CMMI, called „constellations‟. These are, CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV), CMMI for Services (CMMI-SVC) and CMMI for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ). CMMI-DEV has 22 process areas. It can be used in either „staged‟ or „continuous‟ representation. Staged representation, which groups process areas into 5 Maturity Levels, is the most commonly used. However, an organization is free to pick & choose the „Process Areas‟ which make most sense to work on by using the „continuous representation‟.
Following chart describes Focus Areas and Process Areas under different Levels of Maturity:

Few advantages of CMMI:
• Implementation of Centralized Quality Management System (QMS) which ensures uniformity in the documentation, shorter learning cycle for new resources and better management of project status & project health.
• Institutionalization of Software Engineering Best Practices in the Organizations.
• Measurement & Improvement of Productivity.
• Cost saving in terms of lesser effort due to fewer defects and less rework.
• Timely Delivery.
• Increased Customer Satisfaction.
• Increased Return on Investment.
• Reduced operation costs.
• Increased Predictability.

Doing business with a CMMI appraised company for software development has many advantages. Since CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV) leads to better quality products, doing business with such a company means that the products provided will be of high quality. Another benefit of doing business with such a company is that they can provide more accurate schedules and realistic timelines, leading to more realistic deadlines for product releases. CMMI-DEV, therefore, ensures best practices throughout the product lifecycle, and thereby ensures quality and timely delivery.