A maturity model (also: maturity assessment model) is a tool for assessing and improving the performance and maturity of a process or organization. These models are usually structured frameworks that are used to assess the development status and capabilities of a company or a specific process function. The basic idea behind maturity models is to help organizations assess their business processes, identify weaknesses and take action to improve their processes and raise them to higher maturity levels.
One example of a maturity model is the "CMMI" (Capability Maturity Model Integration), which is widely used in software development and other areas. CMMI has five maturity levels, ranging from initial (starting level) to optimized (optimized). This provides a systematic approach to improving processes in an organization.