There is a common misconception that CMMI and Agile are polar opposites. One relies on institutionalization and documentation of processes and methodologies, while the other emphasizes interaction among workers and “working software over comprehensive documentation” (Agile Manifesto). Process documentation and institutionalization is the lifeblood of CMMI, and it is often used in critical software development life cycles. On the other hand, the Agile approach is called into action when a project features incremental changes, particularly those that have not been included in initial requirement documents.

There have been criticisms of both, as well: CMMI is used only in security-intensive projects that need massive numbers of workers, layers of procedures, and a rigid development lifecycle. On the other hand, those who implement Agile have been referred to as an undisciplined “hackers” of development projects.

The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) doesn’t think that critics are exactly right; in fact, the institute believes taht naysayers are no farther from the truth. The success or failure of implementing Agile methodologies has nothing to do with documentation, according to Margaret Kulpa and Kent Johnson, authors of “Interpreting the CMMI: A Process Improvement Approach, Second Edition (2008).” You could write reams of documentation about your processes without necessarily practicing what is on paper.