Lockheed Martin has achieved a record-setting fourth Level 5 capability maturity rating against the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) Capability Maturity Model(R) Integration model, or CMMI. Enterprise Information Systems is the fourth Lockheed Martin component to achieve Level 5, the highest possible rating for a company's engineering capability.

Lockheed Martin's latest CMMI(R) Level 5 rating was reached following a comprehensive appraisal of the company's systems and software engineering processes.

"Receiving SEI's highest independently assessed levels for engineering maturity exemplifies that Lockheed Martin is employing the largest concentration of engineering expertise in any one corporation," said Lockheed Martin Chief Information Officer Joseph Cleveland. "The disciplined processes underlying CMMI appraisals help our businesses achieve overall improvements in program and financial performance."

Lockheed Martin's focus is on process performance through both incremental and innovative improvements. The achievement of CMMI Level 5 -- a world-class model -- is a key discriminator for the firm. The result is improved quality, greater productivity and predictable program performance.

The CMMI credential demonstrates that the company coordinates its systems and software engineering work and drives quality processes throughout the organization. Developed by SEI at Carnegie Mellon University, CMMI was developed to provide the U.S. Department of Defense with an objective measure of production proficiency for its industry partners.

The CMMI model links management and engineering activities to business objectives, drawing from the best practices of the Capability Maturity Model for Software (SW-CMM)(R), the Systems Engineering Capability Model (SECM), and the Integrated Product Development Capability Maturity Model (IPD-CMM)(R) developed by Carnegie Mellon Institute.

SEI's ratings are recognized by commercial and government customers around the world. CMMI provides a framework for improving processes organizations use to develop and deliver products for their customers. The process improvement concepts embedded in CMMI are based upon sound process management principles used in manufacturing communities for years.

The Software Engineering Institute is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and operated by Carnegie Mellon University. Recognizing the increasingly critical role software played in its systems, the DoD established the SEI to advance the practice of software engineering to ensure software is produced on schedule, on budget, and is of the highest quality.

Lockheed Martin Enterprise Information Systems is responsible for one of the world's largest business systems portfolio that comprises over 100 million lines of code including state-of-the-art commercial off the shelf and technology solutions. Enterprise Information Systems --the fourth Lockheed Martin site to achieve the Level 5 rating -- joins Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems, Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors-Manassas and Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2002 sales of $26.6 billion.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Information Systems