Level 6: Why we can't get there from here

Current software engineering fads are often misunderstood, though well-intentioned and containing some bright ideas. Software people seem to have no understanding of the basic feedback, control, and stable-systems concepts, let alone the meaning of 'engineering' in software. Notably, a project management method called 'evolutionary delivery' is still missing from most process improvement models. To lead software engineering to a Capability Maturity Model Level 6, people must be trained to identify design technology that has their expected measurable characteristics of quality and cost when added to the total system architecture. To do this, one must store knowledge about the quantitative characteristics of the design options.