The Maturity of Usability Maturity Models

The integration of usability practices in software development is not a straightforward process. In this context, the application of usability maturity models (UMM) in a software organization can provide insightful information to improve such integration. This paper discusses the design and application characteristics of the UMMs used over the last decade. The analysis of recent UMMs confirms that, even when the UMM field is a matter of interest and is getting adapted to new development contexts (for instance, agile or open source). UMMs lack detailed empirical evidence and supporting documentation for their objective application. In addition, our study also identifies other open issues related such as the level of prescriptiveness or mutability of UMMs. Consequently this paper identifies different opportunities for improving the maturity of UMMs. The application of mature UMMs would contribute to a better incorporation of usability and user experience practices in software organizations.