A capability maturity model for digital investigations

The concept of capability maturity models was first developed by the Software Engineering Institute in Carnegie Mellon University as a tool for objectively assessing the ability of government contractors' processes to perform a contracted software project. Although initially focussed on software development, it has been applied successfully to other process areas and has developed into a framework of process improvement models known as Capability Maturity Model Integration or CMMI. This paper proposes a Digital Investigation Capability Maturity Model (DI-CMM) as a tool for analysing an organisation's digital investigations capability. The methodology is applied to a selection of real-life organisations and their current capabilities in terms of digital investigation are assessed objectively using the DI-CMM. The outcome is then contrasted with the organisations' subjective assessment of their digital investigations capability.