How often may sustainment appraisals be conducted after an initial benchmark appraisal?

Sustainment appraisals are aimed at assessing how well an organization continues to maintain the improvements and practices that were established during an initial benchmark appraisal. According to the guidelines of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), these sustainment appraisals can be conducted every 24 months after the initial benchmark appraisal. This period allows organizations sufficient time to implement and embed the practices into their operations, ensuring that improvements are not only maintained but also refined over time.

Conducting sustainment appraisals at this interval enables organizations to reflect on their progress, identify any areas where additional improvements may be necessary, and stay aligned with the CMMI framework, which emphasizes continuous process improvement. It encourages a structured approach to monitoring an organization’s adherence to their quality processes and the sustainability of their improvements.