In a staged process-improvement model—most prominently the SEI Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) staged representation—the framework is organized into a finite set of maturity levels (e.g., Level 1 Initial through Level 5 Optimizing). Each level represents a distinct plateau of organizational process maturity; an organization must satisfy all the specific and generic goals for one level before it can advance to the next. Hence, by definition, a staged model is “composed of a number of distinct levels of maturity.”

Why the opposite answer (“False”) is wrong:

Choosing “False” would ignore the fundamental structure of staged models. While continuous models rate individual process areas by capability levels, the staged representation explicitly aggregates those ratings into organization-wide maturity levels, making the presence of distinct maturity levels an inherent characteristic.

1. Software Engineering Institute, “CMMI® for Development, Version 1.3,” CMU/SEI-2010-TR-033, Section 3.3 “Staged Representation,” pp. 25-28.

2. Paulk, M. C., “A Comparison of ISO 9001 and the Capability Maturity Model for Software,” Software Engineering Institute, CMU/SEI-94-TR-012, Sect. 2.1, p. 5 (discusses five maturity levels of the staged model).

3. Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative, “Software Process & Project Management,” Module 4 “Process Improvement Models,” slides 7-10 (describes CMMI staged model’s distinct maturity levels).

These sources expressly state that staged models are structured around discrete maturity levels, confirming the statement as true.