Improvement models can have a staged and/or continuous representation.

This statement is not true regarding a staged model. In astaged model, such as TMMi, organisations must follow a pre-defined path through maturity levels, and the process areas are organised in a fixed order that must be achieved sequentially. Each maturity level forms the foundation for the next, meaning that an organisation cannot achieve process areas at different capability levels independently, as is possible in acontinuousmodel like CMMI. The staged model is designed to ensure that each process area is fully implemented and institutionalised before progressing to the next maturity level.