The scale was described in Alistair Cockburn's book Agile Software Development.
According to the author, the scale can be applied to other types of project, not only those that employ Agile methodologies.
The Cockburn Scale categorizes projects according to "criticality" and "size".
Process criticality is defined as the worst probable effect of an unremedied defect: Process size is defined as the size of the project's development staff.
The criticality and size of a project can be juxtaposed on a grid: Project classes closer to the top right corner of the table require a more formal process than project classes closer to the bottom left corner.