In a recent article, Define a Five-Year Strategic Journey with Built-In Maturity Checkpoints, I explored the importance of these tools in assessing and advancing organizational capabilities. As a follow-up, I’ve created a cheat sheet to guide you through the practical steps of setting up a maturity model framework and calculation methodology. This resource is designed to simplify the process, ensuring clarity and consistency as you define and measure progress within your function or organization. Whether you're starting from scratch or refining an existing model, this cheat sheet will provide actionable insights to help you succeed.
Maturity Model Calculation Methodology
This methodology outlines one method for assessing and quantify an organization’s maturity level, tracking progress over time, and identify areas for improvement. The calculation leverages defined stages, benchmarking, and continuous improvement to provide a comprehensive assessment.
Step 1: Define Maturity Stages and Scoring
Stages of Maturity: Establish several progressive stages (e.g., Initial, Managed, Defined, Optimized, Strategic).
💡 Key Tip: I recommend defining and agreeing on clear levels of maturity, then developing an evergreen model to serve as the foundation for cascading the assessment.Scoring System: Assign a numerical range to each stage (e.g., 0–20 for Initial, 21–40 for Managed, etc.) to quantify the organization's current level.
Stage Score Range Description
Initial 0–20 Basic capability; unstructured processes.
Managed 21–40 Processes are repeatable and tracked.
Defined 41–60 Standardized and documented processes.
Optimized 61–80 Continuous improvement integrated into operations.
Strategic 81–100 Processes drive strategic value and innovation.
Step 2: Define Key Assessment Criteria
Identify key dimensions or functions to evaluate, such as:
Leadership and Strategy Alignment
Process Efficiency
Technology Adoption
Workforce Capability
Customer Outcomes
Assign weighted scores to each dimension based on its importance to the organization’s strategic goals. Ensure the total weights sum to 100%.
Step 3: Evaluate and Benchmark
Assessment: Use surveys, audits, or performance data to evaluate each dimension. Assign a score from 0 to 100 based on performance within that dimension.
Benchmarking: Compare your scores against industry standards or best practices to identify gaps. Use insights from “Leveraging Insights to Drive Strategic Decision-Making” to ensure alignment with market trends.
Step 4: Calculate Overall Maturity Score
Use a weighted average to calculate the overall maturity score:
Overall Maturity Score =∑(Dimension Score × Dimension Weight)
Example:
Process Efficiency (Score: 70, Weight: 30%) → 70 × 0.30 = 21
Technology Adoption (Score: 60, Weight: 25%) → 60 × 0.25 = 15
Workforce Capability (Score: 80, Weight: 20%) → 80 × 0.20 = 16
Leadership Alignment (Score: 50, Weight: 15%) → 50 × 0.15 = 7.5
Customer Outcomes (Score: 90, Weight: 10%) → 90 × 0.10 = 9
Total Score: 21 + 15 + 16 + 7.5 + 9 = 68.5 → “Defined” Stage.
Step 5: Identify Areas for Improvement
Analyze dimension scores to pinpoint underperforming areas.
Develop specific action plans for each area to progress to the next maturity stage.
Step 6: Enable Continuous Improvement
Reassess regularly to track progress and update benchmarks.
Refine the maturity model to incorporate emerging industry trends and innovations.
This methodology ensures the Maturity Model provides a structured, data-driven approach to evaluating and improving organizational capabilities.
If you want to learn more message me directly or reach out through the comments to this article.
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