How Mature are Your Processes?

 

The Capability Maturity Model was developed to rate the maturity of a process for software development. It was funded by the US Department of Defense and written by Carnegie Mellon University in the early 1990s.

I’ve adapted it to apply to any process in your company:

• Your sales process
• Your production processes
• Your hiring process

Level 1 – Focus on SOLUTION	Work is ad hoc and even chaotic. Success depends on individual efforts – often heroic. Not repeatable.
Level 2 – Focus on REPEATABILITY	The basic processes are in place to track progress,  costs, schedule and functionality. Discipline is in place to repeat earlier successes on projects with similar goals.
Level 3 – Focus on STANDARDIZATION	The process is documented (with work flow, training, instructions and exceptions noted) and confirmed as Standard Operating Procedure. More proactive than level 2.
Level 4 – Focus on METRICS	The process is managed quantitatively in accordance with agreed upon metrics. The process is “measured and controlled.”
Level 5 – Focus on OPTIMIZATION	Process management includes deliberate – and often continuous – process improvement and optimization.

 

Image Credit: By Entertainment Software Association (ESRB Ratings Brochure) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons