While a maturity assessment is one of the more nebulous evaluations that can be applied to a business or project, it is at the same time one of the most valuable in the long run. While many individuals are familiar with the five points, starting at the initial, then to the repeatable, defined, managed, and eventually optimized point, applying these data points can sometimes be difficult. The advantage of gaining the most insight into this graph is that the chaotic nature of growth can be stabilized. Fortune 500 companies didn’t get so successful overnight; they had to manage their growth well.
- Initial Chaotic Stage:
- The Repeatable Stage:
- Defined:
- Managed:
- The Optimization Step:
This is where it all begins. This is the point where a startup is just a couple of intelligent individuals brainstorming a startup or project. While many people leave this out of their assessment, according to online masters degree in business management course materials while in this chaos stage it is important to do research and surveillance to determine what major roadblocks exist that need to be overcome, as well as the best overall course of action to take. This is the point where a radical change of the nature of the project is possible. The more mature a company or project is, the harder it is to change. Build the foundation well at this stage.
At this point, the project or business should be less brainstorming and more about creating strategies and repeatable tasks to success. The problems defined in stage one should be overcome easily no matter how many times they are encountered. Also, the mechanism towards progress in a project or towards profit should be identified so it can be repeated. Deliverables that require a skill base or resources that can’t be easily re-acquired should be phased out. When you know what can be consistently overcome and what can be consistently delivered, your company or project has evolved to the next step.
At this point, the project is half way to complete efficiency. Now it is important to define these repeatable deliverables in such a way that they can survive market changes. While in the second stage, you may have contacted a certain vendor for all your products. With the definition stage, it is important to define the nature of the product in such a way that if that vendor is no longer available, it won’t be a long roadblock because there are criteria established for finding other suitable resources. It is at this point that the pieces of success are analyzed so they can be managed and optimized later. The more areas where you can define control of the project or business, the more power you will have to optimize and manage it.
At this point, the company should be growing steadily, or the project should be going along at a satisfactory rate. This step involves solidifying the company to protect it from outside market factors. Here the elements of the company or project that were defined in the previous step have personnel or software assigned to manage them. This way, if an essential piece becomes obsolete or leaves the company, such as a computer or professional, there are mechanisms to replace the defunct part of the project and quickly get back to providing those repeatable processes. Also, this is where a project or company starts to root out the most efficient solutions to problems. Part of proper management is quantifying progress with more than just benchmarks like in the previous three steps.
At this point, there is an established management structure, and the company or project can whether obstacles, changes in the market, slight changes in project nature, and other chaotic factors. On the optimization stage, it’s time to see how much the right amount is. While you created a management structure, do you need that much management? Can you find better prices with other customers or vendors? All this tiny tweaking is what takes a thriving company to a fortune 500 company. The key here is to find the tiny 1 and 2 percent of efficiencies, and fully grasp them because those tiny margins add up big over time. This is especially true of large projects and businesses. Enjoy growing your business.