C HAPTER 13 Measurement of Organizational Maturity :

Abstract

Introduction There are a growing number of maturity models being provided to organizations, either directly or indirectly, to assist with the assessment of how mature an organization is (Cooke-Davies, 2004a). At the same time, there is an intense interest inside organizations in the topic of how best to measure project performance, particularly on the part of those concerned with governance, portfolio management, and enterprise-wide project management (Egberding & Cooke-Davies, Unpublished). Thus, in theory at least, it should be possible to assess how mature a project-based organization is by looking at a combination of what aspects of project performance or project management practice it measures, and what the results of those measurements show. Unfortunately, before an organization’s suite of metrics can show stakeholders how mature the organization is, there are a number of significant problems to overcome. Four of them in particular are worthy of mention: There is no generally agreed definition of what a mature project-based organization looks like. Different maturity models embody both different concepts and different suggestions as to the route to maturity (Cooke-Davies, Schlichter, & Bredillet, 2001) 1 The whole field of capability and maturity studies is a semantic minefield, with specific technical meanings for certain words being very different from the normally accepted breadth of use in common speech. (Cooke-Davies, 2004a) 2 The question of project success is hugely complex, and although there is general agreement on some points, there is wide disagreement on others. (Baker, Murphy, & Fisher, 1988; Crawford, 2000; Cooke-Davies, 2004b; De Wit, 1988; Morris & Hough, 1987; Pinto & Slevin, 1988) 3 Both measures and maturity models are based on an implicit theory of projects that may not be the most appropriate one (Melgrati & Damiani, 2002). The linked questions of maturity and measurement, however, are important to project managers employed in major organizations, since many of their employers are taking the axe to project management departments through downsizing, outsourcing, elimination, or dispersion to business units. The communications gulf between the boardroom and project management departments has never been wider or deeper (Thomas, Delisle, & Jugdev, 2002). What this means is that despite these complications and uncertainties, it is important for project management research to shed such light as it can on both aspects of the two inter-related questions: whether there is a set of measures that can show how mature a project-based organization is; and what benefits such maturity might confer on its stakeholders? Since there are fragmentary results from many different pieces of research that provide clues to this complex question, but none that can provide either a complete answer or even certainty about whether such an answer is possible, this paper will draw widely on different pieces of research in order to answer the question, “What are the relevant questions about maturity and metrics for a project-based organization to answer, and what are the implications for project management research?” Four relevant questions Perhaps the most helpful way of discussing the topic is by examining each of the relevant questions in turn, and reviewing both what the research has to offer on the subject and what questions still remain. There are four such questions that this paper will examine: 1 What is meant by the term maturity, in the context of organizational project management? 2 Does maturity mean the same thing in different industries and for different kinds of projects? 3 Is maturity an asset to project-based organizations? If so, how? 4 How can maturity be assessed? What aspects of projects and project management should be measured?