Combining Stakeholder Interviews with a Maturity Assessment Tool
In the last two articles we covered a stakeholder interview-type assessment and then a qualitative maturity assessment tool that enables measurement of progress toward higher levels of business process maturity.
The example we had used for a qualitative assessment tool was maturity of a continuous improvement initiative. However, there are several business-process focus areas that can benefit from a stakeholder interviews and a customized qualitative maturity assessment.
Some examples include:
- Project Management / PMOs (Define, Approve, Execute & Monitor, Close)
- Supply Chain (Plan, Source, Order, Make, Fulfill, Return)
- Product Lifecycle Process (Define, Design, Develop, Qualify, Limited Availability, End of Life)
The stakeholder interviews can provide baseline knowledge to create a comprehensive improvement plan and maturity assessment. Any gaps or process problems can then be integrated and addressed in the assessment, which also provides a measure of progress.
Know what your initiative ideal state looks like, measure and plan accordingly
Recall there are two sub-categories (1) enablers and (2) stages of progress toward a higher maturity level:
Generic enablers are proposed as follows:
- Strategy
- Leadership and Governance
- Tools & Infrastructure
- Organizational Development
- Process Ownership and Management
- Value Chain Focus
- Key Performance Indicators
Reading through this list, if all these enablers were in place (or mature) we’d be in pretty good shape on any given business process focus area.
Let’s say stakeholder interviews are performed focusing on how projects are managed. Categories of interview questions are focused on how projects are defined, approved, execute & monitored and closed. A customized assessment tool can be developed with enablers that address the stakeholder-identified problems, issues and opportunities.
(Note, however, a fundamental question to be answered: are the proposed enablers supported by the initiative champions? Perhaps improved tools & infrastructure or organizational development is out-of-scope. These are important constraints to acknowledge…)
Each of the enablers can be assessed according to high-level outcomes per the following stages:
Stage 1 – Foundations for Excellence
Stage 2 – Localized Improvement
Stage 3 – Enterprise Improvement
Stage 4 – Process Optimization
Stage 5 – Pursuit of Perfection
Let’s say stakeholder interviews are performed focusing on how projects are managed. Categories of interview questions are focused on how projects are defined, approved, execute & monitored and closed. Problems, issues and opportunities are identified and a customized assessment tool is developed. (The goal is to ensure our measurement of progress aligned with the addressing the stakeholder-identified problems, issues and opportunities.
Below is a proposed example matrix with some made-up data for a relatively new project management process improvement initiative. Enablers and stages were customized according to the objective of implementing a PMO/project management improvement strategy
In this example, we highlight the first stage of the initiative. Recall the proposed criteria for this ranking is
| 0) | No evidence | |
| 1) | Awareness | Awareness inadequacy exists, just getting started |
| 2) | Planning | Basic scope defined, first steps taken, isolated implementation |
| 3) | Understanding | Basic plans/systems in place, exhibits some of the time, glitches still happen |
| 4) | Commitment | Exhibits characteristics most of the time, capable/focused implementation in place |
| 5) | Habit | Exhibits all of the time for all cases |
In this new initiative there is need to emphasize awareness and planning for “project team governance & leadership”, “organizational development”, “tools & infrastructure” and focus on projects that have the most value. (Among other things, clarified roles and responsibilities and training of the process participants would provide foundational awareness, planning and improved understanding of project management excellence.)
In summary, there are several benefits to this stakeholder-interview / maturity assessment approach:
- Seek first to understand
- Understand enablers that are in-scope or out-of-scope
- Establish a plan to close gaps
- Measure progress toward plan implementation & gap closure