How do you measure business capability maturity?

1 What is business capability maturity?

A business capability is a stable and distinct set of abilities that a business needs to execute its strategy and create value for its stakeholders. For example, some common business capabilities are marketing, sales, product development, customer service, and finance. A business capability maturity model is a tool that describes the different stages of development and performance of a capability, from initial to optimized. A typical maturity model has five levels: initial, repeatable, defined, managed, and optimized. Each level has specific characteristics, benefits, and challenges that indicate the degree of maturity of the capability.

2 Why does business capability maturity matter?

Business capability maturity matters because it helps you understand the current state and the desired state of your business capabilities, and how they support your strategic objectives. By measuring the maturity of your capabilities, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your business architecture, and the opportunities and risks for improvement. You can also benchmark your capabilities against your competitors and industry standards, and monitor your progress over time. Measuring business capability maturity can help you make better decisions about where to invest your resources, how to prioritize your initiatives, and how to align your stakeholders.

3 How do you assess business capability maturity?

To assess the maturity of your business capabilities, you need to define the criteria and the metrics that you will use to evaluate them. You can use a generic maturity model, such as the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), or create a customized one that suits your specific context and goals. You also need to collect data and evidence from various sources, such as surveys, interviews, observations, documents, and systems, to support your assessment. You can use a simple scoring system, such as 1 to 5, to rate each capability according to the maturity level that it meets.

4 How do you use the results of your assessment?

Once you have assessed the maturity of your business capabilities, you can use the results to create a capability maturity map. A capability maturity map is a visual representation of the current and the target maturity levels of your capabilities, and the gaps between them. You can use a matrix, a spider chart, a heat map, or any other format that works for you. A capability maturity map can help you communicate the findings and the recommendations of your assessment to your stakeholders, and to plan and execute your improvement actions.

5 How do you improve your business capability maturity?

Improving your business capability maturity requires a systematic and continuous approach that involves defining your vision, setting your goals, designing your solutions, implementing your changes, and measuring your outcomes. You need to align your improvement efforts with your business strategy, and to balance the needs and expectations of your customers, employees, partners, and regulators. You also need to consider the interdependencies and the trade-offs between your capabilities, and to prioritize the ones that have the most impact on your value proposition and competitive advantage.

6 What are the benefits and challenges of measuring business capability maturity?

Measuring business capability maturity can bring many benefits to your business, such as increased efficiency and effectiveness of processes and operations, enhanced quality and consistency of products and services, improved customer satisfaction and loyalty, reduced costs and risks, increased innovation and agility, as well as strengthened alignment and collaboration across the organization. However, there are some challenges associated with measuring business capability maturity. These include defining clear criteria and metrics for each capability, collecting reliable data and evidence for assessment, handling complexity and ambiguity of the business environment, managing change resistance and cultural barriers, as well as ensuring ongoing commitment and support from leadership and stakeholders.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?