Maturity Matrix Research Articles

A maturity model for assessing the completeness of climate data records

The demand for climate information, with long observational records spanning decades to centuries and the information's broad application for decision making across many socioeconomic sectors, requires that geophysicists adopt more rigorous processes for the sustained production of climate data records (CDRs). Such processes, methods, and standards are more typically found in the systems engineering community and have not generally been adopted in the climate science community. We propose the use of a maturity matrix for climate data records that characterizes the process of moving from a basic research product (e.g., raw data and initial product) to a sustained and routinely generated product (e.g., a quality‐controlled homogenized data set). This model of increasing product and process maturity is similar to NASA's technical readiness levels for flight hardware and instrumentation and the software industry's capability maturity model. Over time, engineers who have worked on many projects developed a set of best practices that identified the processes required to optimize cost, schedule, and risk. In the NASA maturity model, they identified steps in technology readiness, denoted as the technology readiness level (TRL). TRL 1 occurs when basic research has taken the first steps toward application. TRL 9 is when a technology has been fully proven to work consistently for the intended purpose and is operational.

Development of the Maturity Matrix Dentistry (MMD): a primary care dental team development tool

To adapt the Maturity Matrix (a self-evaluation practice development tool for medical primary care teams) for dentistry, creating the Maturity Matrix Dentistry (MMD), a team development tool for general dental practices. The MMD was adapted by a multi-organisational dental working group and run from within the dental section, Wales Deanery. Individual feedback questionnaires were issued and the results used to refine the tool. It was piloted twice with a total of 67 practices (563 participants) with 104 participating twice. The MMD was considered a useful tool for dental practices; agreement was high across job roles. Following participant feedback, refinement was made to the terminology used and the ordering of some of the dimensions. Facilitator involvement in the group session was highly valued. In the pilot, 97% indicated they intended to use the MMD to improve practice and 77% said they would use it to carry out an audit. Of those participating in a second visit, 78% reported an improvement against the dimensions and 83% had carried out an audit or were in the process of doing so. Dental teams indicated high levels of satisfaction with the process, and self-reported improvements against the MMD dimensions are encouraging for future use.

A new tool for assessing maturity alignment: The enterprise maturity matrix

This article presents the enterprise maturity matrix, a new maturity model. Maturity misalignment is one of the major reasons that many change initiatives fail. Performance improvement professionals can use this matrix to diagnose the current internal state of the organization, articulate the desired future state, and coordinate change solutions. Maturity alignment indicates that an organization must implement the appropriate managerial and operational processes and systems in accordance with the desired maturity level.

Documenting organisational development in general practice using a group-based assessment method: the Maturity Matrix

The Maturity Matrix (MM) comprises a formative evaluation instrument for primary care practices to self-assess their degree of organisational development in a group setting, guided by an external facilitator. The practice teams discuss organisational development, score their own performance and set improvement goals for the following year. The objective of this project was to introduce a translated and culturally adapted version of the MM in Denmark, to test its feasibility, to promote and document organisational change in general practices and to analyse associations between the recorded change(s) and structural factors in practices and the factors associated with the MM process. MM was used by general practices in three counties in Denmark, in two assessment sessions 1 year apart. First rounds of MM visits were carried out in 2006-2007 in 60 practice teams (320 participants (163 GPs, 157 staff)) and the second round in 2007-2008. A total of 48 practice teams (228 participants (117 GPs; 111 staff) participated in both sessions. The MM sessions were the primary intervention. Moreover, in about half of the practices, the facilitator reminded practice teams of their goals by sending them the written report of the initial session and contacted the practices regularly by telephone reminding them of the goals they had set. Those practice teams had password-protected access to their own and benchmark data. Where the minimum possible is 0 and maximum possible is 8, the mean overall MM score increased from 4.4 to 5.3 (difference=0.9, 95%, CI 0.76 to 1.06) from first to second sessions, indicating that development had taken place as measured by this group-based self-evaluation method. There was some evidence that lower-scoring dimensions were prioritised and more limited evidence that the prioritisation and interventions between meetings were helpful to achieve changes. This study provides evidence that MM worked well in general practices in Denmark. Practice teams appeared to be learning about the process, directing their efforts more efficiently after a year's experience of the project. This experience also informs the further improvement of the facilitation and follow-up components of the intervention.

Facilitating organisational development using a group-based formative assessment and benchmarking method: design and implementation of the International Family Practice Maturity Matrix

IntroductionWell-organised practices deliver higher-quality care. Yet there has been very little effort so far to help primary care organisations achieve higher levels of team performance and to help them identify...

Assessing organisational development in European primary care using a group‐based method

The Maturity Matrix is a tool designed in the U.K. to assess family practice organisational development and to stimulate quality improvement. It is practice-led, formative and undertaken by a practice team with the help of trained facilitators. The aim of this study is to assess the Maturity Matrix as a tool and an organisational development measure in European family practice settings. Using a convenience sample of 153 practices and 11 facilitators based in the U.K., Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Slovenia, feasibility was assessed against six criteria: completion; coverage; distribution; scaling; translation; and missing data. Information sources were responses to evaluation questionnaires by facilitators and completed Maturity Matrix profiles. All practices taking part completed the Maturity Matrix sessions successfully. The Netherlands, the U.K. and Germany site staff suggested including additional dimensions: interface between primary and secondary care; access; and management of expendable materials. Maturity Matrix scores were normally distributed in each country. Scaling properties, translation and missing data suggested that the following dimensions are most robust across the participating countries: clinical performance audit; prescribing; meetings; and continuing professional development. Practice size did not make a significant difference to the Maturity Matrix profile scores. The study suggests that the Maturity Matrix is a feasible and valuable tool, helping practices to review organisational development as it relates to healthcare quality. Future research should focus on developing dimensions that are generic across European primary care settings.

Selbstbewertung und Qualitätsentwicklung in der primärmedizinischen Versorgung: Ergebnisse der deutschen Pilotstudie mit der Internationalen Maturity Matrix

The International Maturity Matrix has been developed with the aim to provide a European instrument for a facilitated self-assessment of primary care organisations. It covers seven dimensions; their implementation is evaluated by the whole practice team on six theoretically-founded levels of organisational development. The present paper will report the results of the German pilot study with 22 participating primary care practices. The purpose of the study was to test the feasibility of self-assessment with the International Maturity Matrix which, in addition to the practice team's self-assessment, also contains the development of options for improvement on the basis of benchmarking the practice's individual achievements with the results of the other participating practices. To summarise, the survey shows positive results for the participating practices; in two meetings, the time-saving process allows for sharing the different perspectives of the practice team members, identifying relevant strengths and weaknesses and developing ideas for improvement motivated by the benchmarking. These results can be interpreted as first promising indications of the high feasibility of the self-assessment process with the International Maturity Matrix. First applications of the International Maturity Matrix in different medical disciplines have been started.

GP and staff evaluation of the maturity matrix as a tool to assess and improve organisational development in primary care

This paper aims to evaluate the maturity matrix (MM) a facilitated formative self-assessment tool for organisational development in primary care) on satisfaction, differences between GP and staff, the extent to which practice teams worked on goals set, and to identify suggestions for change to MM. The approach taken was a cross-sectional survey administered to all participants by mail in 57 family practices, 278 participants, (143 GPs; 135 staff) in Denmark, one year after participating in the MM project. At practice level 44 returned at least one questionnaire. At participant level, 144 returned the questionnaire: 82 GPs; 62 staff. A total of 93 gave positive statements on satisfaction with MM, 16 stated initial expectations were not met, 79 would recommend MM to colleagues. Differences between GPs and staff were only statistically significant regarding "increased insight into organisation of work after participation in the MM project". There was a tendency that GPs were more positive and likely to give an opinion. A total of 22 planned how to meet the goals set at the first MM meeting and 18 felt that they achieved them. In 24 out of 44 practices MM was stated to contribute new ways of working. A total of 12 of 144 stated that they needed more follow-up support. The results indicate that MM is a workable method to assess and gain insight into practice organisation with no major differences between GPs and staff. The paper examines participants views' on MM one year after introduction.

Guidelines for assessing the knowledge management maturity of organizations

In a recent article Kruger and Snyman hypothesized that progressions in knowledge management maturity (from a strategic perspective) are directly related to an increased ability to speed up the strategic cycle of imitation, consolidation and innovation. The arguments proposed, however, neglected to supply the reader with a practical toolkit or even a roadmap (a time-related matrix, or questionnaire) to successfully measure succession in knowledge management maturity. This article builds on the previous one and proposes a questionnaire consisting of six sections, containing 101 descriptive questions, to enable organizations to test and assess their knowledge management maturity empirically. The development of an instrument to measure knowledge management maturity required adhering to a research design that combined theoretical propositions with practical experimentation. As a point of departure, a knowledge management maturity matrix consisting of seven maturity levels was formulated. All questions contained within the matrix were benchmarked against a survey questionnaire developed by the public management service of the OECD (PUMA) and were also pre-tested and validated. This process of refinement led to the formulation of the Knowledge Management Maturity Questionnaire. To avoid any taint of this research being based only on theoretical propositions, the questionnaire was tested by 178 master students of the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in nine different industries. The proposed questionnaire provides a bridge between theoretical propositions and practical usability, not only enabling knowledge management practitioners to assess the level of knowledge management maturity reached successfully but, more importantly, also serving as a guideline to institutionalize further and future knowledge management endeavours.

The Adoption of IS/IT Investment Evaluation and Benefits Realization Methodologies in Service Organizations: IT Maturity Paths and Framework

This research examines the relationship between the levels of IT maturity and the use of IS/IT investment evaluation and benefits realization methodologies via case studies and survey in the service sector. The findings indicate that IT maturity has a positive impact on the adoption of IS/IT investment evaluation and benefits realization approaches. A major contribution of this research is the development of an IS/IT maturity, investment evaluation and benefit realization methodologies matrix via the case studies. The matrix can assist service organizations in making and substantiating better business decisions. The relationship between the level of IT maturity and the use of IS/IT investment evaluation and benefit realization methods has been further tested and validated in the subsequent survey. (BAI2006 Paper ID: 6245)

Developing a facilitation model to promote organisational development in primary care practices.

BackgroundThe relationship between effective organisation of general practices and health improvement is widely accepted. The Maturity Matrix is an instrument designed to assess organisational development in general practice settings and to stimulate quality improvement. It is undertaken by a practice team with the aid of a facilitator. There is a tradition in the primary care systems in many countries of using practice visitors to educate practice teams about how to improve. However the role of practice visitors as facilitators who enable teams to plan practice-led organisational development using quality improvement instruments is less well understood. The objectives of the study were to develop and explore a facilitation model to support practice teams in stimulating organisational development using a quality improvement instrument called the Maturity Matrix. A qualitative study based on transcript analysis was adopted.MethodA model of facilitation was constructed based on a review of relevant literature. Audio tapes of Maturity Matrix assessment sessions with general practices were transcribed and facilitator skills were compared to the model. The sample consisted of two facilitators working with twelve general practices based in UK primary care.ResultsThe facilitation model suggested that four areas describing eighteen skills were important. The four areas are structuring the session, obtaining consensus, handling group dynamics and enabling team learning. Facilitators effectively employed skills associated with the first three areas, but less able to consistently stimulate team learning.ConclusionThis study suggests that facilitators need careful preparation for their role and practices need protected time in order to make best use of practice-led quality improvement instruments. The role of practice visitor as a facilitator is becoming important as the need to engender ownership of the quality improvement process by practices increases.

Assessing organisational development in primary medical care using a group based assessment: the Maturity Matrix.

To design and develop an instrument to assess the degree of organisational development achieved in primary medical care organisations. An iterative development, feasibility and validation study of an organisational assessment instrument. Primary medical care organisations. Primary care teams and external facilitators. Responses to an evaluation questionnaire, qualitative process feedback, hypothesis testing, and quantitative psychometric analysis (face and construct validity) of the results of a Maturity Matrix assessment in 55 primary medical care organisations. Evaluations by 390 participants revealed high face validity with respect to its usefulness as a review and planning tool at the practice level. Feedback from facilitators suggests that it helped practices to prioritise their organisational development. With respect to construct validity, there was some support for the hypothesis that training and non-training status affected the degree and pattern of organisational development. The size of the organisation did not have a significant impact on the degree of organisational development. This practice based facilitated group evaluation method was found to be both useful and enjoyable by the participating organisations. Psychometric validation revealed high face validity. Further developments are in place to ensure acceptability for summative work (benchmarking) and formative feedback processes (quality improvement).

Petrography of the Siwalik sandstones, Amlekhganj-Suparitar area, central Nepal Himalaya

Middle Miocene to early Pleistocene sedimentary sequence deposited in the foreland basin of the Himalaya is represented by the Siwalik Group. In the present study area the Siwalik Group extends in a NW-SE direction and well-exposed. Forty­four sandstone samples were studied for texture, fabric and composition in order to assess their petrographic properties and variation trends of these properties in stratigraphic levels. Sandstones were classified into sublitharenite, subarkose, lithic arenite, arkosic arenite and feldspathic graywacke and further thirteen sub-clans. Mean grain size (M) and Trask sorting coefficient (So) increase up-section. Recalculated quartz, matrix, modified maturity index (MMI), total cement (Ct), cement versus matrix index (CMI) and ratio of strong cement over total cement ((Cfc/Cs)/Ct) also increase, whilst packing proximity (PP), packing density (PD) and consolidation factor (Pcc) decrease up-section showing distinct trends, and therefore, these properties are promising in recognizing the older sandstones from the younger ones.

2.3.2 Idealized Front End Process and Maturity Matrix: A Tool for Self‐Assessment of Process Maturity Leading Up to Product Launch Decisions

AbstractTo better characterize the processes used to generate requirements for new products (a.k.a., the “fuzzy front end” of product development), product development literature was extensively reviewed to identify best practices. An idealized front‐end process model was developed from this literature review and then through an iterative process involving empirical field research, used to create a maturity‐based assessment tool. 17 enterprises engaged in new product development provided data for case studies on the front end of product development and the processes used in requirements generation. Using these case study data, the 17 organizations were scored using the assessment tool to identify the organizations that had the most mature front‐end processes in place. The highest‐performing organizations were compared with the lowest‐performing organizations to identify specific practices that differentiated their performance.

1.5.3 Lifecycle Value Framework for Tactical Aircraft Product Development

AbstractDue to a dramatic reduction in defense procurement, the benchmark for developing new defense systems today is mission effectiveness at an affordable cost, i.e. best value. In an attempt to encircle a more holistic perspective of value, lifecycle value has evolved as a concept within the Lean Aerospace Initiative, LAI. The implication of this is development of products incorporating lifecycle and long‐term focus instead of a shortsighted cost cutting focus. The interest to reduce total cost of ownership while still improving performance, availability, and sustainability, other dimensions taken into account within the lifecycle value approach, falls well within this context. Several factors prevent enterprises from having a holistic perspective during product development. Some important aspects are increased complexity of the products and significant technological uncertainty. The combination of complexity in system design and the limits of individual human comprehension typically prevent a best value solution to be envisioned. The purpose of this research was to examine relative contributions in product development and determine factors that significantly promote abilities to consider and achieve lifecycle value. This paper contributes a maturity matrix based on effective practices and lessons learned through extensive interview based case studies of three tactical aircraft programs, including experiences from more than 100 interviews.

A maturity matrix for developing employee satisfaction measurement practices

A survey of the UK "Times" Top 500 companies and five in-depth case studies are used to investigate the growth in use of "soft" employee-related measures, and the paths of companies striving for "best practice" in this arena. The use of such data in the Business Excellence Model and the Balanced Scorecard is explored, leading to the identification of factors that inhibit and facilitate progress. The factors include companies' learning focus, their quality orientation, and their "support" strategies (for example, strategic orientation and the basis of pay and reward). A systems model highlights the interrelationships between the identified facilitators and inhibitors, and parallels with research in the wider measurement arena lead to suggestions for the development of generic measurement theory.

Self‐assessment practices in Europe and Australia

Based on two quality management self‐assessment survey projects conducted in Europe and Australia, the authors compare practices in these parts of the world. The main questions addressed are: why do organisations use self‐assessment?, how do they implement self‐assessment?, and what are the benefits which they obtain from it? Findings suggest companies in both regions differ slightly in how they implement self‐assessment. Both internal and external factors driving self‐assessment are identified, although in the case of Australia there are two different internal factors. One is related to rejuvenating flagging interest in TQM. Several approaches to self‐assessment are also identified including: assessor driven, management driven, employee driven and tools and techniques driven. Some variations between the two samples were identified here. Analysis of the links between success with self‐assessment and methods used suggested that a management driven approach which may be combined with a quality maturity matrix tended to work best.

A benchmarking tool for change management

Describes a benchmarking tool to help organizations to be more effective in the way they manage change. The tool, a best practice model for change, links five key success factors with the change process ‐ commitment, social and cultural issues, communication, tools and methodology and interactions. It works on the basis that, by applying these key success factors to the change process itself, more effective change will be achieved. The model has potential use at all levels within an organization. It allows the organization to assess and quantify its “maturity” in change management, using a maturity matrix, and identify subsequent actions for improvement.

APPLIED SYSTEMS ENGINEERING METRICS

AbstractThis paper demonstrates a step‐wise approach to the application of metrics to the requirements development portion of the systems engineering process as illustrated in Figure 1. The application to each phase of the product life cycle is also described, and the System Maturity Matrix (SMM) approach to product development is presented. The SMM use of metrics is part of an evolving approach to use in‐process assessment of the status of product development, as opposed to more traditional post‐process approaches which rely heavily upon developer reviews at the end of each development phase.