Process Maturity Framework - A viable approach to ITIL maturity assessment

ITIL Continual Service Improvement (CSI) connects with every aspect of the service lifecycle. It can be applied to bring sustained improvement in IT performance, aligning to the ever-changing goals of your organization.

The most basic and important aspect of understanding improvement, is by knowing what to measure and then how these measures can be assessed, analyzed and used as a basis for delivering improvements to your customers. The ability to measure improvements and arrive at a ‘before and after’ comparison is essential in demonstrating the benefits of CSI and the value delivered.

Conducting a maturity assessment is a key component of a baseline assessment of the CSI model; it will identify potential improvement opportunities within your IT organization. This initiative will address current troublesome areas and highlight business critical IT processes which are at risk. Maturity assessment of a process will check its usability, drawing attention to activities that are both inefficient and ineffective.

Organizational Maturity refers to an ability to perform and assist in defining the scope of ITIL process adoption. Maturity models such as CMMI, PMF, and COBIT, define various progressive levels. In becoming competent to reach the next level, IT Organizations need to demonstrate maturity of its processes. The higher the level of Organizational maturity, the more improved will be the efficiency and effectiveness of your operations.

Using Process Maturity Framework for Assessment

Process Maturity Framework (PMF) is one of the many approaches that can be used to conduct maturity assessment of an IT Organization, as a whole or just a particular process. ITIL’s Continual Service Improvement Publication (version 2011) recommends PMF as a tool for maturity assessment.

Process maturity is mainly dependent on the ‘maturity’ and ‘capability’ of the operating processes within an IT Organization. One of the criteria for implementing PMF is the use of Quality Management System (QMS) and a defined Business goal.

PMF is applied across five levels of the IT Organization; each level is attached to attributes as outlined below:

Level 1 - Loosely defined, undocumented, reactive, unplanned.
Level 2 - Defined, documented, largely reactive, unplanned, unmeasured.
Level 3 - Clearly defined, good documentation, planned, measured, somewhat automated.
Level 4 - Well-defined, mainly proactive, continuously improved, automated.
Level 5 - Well-defined, proactive, business value focus, fully automated.

A tool or framework is only as good as the people who appreciate and use it effectively to benefit the business. The complex interplay between processes, technology and people should be recognized early and handled with care. In PMF, the implementation team should consider the ‘softer’ dimensions that cut-across the five maturity levels.

Vision and Strategy – The overall direction from senior management for improvements in the organizational processes.
Steering – The objectives and goals of IT aligned with organizational strategy.
Processes – Procedures required in achieving business goals and objectives.
People – The skills and abilities needed to perform the “processes”.
Technology – Supporting infrastructure that will enable the processes to be carried-out.
Culture – Behavior and attitude of IT in relation to business objectives.

Once the maturity level is determined, three different approaches are available for adoption of appropriate business priority processes:

Single process approach
Multi process approach
All process approach

ITIL recommends use of Single process approach for the lower maturity levels.

How does PMF benefit your organization?

Provides the baseline to create a roadmap for your organization to gain a competitive advantage in the market place. 

Effective maturity assessment can play a key role in prioritizing investments. Shows opportunities to improve and identify required standards, processes, procedures and facilitate continuous improvements in your organization. Decision making is a lot faster if you know what to improve and when.

The results of PMF are a starting point in understanding the relationship of processes aligned to the strategic goals of the organization; this will thereby assist in determining the most optimal way of implementing ITIL best practices in your Organization. At the end of the day, it is the ‘Business’ that drives the value of the IT service delivery.

There are many methods and techniques used to assess the maturity level of an IT organization; each organization should choose what will work best for them. However, PMF is one such assessment framework that blends well with ITIL Continual Service Improvement, its goals and objectives.

3gamma has extensive experience in implementing maturity assessments, service integration and complex change-programs in companies across a wide range of industries.

Please contact us at 3gamma for more information and to share your goals.

Archana Kulkarni
3gamma India

If you’d like to know more about how 3gamma can help your business get the great IT it deserves, contact us now.