Project Management Maturity

[ for a stronger project organization ]

In an organization with a high level of maturity within project management maturity, the know-how within project management practices are widespread. The general knowledge of project management is high and everyone within the organization has the capabilities to shape his or her own role within a project regardless of if they’re the project manager, part of the steering group member or a project team member. In a mature project organization they ways of working are set in place and designed to ensure a high effectiveness, which is reflected in all projects and parts of the organization. Constant learning and continuous development are part of the everyday-work, which contributes to continuous improvement and adjustment to new prerequisites.

However, the reality for many organizations is seldomly mirrored by this description.

Different levels of knowledge within the organization

In the majority of organizations, the knowledge of project management practices is often skewed where part of the employees possess a solid knowledge of project management, but the knowledge gap between this group and the rest of the employees is often high. The ways of working within projects are often uneven throughout the organization – it works very well in certain areas and parts of the organization but rather poorly in others.

The bigger and the more project-intensive the organization is, the more relevant these aspects become. As such, it is also (at times) where the greatest benefits can be found. For example, by becoming skilled in judging which project to start, how many projects the organization can manage in parallel as well as by continuously evaluating and challenging the business case for ongoing projects the organization can better work to ensure that the right priorities are made.

How is project maturity measured?

The end goal of measuring an organization’s project maturity is to enable improvement and in turn identify actions to achieve project management maturity. Maybe there currently are obvious issues in the organization, maybe the size of or amount of projects will increase due to external circumstances, maybe there is a new strategic development that results in increased demands in terms of project management?

Often a combination of existing metrics that provide information about the project maturity along with a self-estimation that combines the obtaining of quantitative and qualitative data. Combining digital questionnaires, to large stakeholders groups, with in-depth interviews and adaptations with selected representatives and focus groups often provide an accurate picture of the situation. Based on this information, analyses are performed and valuable improvements suggested as well as how these are successfully implemented.

How can our consultants assist you on your organization’s project maturity journey?

Each organization often, themselves, have the best understanding of and insight into their organizational structure, history and culture, the respective divisions they work in and their prevailing conditions. These in turn are crucial insights for increasing the project maturity effectively.

What we bring to the table is a deep knowledge within the relevant international best practices on the subject (which we also help to develop) and experience of implementing project maturity actions in many of the hundreds of large Swedish companies that we have the privilege of working with. We’ll help you to, in an effective way, navigate through the jungle of theory, share our experience on what actions usually are successful, what challenges you might face, and make your journey towards increased project maturity quicker, safer and much more fun.

The work to increase project management maturity is a close collaboration between Arkatay and your organization. We shape ourselves and our actions to fill in the missing pieces, regardless if it concerns expertise, consulting or implementation in projects. In all that we do it is highly important that the changes are prepared, implemented and enhanced in a way that strengthen and stays with the organization longterm.

Examples of our services:

Establish or alter a project office or a project model
Measure project maturity and define ways for improvement
Measure the prerequisites and situation before a planned change
Ensure that the use of best practices are in place for a project or programme
Develop and educate project boards, steering groups and project teams
Develop and coach people individually
Support and facilitate important event, e.g. a kick-off, stakeholder management, communication, lessons learned, risk management

Are you interested in how your organization can increase its project maturity and become even better, as an organization, in managing successful projects? Don’t hesitate to contact us through the form below and we’ll further the dialogue together.