The 4PM Podcast

Project Management Maturity and Self-Assessment Tool

• Mounir Ajam • Season 1 • Episode 14

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In this eye-opening episode of the 4PM Podcast, your host Mounir Ajam challenges organizations to take an honest look at their Project Management Maturity. Too often, organizations assume they’re further along the maturity ladder than they really are. But where are you, really? And what can you do about it?

Tune in as we explore:

✅ What Project Management Maturity actually means (hint: it’s more than       just on-time, on-budget delivery)
✅ The five levels of maturity—where does your organization really stand?
✅ Why a self-assessment tool is a powerful mirror for growth
✅ The importance of leadership buy-in and culture in driving improvement
✅ How to transform project management from ad hoc heroics to a repeatable, reliable system

This episode, titled "Holding Up the Mirror," dives deep into how self-assessment can reveal hidden gaps, challenge assumptions, and ultimately build a more resilient, high-performing project management practice.

Whether you’re a project manager, PMO leader, executive, or someone rethinking how your organization delivers value, this episode will leave you with practical steps and inspiration to elevate your project delivery.

🎧 Listen now and start your journey to a stronger, more mature project management practice.

Explore more project management insights at www.urukpm.com

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the 4PM podcast, where ideas take shape and strategies find purpose. I am Mounir Ajam, founder and CEO of Uruk Project Management, and I have a deep-seated passion for project management and community development, growing on decades of global experience across diverse industries and roles. I am here to guide you through the transformative power of the 4PMs project program, product and portfolio management, and our focus on business integrated project management. Let's explore how integration unlocks unparalleled value for you and your organization. Good day, welcome to the 4PM Podcast. I'm your host, munir Ajam, and I'm excited to discuss a topic that is at the heart of building stronger, more effective project teams and organization and, frankly, better project outcome. Frankly, better project outcome. Our topic today is project management maturity and how a self-assessment tool can help you navigate that journey. You know I have been around the project management world for quite a while now. In that time, I have seen organization of all shapes and sizes struggle to figure out where their project management system stands or how they perform compared to their peers. I am not just talking about whether they can deliver a project on time or budget. I am addressing something deeper how mature their project management practices really are and whether they are truly set up for success in the long run. Now some of you might be thinking maturity sounds like one of those corporate buzzwords, but let me offer you a different mindset. It is much more than that. Project management maturity is about understanding how consistently and effectively your organization delivers projects, programs and its entire portfolio. It's about knowing whether you're relying on the heroics of a few talented individuals or whether your success is built on a solid, repeatable system that can stand the test of time, a system that integrates people, processes and technology. And that's where the idea of a self-assessment tool comes in. It's like holding up a mirror, not to criticize or point fingers, but to give you an honest look at where you are and where you can grow. The self-assessment tool could be eye-opening. It could challenge your beliefs and save you thousands of dollars. So in this episode, we will explore what project management maturity means, why it matters and how you can use a self-assessment tool to guide your journey toward higher levels of performance.

Speaker 1:

All right, please note that there is no standard model for project management maturity. However, most models use a five-step, stages or levels of maturity. Let's start by breaking down the five levels of project management maturity. Please think of these levels like steps on a ladder. Each step represents a different level of capability. Further, each one builds on the one before it and lead to a better overall performance.

Speaker 1:

Level one initial. At this level, processes are ad hoc, reactive and highly dependent on individuals assuming they exist. You know that one star performer who always seems to pull off a miracle at the last minute. And there's no standard way of working, no templates, no real lesson learned, just a lot of improvisation. Level two repeatable. Now we're starting to see some structure. Maybe the organization has a few templates floating around or a basic project plan that gets dusted off from time to time. There's some consistency, but it often varies from team to team and while that's a step forward, it's still fragile. Success often depends on who's running the show. However, keep in mind that organization might not reach this level without intent and implementing process improvement changes.

Speaker 1:

Level three defined. If an organization is implementing the necessary changes, they could reach level three. Here we see real progress. Processes are documented and standardized across the organization. There's a shared understanding of how projects should be managed and people are speaking the same language. Teams are working together more effectively and there's less reliance on individual heroics. At this level, organizations will start to see significant performance improvements. They will see their overall cost of project management drop, while projects performance and success increase.

Speaker 1:

Level four managed. This is where the magic start to happen. The organization is not just following processes, they're measuring them. Metrics are collected, trends are analyzed and decisions are based on data, not gut feelings. Risks are identified and managed proactively, and performance becomes more predictable. The organization is already performing well and, due to continual monitoring and analysis, it would be able to identify and fill the gaps.

Speaker 1:

Level 5, optimizing At the top of the ladder. The organization continues to focus on continuous improvement, in search of excellence. Lessons learned are systematically captured and fed back into the process to be used for future projects. New ideas are tested and innovation is embraced. It's a culture of lifelong learning, always striving to get better. It is about making tomorrow better than today.

Speaker 1:

Now I've seen organizations that think they're at level four or five, but when they actually do a self-assessment they realize they're closer to level two, and that's okay. The key is to understand where you really are so you can plan your next steps with confidence. The journey to excellence takes effort, dedication and resilience. So why does this matter? Why should we even bother with self-assessment. Let me share a quick story.

Speaker 1:

A few years ago, I was working with an organization that prided itself on its project management. They had a project management department, they had templates and they even had a fancy project management manual. On paper they looked solid, but when we started digging in asking the tough questions, it turned out that every team was interpreting those templates differently. There was no consistency in how they identified risks, no clarity on stakeholder engagement, and lessons learned were rarely documented, let alone shared. It was a situation where people did not practice per their system because they considered their manual and processes as outdated and forgotten. In other words, they were operating at level two, if not lower. However, they thought they had a higher level of maturity.

Speaker 1:

That's the danger of assuming rather than assessing. A self-assessment tool forces you to ask questions like are project objectives clearly defined and aligned with organizational goals? Do we identify and manage risks proactively, or do we wait for a problem to arise? As a result, they end up fighting fires? Is there a documented process and method that everyone follows, or is it more like figure it out as you go? How often do we review project performance and do we actually use those insights to improve? These questions are like shining a flashlight into the corners of your house. They help you see the dust in the cobweb you might have missed. Let's be clear this exercise should never be about blame. It's about building a stronger, more resilient organization that adapts and thrives.

Speaker 1:

Now let's talk about how to get started with a self-assessment tool. I always say start simple, but start honestly. First, go to wwwurukpmcom. Knowledge tab, tools and templates page. You will find the self-assessment tool. You might also find other tools of interest, but that is another subject for another day. Second, get buy-in from leadership. Without their support, the result of the assessment might just sit on a shelf collecting dust. We need commitment from the top to drive real change. Third, use the Orook tool we developed. It is a great starting point. This tool is excellent to identify the gaps. It is not a scoring model.

Speaker 1:

Fourth, be honest. Sugarcoating the answers won't help anyone. Be open about where you excel and where you need to grow. Stay focused on the current status, not where you hope to be. Fifth, analyze the results. Don't just look at the overall assessment. Dig into the details. Maybe your risk management processes are solid, but your stakeholder engagement needs work. That's where you'll find the gold.

Speaker 1:

Finally, and most importantly, create an action plan. Identify one or two priority areas to focus on first. Maybe it's developing a consistent approach to project planning, maybe it's investing in training for your project managers or project sponsors, or maybe it's setting up a community of practice to share lessons learned, tips and tricks and case studies. Remember, project management maturity is not about ticking boxes. It's about building a culture of continuous improvement, where every project, every lesson, every success and every failure becomes an opportunity to grow. All right, my friends, that brings us to the end of this episode.

Speaker 1:

We explored the five levels of project management maturity, the importance of self-assessment and how to get started on your own journey toward excellence. Remember, this is not a one-time exercise. It's an ongoing process of learning, adapting and striving to deliver value consistently and predictably, no matter where you are. Today, the most important thing is to start the conversation, to ask the tough question and to commit to building a stronger tomorrow and a more mature project management practice that delivers success consistently. I am Munir Ajam and I want to thank you for joining me on the 4PM Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave us a review and share it with your colleagues. Together, we can build a community of project managers who are not just managing projects, but delivering real, lasting value. Until next time, keep learning, growing and building a better future. Goodbye for now.