How to Assess Your Project Management Maturity
Understanding how mature your organization is in managing projects can be a game-changer for success. Whether you’re leading a small business or working within a large enterprise, using a maturity model to reflect on your current practices helps identify strengths, areas for improvement, and steps for growth.
Why Assess Project Management Maturity?
Assessing project management maturity helps organizations:
Make better, data-driven decisions
Increase efficiency and reduce waste
Improve consistency in delivery
Align projects more effectively with strategy
Identify targeted improvement opportunities
Establish credibility with clients and stakeholders
One widely recognized model for this is P3M3®
(Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model), developed by the UK Government’s OGC and now owned by AXELOS.
While P3M3 covers portfolios and programmes as well, this post focuses on assessing project management maturity.
The Five Maturity Levels
P3M3 uses a five-level scale to describe how embedded and effective an organization’s processes are:
Awareness – Processes are unpredictable and ad hoc.
Repeatable – Basic processes are established, though inconsistently applied.
Defined – Standard processes are documented and consistently used.
Managed – Processes are measured and controlled.
Optimized – Continuous improvement is embedded in the culture.
Self-Assessment: 9 Key Questions
Below are nine areas to reflect on. For each, select which best describes your organization.
1. Which best describes your project management maturity?
a) Inconsistent and based on individual preferences
b) Managed by trained individuals but with inconsistencies
c) Standardized and documented processes organization-wide
d) Data-driven performance management
e) Optimized and strategically aligned
2. How effectively are your projects controlled and directed throughout their lifecycle?
a) Inconsistent terminology and methods
b) Localized control by experienced individuals
c) Consistent controls and standard methods
d) Integrated with strategy and measured
e) Evaluated and optimized continuously
3. How well does your organization manage and realize benefits from project outcomes?
a) Benefits not formally tracked
b) Business cases refer to benefits inconsistently
c) Benefits tracking framework in place
d) Performance-focused and embedded
e) Aligned with business strategy
4. How effectively are financial resources managed in your projects?
a) Minimal controls
b) Varying quality of business cases
c) Defined standards and oversight
d) Effective cost tracking and modeling
e) Integrated financial controls
5. How well does your organization manage risks in projects?
a) Recognition of risk but no active process
b) Inconsistent application
c) Defined and followed framework
d) Embedded risk behavior
e) Integrated and continuously improved
6. How effectively are stakeholders identified and engaged?
a) Rarely considered
b) Dependent on individual project managers
c) Consistent, centralized approach
d) Quantitative engagement methods
e) Optimized based on deep insight
7. How well is project delivery aligned with strategic objectives?
a) Informal governance
b) Emerging controls
c) Consistent and aligned controls
d) Integrated decision-making
e) Embedded at executive level
8. How effectively are resources (people, tools, etc.) managed?
a) No systematic management
b) Inconsistent practices
c) Defined processes
d) Strategic planning and flexibility
e) Optimal use and knowledge retention
9. What best describes your organization’s overall capability in project management?
a) Projects are informal and inconsistent
b) Minimum standards applied inconsistently
c) Centrally controlled, with flexibility
d) Performance metrics collected
e) Proactive improvement
What’s Next?
Use your answers to identify patterns—are you consistently at a Level 2 or 3? Which areas could move up with some targeted effort?
You can create a scorecard and revisit it every 6–12 months to track your growth.
Other models worth exploring include:
CMMI® (Capability Maturity Model Integration)
OPM3® (Organizational Project Management Maturity Model)
ISO/IEC 33001 standards
Want a worksheet or presentation-ready version of this? Drop us a message—we’ve got templates to help you get started!