To be able to meet an increased competition through for instance globalization, and shorter product lifecycles, focus on performance control is central for organizations, where for instance processes and stakeholder orientation are central when continuously improving the operation of the organization.

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge of how process maturity can be linked to process management.

The following research questions have been formulated: 

• How does process theories relate to the integration of management systems? 

• How are process theories used within the field of process maturity?

• Which are the key elements in a process maturity model?

Regarding the first research question a literature review was conducted in order to find out how organizations are working with integration of management systems. The main focus of this study was how integration of management systems relates to processes and stakeholder involvement.

Secondly a literature review has been conducted on the concept of process maturity. The main aim was to find maturity models focusing on processes and process management, examine the structure of the maturity models used and explore how process management is described within different maturity models.

Thirdly a conceptual model for measuring process maturity has been constructed. The content of this model has mainly been based on findings from the literature review conducted on articles on process maturity as well as a literature review of Process Management literature.

Process maturity models are widely written about in literature. Many of these maturity applications and models have their origin in the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). The model origins are in software engineering. Process maturity levels are not clearly defined in process management terms. It could be that some customisation is needed when maturity models are applied in different fields and that this customisation could benefit from process management theory. This paper proposes a customised process maturity model with the purpose of assessing the current level of performance while also demonstrating what needs to be done to improve maturity.

Background Process Management is a popular management concept. There are several proposed models to assess process maturity.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study how process maturity is described in literature.

Methodology An extensive literature search has been carried out in Scopus using the search terms “process maturity” and “quality maturity”. Relevant articles found have been studied to see how work with Process Maturity is described.

Findings Process maturity could be defined as the degree to which a process is defined, managed, measured, and continuously improved.

Many maturity models consists of a five level scale.

The aim of working with maturity is twofold, either to measure the level of maturity in order to compare with other processes or to identify areas of improvement.

General effects of increased maturity are associated with better control of results, improved forecasting of goals, reduced costs, improved performance, and greater effectiveness.

According to this study, process and Process Management are only addressed in a minority or the articles.

Further research

According to this study there are at least two areas indicating needs of further research. Firstly, the fundamentals of Process Management seem to be missing when describing the work with process maturity. The second area is related to identification of approaches and methods for improving Process Maturity, since improving maturity is often addressed as “what” to do, not “how” to do.

Originality/value The paper provides new insights to process maturity.