Can you explain the different maturity levels in a staged representation? Ans. There are five maturity levels in a staged representation as shown in the following figure. Maturity Level 1 (Initial): In this level everything is adhoc. Development is completely chaotic with budget and schedules often exceeded. In this scenario we can never predict quality. Maturity Level 2 (Managed): In the managed level basic project management is in place. But the basic project management and practices are followed only in the project level. Maturity Level 3 (Defined): To reach this level the organization should have already achieved level 2. In the previous level the good practices and process were only done at the project level. But in this level all these good practices and processes are brought to the organization level. There are set and standard practices defined at the organization level which every project should follow. Maturity Level 3 moves ahead with defining a strong, meaningful, organizational approach to developing products. An important distinction between Maturity Levels 2 and 3 is that at Level 3, processes are described in more detail and more rigorously than at Level 2 and are at an organization level. Maturity Level 4 (Quantitatively measured): To start with, this level of organization should have already achieved Level 2 and Level 3. In this level, more statistics come into the picture. Organization controls the project by statistical and other quantitative techniques. Product quality, process performance, and service quality are understood in statistical terms and are managed throughout the life of the processes. Maturity Level 4 concentrates on using metrics to make decisions and to truly measure whether progress is happening and the product is becoming better. The main difference between Levels 3 and 4 are that at Level 3, processes are qualitatively predictable. At Level 4, processes are quantitatively predictable. Level 4 addresses causes of process variation and takes corrective action. Maturity Level 5 (Optimized): The organization has achieved goals of maturity levels 2, 3, and 4. In this level, processes are continually improved based on an understanding of common causes of variation within the processes. This is like the final level; everyone on the team is a productive member, defects are minimized, and products are delivered on time and within the budget boundary. The following figure shows, in detail, all the maturity levels in a pictorial fashion.