Käsittelykypsytyksen

Käsittelykypsytyksen, or processing maturity, refers to a systematic approach to measuring and improving the maturity of business or IT processes within an organization. The concept emerged in the 1980s and 1990s in response to growing complexity in enterprise operations and the need for structured quality improvement. It is often associated with models such as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), and ISO/IEC 15504 (SPICE), all of which provide graded levels of process maturity ranging from initial or ad hoc practices to optimized, continuously improving processes.

Assessment of a process’s maturity typically involves evaluating key characteristics such as defined governance, repeatability, measurement, standardisation, and optimisation. Organisations employ maturity models to identify gaps, benchmark their practices against industry standards, and prioritize improvement initiatives. The outcomes include enhanced process reliability, improved resource utilisation, better risk management, and increased stakeholder confidence.

Critics argue that maturity models can lead to bureaucratic overhead, overemphasis on process conformity at the expense of innovation, and difficulty in tailoring generic scales to specific contexts. Nevertheless, many companies find value in implementing maturity assessments as part of broader digital transformation or operational excellence programmes. The practice remains a widely referenced tool for organizations seeking to align their processes with best‑practice frameworks, quantify progress, and foster a culture of continuous improvement.