Centre for Technology Management

A maturity grid appraoch to the assessment of product development collaborations

P Fraser, University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering
M Gregory, University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a maturity grid for assessing the management of product development collaborations. Data is derived from literature and from case studies of twelve collaborative development projects involving UK SMEs. Seven key process areas are defined: Collaboration strategy, Structured development process, System design and task partitioning, Partner selection, Project initiation, Partnership (project) management and Partnership development. The collaboration maturity grid (CMG) describes each of these key process areas at four levels of maturity. The CMG model has been field-tested through a combination of structured interviews and workshops.