intelligence-2-the-7th

As one of my oldest personal professional methods, dating back well over a decade, and very much in alignment with the vison of imagine2moro2day, “to imagine infinitely”, this is really just my simplified approach to measuring maturity. I guess you could argue that the reference framework forms part of my simplified methodology.

As mentioned, when looking at the diagram, one immediately recognizes the top two plateaus of maturity as being closely aligned to the vision of imagine2moro2day – therefore an appropriate first post.

Because this is surely what we are all trying to achieve with our data and information assets, right?

So let me keep it short and not too boring… the top plateau is the seventh and not the first: intelligence-2-the-7^th (i-2-the-7^th), which then obviously means that we mature from the bottom plateau upwards.

The initial objective is to gain basic information from our data. As this capability matures, it enables us to better identify various things, whether they are positive or negative, they become identifiable. Once again, as we mature further on this plateau, there is a natural ability forming that enables us to inspect things in more detail, and critically, enables us to contextualize different sources of information together, to form better understanding – advanced analytics are starting to become a reality and we’re able to answer most of the tougher questions typically asked of analysis, for example the Why’s. Once we reach this level of maturity, we are firmly onto the fourth plateau, and to truly benefit from here onwards, good practices are as important as the innovation itself. As the ability to actively gain insights further matures into data-driven improvements – regardless whether it be man, machine or method related – we form the solid foundation for innovation, which is the primary measure of the sixth plateau (imagine).

Needless to add, that these are not necessarily sequentially required – for instance, not having advanced analytics capabilities would not prevent you from embarking on data innovation initiatives, but it might impact the level of maturity at which you are able to innovate. The seventh and final plateau of maturity is infinity.