Adapting models refers to the process of customizing or modifying an existing maturity model to better fit the specific needs and context of an organization. This involves tailoring the model’s components like maturity levels, domain areas, capabilities, assessment methods etc. to align with the organization’s objectives, culture and capabilities.

The Core Tenets of Adapting Models

1. Alignment to organizational context: Ensuring the adapted model reflects the organization’s unique objectives, priorities and environment.
2. Preserving model integrity: Retaining the core structure and logic of the original model while making context-specific changes.
3. Stakeholder involvement: Engaging key stakeholders in determining how to adapt the model to suit the organizational need.
4. Documentation: Clearly documenting the changes made and the rationale behind them.
5. Validation: Testing and validating the adapted model to ensure it is logical, robust and fit for purpose.

Why Adapting Models is important to business consultants

Adapting existing maturity models allows consultants to leverage proven frameworks while customizing them to their client’s specific needs. This enables a more targeted approach instead of force-fitting a generic model. Key reasons this capability is important include:

• Accelerates implementation: Starting with an established model, and adapting it is faster than building one from scratch. This allows for quicker deployment and ROI realization.
• Reduces risk: Adapting proven models with a track record of success is less risky than designing new untested models that may have flaws.
• Added credibility: Adapted models maintain the rigour and credibility of the original they are based on. This helps gain buy-in.
• Domain expertise: Deep knowledge of specific models and how to adapt them becomes a differentiating capability for consultants.
• Customization: The ability to tailor the model to organizational nuances demonstrates a deeper understanding of the client context.

Overall, adapting models is an important capability that allows consultants to balance standardization with customization. This results in frameworks that are tailored yet proven, credible yet contextualized.

Example of Adapting Models in Use

Financial Services: A maturity model for cybersecurity originally developed for telecom companies was adapted for a major retail bank. Industry-specific regulatory requirements, technologies and risks were incorporated.

Manufacturing: A model for product lifecycle management in automotive manufacturing was adapted to address the rapid prototyping needs of a consumer electronics firm. More agile stages were added.

Government: The CMMI process improvement model was customized for a public transit agency to include key capabilities like stakeholder communications and change adoption.

Adapting Models Synonyms

• Customizing models: Modifying models to suit organizational needs.
• Contextualizing models: Embedding organizational context into the models.
• Calibrating models: Fine-tuning models to best fit an organization.
• Tailoring models: Altering models for organizational fit.
• Configuring models: Tuning models like applications to specific requirements.

Adapting Models Antonyms

• Adopting models: Using models ‘off the shelf’ without modification.
• Installing models: Implementing generic models without customization.
• Leveraging models: Using existing models in their standard form.
• Propagating models: Spreading generic models broadly without change.

Other Closely-Related Terms

• Maturity model: A framework with evolutionary stages/levels for capabilities improvement.
• Capability maturity: The measurement of ability in a domain based on defined stages.
• Process maturity: A model representing process capabilities evolution and improvement.
• Benchmarking: Method to measure current capabilities against a defined maturity scale.
• Maturity assessment: Evaluating the as-is state of organizational maturity.