How to Track Agile Maturity Using Data: From Basics to Advanced

Only about 15% of organisations consider themselves fully mature in Agile.

The numbers paint an interesting picture. About 60% of organisations remain stuck in the second or third Agile maturity stages. This expresses a key challenge teams face as they try to evolve their Agile practices beyond simple implementation.

Agile maturity assessment measures your organisation's adoption and integration of Agile principles into its workflow. Success doesn't happen overnight - it's a continuous trip of growth and improvement. Teams need to identify standards, behaviours, and experiences that fit their specific context and track progress over time.

A good agile maturity model helps everyone understand what "agile" really means and shows organisations where they can improve. On top of that, it creates a roadmap that delivers better value to customers and boosts overall business performance.

Teams looking to advance their Agile practices can find our Agile Analytics platform transformative. It bridges data and experience by connecting metrics like lead time and SLOs with real-life team feedback. This reveals meaningful connections between team satisfaction and operational reliability, helping you turn evidence-based findings into actions that strike a chord with your teams.

This piece covers everything about tracking and improving your Agile maturity through data. You'll find simple concepts, advanced strategies, and a practical toolkit to support your trip.

Organisations need to understand agile maturity to improve their agile practices. Let me explain what this means and why it matters today.

Agile maturity shows how well an organisation has mastered agile principles, values, and practices. Teams demonstrate this through their daily operations. The concept goes beyond using frameworks like Scrum or Kanban. A closer look at the organisation's culture, processes, and mindset reveals the true level of agile adoption.

Agile maturity is an ongoing experience. Teams reach their peak when everyone lives the agile values and keeps improving their processes. This means following the 12 agile principles: customer satisfaction, embracing change, frequent delivery, and continuous improvement.

The key difference is that agile maturity isn't about following fixed rules. It shows how deeply the agile mindset has spread through your organisation's culture. Teams grasp both the "how" and "why" of agile practices.

An agile maturity assessment helps evaluate where your organisation stands. This assessment:

• Shows teams their current skill level

• Spots areas needing improvement

• Maps out continuous growth

• Creates shared language for progress

• Lets teams ask for help when needed

A CollabNet VersionOne study found 84% of organisations saw better visibility into their agile transformation after doing these assessments [1]. This shows the value of measuring progress instead of relying on gut feelings.

Business environments change faster than ever, creating new challenges that need quick responses. Teams must understand and improve their agile maturity for several reasons.

Your team's agile maturity affects how well they handle market changes and customer needs. Organisations with better agile skills adapt to new requirements faster than competitors. This quick response gives businesses an edge in today's global market.

Well-developed agile practices bring clear benefits:

• Lower costs and better quality

• Faster product releases

• Better team productivity and collaboration

• Simpler processes and improved results

• Higher team morale and better company culture

Most organisations still struggle with basic implementation. Only about 15% of organisations call themselves fully mature in agile practices[2]. About 60% remain in the second or third maturity stages. This shows room for improvement across the industry.

Our Agile Analytics platform helps teams track and boost their maturity levels through data. It connects numbers like lead time and SLOs with team feedback. This method shows important links between team satisfaction and operational reliability. Teams can turn these insights into actions that strike a chord with their members.

An agile maturity model guides these improvements. This framework defines specific skill stages and gives common criteria to assess team capabilities. Teams need this model to know how to grow.

Yes, it is common for organisations to use agile methods without getting full benefits. This happens due to culture clashes, leaders not participating, or resistance to change. Better agile maturity comes from encouraging an environment that embraces the agile mindset.

Regular agile maturity assessments help teams drive their own improvement, especially when they can't access agile experts. These assessments start useful conversations about growth without needing outside help.

Tracking and improving agile maturity isn't just about following methods. It creates a culture that gives customers better value while adapting to market changes quickly.

Teams need frameworks to check and boost their agile practices. These models show structured ways to measure growth levels and make improvements. Here's a look at three popular agile maturity models that show different ways to track progress.

Jim Collins' book "Good to Great" inspired this model that helps teams build strong foundations before they try advanced practices. This approach stops teams from making too many changes at once, which often leads to failure.

The Crawl stage lets teams try out simple agile frameworks like Scrum. They add new practices slowly until everyone feels good about the basic concepts. During the Walk stage, more teams start using agile as their go-to practice. The Run stage sees agile spread beyond tech teams into other business areas. This brings together different teams with shared goals.

Some companies add a Fly stage where the whole organisation works with agility. Cross-functional teams across the company – including leaders – work together to streamline processes, focus on value delivery, and make empowered decisions.

Teams might need to work on different levels at the same time based on their challenges. Our Agile Analytics platform shows where teams are in this process. It links hard numbers with team feedback to show how team satisfaction connects to reliable operations and drives targeted improvements.

James Shore and Diana Larsen created this model in 2012. It's different from other frameworks because it looks at team "fluency" instead of fixed standards. The model has four zones, each with its own benefits:

Focusing (1-star): Teams plan and create value while showing their progress to everyone. About 60% of agile teams work at this level[3], which takes 2-6 months to learn well. Key metrics show if teams plan and deliver value, and if everyone can see their progress.

Delivering (2-star): Teams create high-quality products at market speed. They use software engineering practices like Continuous Integration and Test-Driven Development. About 30% of agile teams reach this zone, and it takes 5-18 months to master.

Optimising (3-star): Teams understand what the market needs and adapt quickly. Companies need to invest in team growth to reach this level. Only 5-10% of agile teams get here, and it takes 1-3 years to master[4].

Strengthening (4-star): Teams help improve the whole organisation. This represents where knowledge work is heading. Very few organisations work at this level.

Teams should pick the fluency level that fits their needs rather than trying to reach the highest level.

The Scrum Maturity Model (SMM) shows specific steps to use Scrum practices that make development better and keep customers involved. It has five maturity levels:

1. Initial: Companies don't have clear agile processes, and success depends mostly on individual skills.

2. Managed/Explored: Teams focus on project planning and understanding requirements.

3. Defined: Teams deliver often, use pair programming, and build better customer relationships.

4. Improved/Quantitatively Managed: Teams work on project management, keep steady progress, and organise themselves.

5. Optimising/Sustained: Companies always make their processes better through measurement and analysis.

To check agile maturity effectively, try using an agile maturity assessment template. It looks at things like how teams work together, manage their product backlog, handle technical practices, and keep customers happy.

Whatever model you pick, check your progress regularly. An agile maturity assessment tool helps teams see where they are and what to do next. Keep in mind that these models should guide you rather than restrict you – what counts most is creating value while staying flexible in your situation.

Your organisation's agile capabilities need a review across several vital dimensions. These core areas show how well teams apply agile principles and where they can improve. Let's look at the four most important aspects of a comprehensive agile maturity assessment.

Good collaboration is the lifeblood of any mature agile organisation. Teams that excel work naturally together. They hold each other accountable and get better through shared goals and mutual support. This goes beyond basic communication – it's what makes teamwork possible.

Teams reach their peak when they find their rhythm, like rowing crews call "swing." Meetings become brief and more useful because feedback happens right away. People talk often, which lets meetings focus on what really matters instead of updates.

Mature agile teams know how to organise themselves. They plan and set priorities for their work to get the best results without micromanagement. This independence enables team members and promotes innovation through smart risk-taking.

Our Agile Analytics platform measures this aspect by linking numbers with team feedback. You can spot specific barriers to collaboration and make improvements that appeal to your teams by showing connections between team happiness and reliable operations.

The Agile Manifesto's first principle states, "Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software". Organisations that excel at agile put customer needs first in their development process.

Customer-focused teams solve real problems instead of just building features. This creates benefits for customers and businesses alike. The approach has:

• Regular customer talks (at least one per sprint)[5]

• Customer observations in their work environment

• Success is measured by solved problems, not just speed

• Feature usage and involvement tracking

Agile teams deliver value in short cycles called Sprints. Developers can give working products to customers, get feedback, and adjust their work based on input. This cuts delivery times and ensures customers get the features they need.

Your agile maturity assessment should review how well teams use customer feedback and adapt to new requirements.

Leadership shapes organisational culture – they're inseparable. Gene Kim's "Wiring the Winning Organisation" points out strong connections between how leaders lead and culture's results.

Modern leaders show four key traits:

• They lead by example

• They help others grow

• They guide organisational change

• They create spaces where teams can adapt and invent

For agile maturity, companies should aim for what Dr. Ron Westrum calls a "generative culture" that values teamwork, open talk, and common goals. These environments focus on learning from problems rather than finding someone to blame.

Culture remains the biggest hurdle to agile adoption, more than twice as hard as other challenges[6]. Many organisations use agile methods without making needed cultural changes. Peter Drucker's famous words ring true: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast" – especially in agile transformations.

An agile maturity assessment template helps you compare your leadership's actions and cultural traits against what makes a generative culture work.

Technical excellence provides the base for agile delivery. Quality practices make sure work meets standards throughout creation.

Research shows that work product quality determines how fast teams deliver solutions. Products built on solid foundations with consistent standards adapt more easily – a must-have for agility.

Higher agile maturity shows in these key technical practices:

• Continuous integration (running tests when code changes)

• Automated testing at many levels (unit, functional, integration)

• Test-driven development (writing tests before code)

• Refactoring (cleaning existing code without changing what it does)

• Code reviews (detailed checks of team members' work)

These practices bring big wins: happier customers, faster delivery, better performance, and knowing how to invent and grow. Building quality needs ongoing training and dedication – mature organisations see this as vital.

A good agile maturity assessment tool reviews both how well teams follow processes and what they achieve in these four areas. Regular measurement and targeted improvements help organisations build their agile skills while giving customers more value.

Organisations progress through distinct levels of Agile maturity as they build their capabilities. Teams can identify their current position and create targeted improvement plans by understanding these stages. Let's get into each level in detail.

The pre-crawl level, also known as the stagnant phase, shows organizations with limited understanding or active rejection of Agile principles. Business and IT goals don't match, processes lack documentation, and product releases happen rarely. You'll notice these traits:

Detailed requirements documents without flexibility

• Few or no performance metrics

• Functional silos that prevent teams from working together

• Command-and-control leadership approaches

• Success depends on "heroic" individual efforts

Teams at this stage have a great chance to improve. They might know they can do tasks better, but haven't researched how. Missing deadlines or poor product quality often wake organisations up and push them to explore Agile approaches.

The crawl stage marks real Agile adoption's beginning, often called the repeatable or in-transition level. Teams start trying simple frameworks like Scrum, Kanban, or Extreme Programming (XP). They develop shared goals and want to create value.

Teams add some process automation and release more often during this phase. Communication gets better, productivity goes up, and team members feel excited about their work – though some areas still need work.

Management's understanding becomes a vital part to move past this stage. Leadership support lets teams build on their original progress.

The walk phase shows major progress in Agile adoption, also called the consistency or sustainable maturity level. Organisations fully accept Agile principles and adapt frameworks to their needs. Management sees Agile approaches' positive effects and includes them in daily routines.

You'll see these key features:

• Repeatable, automated processes

• Systematic work tracking and measurement

• Servant-leadership management approaches

• High-quality products delivered faster

Teams explore more automated processes to keep moving forward and know that management's support helps maintain these good changes.

The run level shows true Agile maturity, usually called the measured or quantitatively managed phase. Everyone understands the organisation's strategy and objectives, which focus on creating value. Small, focused teams work on specific product development sections in short sprints.

Our Agile Analytics platform helps bridge data and experience at this stage. It connects quantitative metrics like lead time and SLOs with team feedback, showing meaningful links between team satisfaction and operational reliability. Teams can make targeted improvements that strike a chord.

Organisations succeed more often than they fail in product development and regularly measure their progress objectively.

The highest maturity level – called optimised or innovating – shows enterprise-wide agility where all activities create value directly. Organisations at this level have refined their workflows and use key performance indicators to track progress.

Teams experience:

• Limited defects in deliverables

• Freedom to report and fix issues without fear

• Appropriate process automation

• Systems-thinking approaches from management

Management and team members work together as equals at this highest level. Productivity reaches its peak, and people know their work makes a difference. The organisation welcomes state-of-the-art improvements while delivering consistent value through each project.

An agile maturity assessment tool helps find your current position across these levels and creates a roadmap for growth. Using this with an agile maturity assessment template lets you track progress through consistent evaluation criteria.

A methodical plan and execution are essential to conduct an agile maturity assessment that works. The process should reflect agile principles – teams should work together openly and focus on creating useful insights instead of just gathering data.

Your assessment's success depends on proper preparation. You'll need to:

1. Define clear objectives for what you want to achieve with the assessment

2. Identify the scope and target groups to assess

3. Collect information about business goals and current tools

4. Select an appropriate agile maturity model as your assessment framework

"Have clear objectives," advises industry experts. "Clearly define what you want to achieve with the assessment. Set clear goals, focus on specific agility areas, and assess every aspect critical to business success".

You should think over who will participate before launching your assessment. Teams need to include members, product owners, scrum masters, and relevant stakeholders to get a complete picture. The team must decide if management's presence might prevent honest feedback in certain aspects.

The data collection phase starts after completing your preparation. The best assessments use multiple methods together:

Surveys: Create a well-laid-out agile maturity assessment survey with questions that measure specific aspects of agile adoption. "Use clearly written questions and include rating scales along with open-ended prompts". This approach helps teams learn about different perspectives.

Interviews: One-on-one or group discussions add depth to survey results. These conversations often reveal details that structured surveys might miss.

The team should follow these guidelines during this phase:

"Use a neutral facilitator – it can be helpful to get another scrum master or agile coach to facilitate the assessment". This approach removes bias and helps participants feel safe.

"Create a safe, open environment – no management should be present during the assessment. Results for specific teams are not shared outside the team, only trends".

Our Agile Analytics platform shines during this phase by connecting quantitative data with qualitative feedback. The platform links metrics like lead time and SLOs with team sentiment, showing relationships between satisfaction and operational reliability.

The analysis begins after collecting all data:

"Compile and analyse the data collected to identify patterns, trends, strengths/weaknesses and gaps or opportunities for improvement". Teams often use visualisation tools like heatmaps or radar charts to make findings more available.

Your observations should turn into practical findings. A good agile maturity assessment template uses colour codes: red for immediate attention areas, amber for next-focus items, and green for well-performing aspects.

Teams should focus on improvement rather than judgment for successful analysis. "There are no bad results, just information that can be used for continuous improvement". Remember to "limit focus for improvement: select 1-2 areas to focus on and set SMART goals".

The team should share insights carefully. Team-specific results must stay confidential, sharing only trends and combined data more widely. Regular reassessments should happen every six months to track progress and keep momentum going.

Data-driven decision-making is the lifeblood of tracking and improving agile maturity. Organisations can assess their progress and spot areas needing improvement by utilising meaningful metrics and feedback.

Concrete performance indicators give clear insight into agile processes. These metrics include:

Lead time measures the total time from request to delivery. This shows the customer's experience and process optimisation. Teams use this metric to estimate delivery times and track service level agreements.

Cycle time shows how long work items take from start to finish. Teams with shorter cycle times produce more output. Consistent cycle times across issues show better predictability in work delivery.

Velocity shows the average work a scrum team finishes during a sprint, measured in story points or hours. Product owners forecast backlog completion times using velocity data. In spite of that, note that velocity shouldn't be the only measure of team productivity or performance. It doesn't show work quality or individual task completion time.

These quantitative measures help spot process bottlenecks and verify improvements during your agile maturity assessment. Our Agile Analytics platform connects these metrics with real-life team feedback to create deeper understanding of agile performance.

Numbers tell only part of the story. Qualitative measures capture the human and cultural side of agile adoption. Both measurement types create a complete picture of transformation progress in an agile maturity assessment.

Team surveys and interviews reveal morale, collaboration quality, and cultural shifts that metrics can't show. Research shows that "Gaining an understanding of the state of an organisation's culture during Agile transformation is important because culture underpins all aspects of an organisation's way of working".

Retrospectives provide another valuable feedback channel. Teams reflect on successes and failures. These sessions reveal process improvements that performance data might miss.

Qualitative feedback explains the reasoning behind quantitative results. This makes it easier to explain changes and build support from stakeholders.

The best agile maturity assessment tool brings together quantitative and qualitative data. This balanced approach offers clear benefits:

The combination paints a complete picture of agile transformation success. Quantitative data reveals what happens, while qualitative data shows why.

This approach stops teams from depending too much on metrics, which can cause "gaming the system" or wrong behaviours. Research states that "The use of metrics must be balanced. Overemphasis on metrics can lead to gaming the system or misaligned behaviours".

Our Agile Analytics platform connects quantitative metrics like lead time and SLOs with team feedback. The platform shows important links between team satisfaction and operational reliability. Teams can turn these insights into targeted actions that strike a chord with their members.

Tracking agile maturity needs both hard data and a human perspective. Neither one tells the whole story alone.

Organisations must track agile maturity to maximise their agile implementation benefits. Only 15% of organisations achieve full agile maturity. About 60% remain stuck in intermediate stages. This gap shows a most important chance to improve across industries.

A complete agile maturity assessment examines four key dimensions: team collaboration, customer focus, leadership culture, and technical practices. Each dimension adds its unique value to overall agility and creates a clear view of your organisation's capabilities.

Your teams' position within the maturity spectrum – from pre-crawl awareness through to fly-level continuous innovation – shows clear direction to target improvements. Both quantitative metrics (lead time, velocity, cycle time) and qualitative feedback create the most accurate picture of progress when assessed regularly.

Data becomes worthless without action. Our Agile Analytics platform bridges quantitative metrics with qualitative team feedback. The platform connects data points like lead time and SLOs with ground experiences. It shows meaningful correlations between team satisfaction and operational reliability. These insights turn into targeted actions that appeal to teams.

Agile maturity isn't a destination but a continuous trip to improve. Teams should establish regular assessment cycles that boost ongoing progress instead of chasing a perfect end-state. So, each small improvement adds up over time and creates substantial gains in productivity, quality, and team satisfaction.

Without doubt, organisations that welcome analytical agile improvement position themselves better for adaptability, faster delivery, and boosted customer value. The true measure of agile success lies in tangible business outcomes and team effectiveness, not in perfect adherence to frameworks.

The toolkit we provided will help you start your assessment today. Let the data guide your next steps toward greater agile maturity. Your teams – and your customers – will thank you for it.