Where would immaturity create unacceptable risk?
Sophistication Level
How advanced our approach needs to be.
- Where do we need cutting-edge solutions?
- Where are basic approaches sufficient?
- What requires expert-level execution?
- What can novices handle?
Evolutionary Stage
Where things are in their lifecycle.
- What's experimental vs. established?
- What's emerging vs. mature?
- What's growing vs. declining?
- Where are we pioneering vs. following?
Capability Readiness
How developed our abilities need to be.
- What requires full expertise?
- Where can we learn as we go?
- What needs practiced teams?
- Where can beginners contribute?
Process Maturity
How refined our methods should be.
- Where do we need formal processes?
- Where can we be informal?
- What requires documented procedures?
- What can evolve organically?
Understanding Depth
How well we need to comprehend.
- What requires deep understanding?
- Where is surface knowledge enough?
- What needs theoretical grounding?
- What can be purely practical?
Risk Tolerance
How much uncertainty we can accept.
- Where must we be certain?
- Where can we experiment?
- What requires proven approaches?
- Where can we innovate?