Lessons Learned from the PMMM Research Series
SERIES ARTICLE
By Darcy Prado, PhD
Belo Horizonte (MG) – Brazil
ABSTRACT
This is the fifth article of the series Lessons Learned from Maturity Research, and it is a continuation of the previous article [11] which discussed the challenging journey towards maturity evolution. The present article will focus on understanding why very few organizations reach the platform of excellence (levels 4 and 5). We remind the reader that knowledge of the previously published articles of this series [8, 9, 10 and 11] is very important for a proper comprehension of this text:
1 – DOES THE STATEMENT “OLDER MEANS GREATER MATURITY AND BETTER RESULTS” APPLY UNIVERSALLY TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
At first glance, the term “maturity” alludes to the passage of time. For example, we could say:
- The longer we know and practice something, the more mature we become.
- The more mature we become, the better results we obtain.
Our maturity research [1] has been ongoing for 20 years and during this time we have monitored the results of hundreds of organizations. If time alone was enough to ensure maturity progression, we should see significant changes in Brazilian organizations towards greater maturity and better performance. The results of the maturity research in Brazil, however, do not show that. As documented on our website [1], Figure 1 shows that the average value for maturity in Brazil, since 2005, is around 2.61, with stability of the values through time, and only small oscillations noted.
Figure 1: Average maturity level in Brazilian organizations between 2005 and 2024 [1].
Similar results can be observed for measurements of project success of Brazilian organizations over time [1], as shown in Figure 2, in which we again observe stability in the values over the years.
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Editor’s note: The Project Management Maturity series of articles by Prof Darci Prado is based on his extensive research on this topic in Brazil and other countries. Darci is the developer of the Prado Project Management Maturity Model which has been successfully implemented by many organizations in Brazil. More about this model and related research can be found at. https://maturityresearch.com/en/home-en/
How to cite this work: Prado, D. (2025). Maturity Evolution: only a few get there, Lessons Learned from the PMMM Research, Series article 5, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue VIII, August. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/pmwj155-July2025-Prado-Only-a-Few-achieve-maturity-series-article-5.pdf
About the Author
Darci Prado, PhD
Belo Horizonte (MG) – Brazil
Darci Prado is a consultant and partner of FALCONI in Brazil. He is an engineer, with graduate studies in Economical Engineering at UCMG and PhD in Project Management from UNICAMP, Brazil. He has worked for IBM for 25 years and worked with UFMG Engineering School for 32 years. He holds the IPMA Level B Certification. He was one of the founders of Minas Gerais State and Parana State PMI chapters, and he was a member of the Board Directors of the Minas Gerais State PMI chapter during 1998-2002 and member of the Consulting Board during 2003-2009. He was also the president of IPMA Minas Gerais State chapter during 2006-2008. He is conducting Project Management maturity research in Brazil and Italy. He is author of nine books on project management and is also author of a methodology, a software application, and a maturity model for project management. Darci can be contacted at darciprado@uol.com.br.
To view other works by Dr. Prado, please visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/darci-prado-phd/
