NIMM overview
The NIMM framework is split into 13 categories, 74 capabilities, five perspectives and a number of Key Performance Indicators, each of which is scored out of five.
Not all capabilities have to be completed at once. Review the capability list, decide the priorities for your IT organisation today and concentrate your efforts on completing this subset.
Categories | Capabilities and perspectives | Maturity levels
Categories
The 13 categories are split across technical and business areas.
Technical
- Infrastructure patterns and practices
- IT security and information governance
- Common applications and services
- End user devices
- Infrastructure hardware platforms
- Network devices and services
- Operating systems
Business
- Business alignment
- Infrastructure governance
- Financial management
- People and skills
- Principles standards procedures guidelines
- Procurement
Capabilities and perspectives
Each category is further divided into a number of capabilities which are used to target the assessment to a specific area. For example the Operating Systems category has five capabilities;
- PC Operating System Standardisation
- Operating System Configuration Management
- PC Application Virtualisation
- Operating System Virtualisation
- Server Provisioning
A capability is then further organised into perspectives. These are Strategy Alignment and Business Value, IT Security and Information Governance, Technology, Process and People, and Organisation.
Each perspective has a number of Key Performance Indicators associated with it against which the capability in question is assessed.
Organising the metrics into perspectives provides the opportunity to review the capabilities 'in the round' and to develop an overall view of the capability rather than just from a technology view point, for example.
To get a good overall assessment a number of different roles from within the IT organisation must be involved in the assessment process.
Generally the assessment takes place in a group setting where the scores can be debated and agreed on before being recorded in the Key Capabilities Self-Assessment dashboard spread sheet. Scoring is on a one to five scale where five is the most mature.
Maturity levels
The figure below gives an overview of the maturity levels along with some example behaviours for various capabilities within an organisation at each level.
Level 1 basic: avoid down time
- Disjointed manual infrastructure
- Knowledge not shared
- Reactive and ad-hoc
- Unpredictable service performance
- User driven "who shouts loudest"
Level 2 controlled: get control
- Co-ordinated manual infrastructure
- Knowledge silos exist
- Reactive with some planning in place
- Services manageable and getting predictable
- Problem driven
Level 3 standardised: standards and best practice
- Standardised infrastructure
- Individual level collaboration and knowledge sharing
- Reactive trending proactive
- Stable and architected IT infrastructure
- Request driven
Level 4 optimised: efficiency
- Consolidated and virtualised infrastructure
- Team level knowledge and sharing collaboration
- Proactive and accountable
- Continuous service improvement
- Service driven
Level 5 innovative: catalyst for innovation
- IT & business stakeholders work in partnership
- Enterprise level knowledge sharing and collaboration
- Strategic asset
- Drives service innovation
- Value driven
Before starting to complete assessments an IT organisation should review the list of Capability Assessments, their business drivers and on-going or planned IT projects.
The business drivers and IT projects list will assist the IT organisation to select and prioritise the list of capability assessments that are important to them today and should be completed.
Once the short list has been created the assessments should be completed and the scores recorded. Ensure that any evidence that supports the scores is also recorded or summarised in the Capability Assessment document.
The projects that the assessments either support or create should then be started. Once the project is complete, re-run the assessment so that increases in maturity can be recorded and the value of the projects verified.