Abstract:

The process management concept, although known for years, is still being developed and modified. It is used in various types of organisations - both enterprises and public administration units. Taking into account the process management, it can be assumed that the process maturity of the organisation is one of the criteria for its classification. Process maturity is understood in different ways, but the element necessary to assess maturity is the degree of involvement of process stakeholders in their improvement. The study attempts to assess the features that testify the process's maturity. To assess the level of process maturity of small enterprises, it is necessary to adapt one of the existing or develop own process maturity model. The initial model used in this study was one of the Capability Maturity Model Integration industry models, modifying it to take into account the specificity of small businesses. The hypothesis was assumed that most enterprises reach the 1st and 2nd degree of process maturity. In the paper, selected results of pilot studies on the assessment of process maturity of small enterprises in Poland were presented. The research was aimed at identifying the main aspects that are responsible for this state of affairs. The conclusions from the research may be used by small enterprises in Poland to further improve and raise the level of process maturity.