What characterizes the "Sustained" level of project management maturity?

The "Sustained" level of project management maturity is characterized by the systematic collection and utilization of metrics for continuous improvement. At this level, organizations have established processes that go beyond just basic project management; they actively track performance indicators, analyze data, and apply insights to enhance their project outcomes. This approach fosters a culture of ongoing development, where historical performance data drives decision-making and contributes to refining processes over time.

The emphasis on metrics reflects an organization’s commitment to a structured methodology for managing projects, ensuring that lessons learned from past projects inform future practices. This is essential for achieving not just efficiency and effectiveness in individual projects, but also for contributing to the overall organizational growth in project capability.

In contrast, the other choices suggest a lack of formalization and inconsistency in project management practices. For instance, sporadic use of standard technologies and irregular execution indicate an immature approach, where processes are not reliably applied or integrated. Similarly, the absence of formal documentation demonstrates a failure to capture and utilize crucial project data, thereby hindering the organization’s ability to learn and improve systematically. These aspects are inconsistent with the principles of a "Sustained" maturity level.