Standard : Focus is protected against overload

Purpose and Strategic Importance

This standard ensures that teams protect focus by limiting simultaneous work and making trade-offs visible. By avoiding overload, teams accelerate flow and improve quality.

It supports "Focus, Not Frenzy", while reinforcing "Prioritise What Matters" and "Transparent Trade-offs". Without this standard, energy is diluted and outcomes suffer.

Strategic Impact

  • Faster flow and delivery of outcomes
  • Higher quality and reduced rework
  • Better morale through manageable workload

Risks of Not Having This Standard

  • Teams spread too thin, causing delays
  • Decline in quality and increased rework
  • Burnout and disengagement

CMMI Maturity Model

Level 1 – Initial

  • People & Culture: Everything treated as urgent; multitasking normal.
  • Process & Governance: No WIP limits or prioritisation discipline.
  • Technology & Tools: Work tracked inconsistently.
  • Measurement & Metrics: No tracking of focus or overload.

Level 2 – Managed

  • People & Culture: Teams acknowledge overload but struggle to address it.
  • Process & Governance: Some prioritisation discussions occur.
  • Technology & Tools: Basic backlog tools used.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Informal tracking of WIP.

Level 3 – Defined

  • People & Culture: Teams actively limit WIP to maintain focus.
  • Process & Governance: Frameworks enforce explicit trade-offs.
  • Technology & Tools: Tools visualise flow and highlight overload.
  • Measurement & Metrics: WIP and throughput tracked consistently.

Level 4 – Quantitatively Managed

  • People & Culture: Focus embedded in culture; distractions challenged.
  • Process & Governance: Portfolio balancing protects team capacity.
  • Technology & Tools: Dashboards integrate focus, flow, and outcomes.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Quantitative analysis links focus to outcomes.

Level 5 – Optimising

  • People & Culture: Focus culture drives systemic prioritisation improvements.
  • Process & Governance: Trade-off practices continuously refined.
  • Technology & Tools: Predictive tools highlight risks to flow early.
  • Measurement & Metrics: Continuous improvement of focus and flow metrics.

Key Measures

  • Average WIP per team vs limits
  • Throughput vs lead time correlation
  • % of initiatives with explicit trade-offs documented
  • Employee wellbeing and focus survey results