How to improve the assessment of BPM maturity in the era of digital transformation

For almost 30 years, the way of building business process management maturity models (BPM MMs), the importance assigned to individual maturity levels, and the criteria and critical success factors chosen for BPM maturity assessment have not changed significantly, despite the fact that during those three decades, the business environment and organizations themselves have changed enormously. The impact of hyperautomation and the increasing pace of change require the integration of maturity assessment with the BPM implementation methodology, including the repetition of maturity assessment for selected groups of processes. This causes an urgent need to adapt both process maturity assessment methods and BPM MMs to changing working conditions and business requirements. This conceptual paper is based on a model approach. The framework presented in the article continues and at the same time clearly deviates from the tradition of building BPM MMs on the basis of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). It proposes a two-stage comprehensive process of organizational process maturity assessment, fully integrated into the process of BPM implementation and further business process management. The presented framework makes it possible to assess the process maturity of Industry 4.0 organizations in which dynamic knowledge-intensive business processes (kiBPs) play a key role in creating value.

Methodological provisions for assessing the digital maturity of economic systems

Digital transformation is a way of doing business that uses information and digital technologies. Readiness of companies for internal and external changes related to digitalization is called digital maturity. The research is devoted to the dynamics of growth of digital maturity of organizations in the Russian Federation and current methods of its assessment. The concept of assessing the digital maturity of economic systems as a stage in the implementation of digital transformation of the economy is revealed. The main directions of digital transformation in the country are highlighted and characterized. The dynamics of the level of digitalization and innovation implementation in Russian business in 2018-2020 are evaluated. A comparative analysis of methods for assessing digital maturity is carried out. Based on the results of the study, the prospects for further research in the field of digital maturity assessment are identified, and the main directions and obstacles to the digital transformation of the economy are formulated.

The Reproductive Biology of Deep-Sea Elasmobranchs and Batoids from Chatham Rise and the Sub-Antarctic Region of New Zealand

<p>The reproductive biology of thirteen poorly studied deep-sea elasmobranch species, on Chatham Rise and the Sub-Antarctic region of New Zealand, was assessed. The study species are all commonly caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries and include: three viviparous species (Centroselachus crepidater, Centrophorus squamosus, Deania calcea), five deep-sea catsharks (Apristurus spp.), and five deep-sea batoid species. However, due to a lack of knowledge on their general biology, ecology, and taxonomy – the impact of fishing on these species is unknown. A species’ resilience to fishing pressure depends on its biological productivity and susceptibility to capture. Accurate assessment of maturity is critical to understanding productivity and the effects of fishing pressure on fished stocks. Maturity is commonly assessed macroscopically, using a visual assessment that lacks precision and relies on subjective judgement. The wide array of macroscopic maturity assessment keys, used internationally, employ various sets of characteristics to define the same reproductive processes, which can lead to errors and inconsistencies in maturity assessment and parameter estimates (e.g. length-at-maturity), making direct comparisons between studies difficult. Objective reproductive measurements (oviducal gland size, follicle size, uterus width, follicle number and gonad weight) were used to assess the validity and quality of the macroscopic maturity staging key used in New Zealand, towards determining the onset of maturity and accurately distinguishing between macroscopic stages. The results showed that no single measurement gave a clear-cut indicator of maturity and some fish classified as ‘maturing’ were very likely ‘mature’. Uterus width, follicle size and gonadosomatic index values were found to be the most useful attributes in determining the onset of maturity. Uterus width and follicle size were also useful in determining differences between different macroscopic stages, whilst gonadosomatic index values were useful in distinguishing between reproductive strategies. Histological observations, with a particular focus on sperm storage, were also used to inform the quality of macroscopic maturity assignment. Sperm storage was observed for the first time in Centroselachus crepidater, Centrophorus squamosus and Brochiraja asperula. This study successfully highlighted problems in the macroscopic maturity assessment key currently used in New Zealand and proposes an improved, more objective macroscopic staging key. The improved key aims: 1) to assist in distinguishing between maturity stages, particularly between stage 2 (maturing), stage 2 (resting) and stage 6 (post-partum) females, by examining the same key reproductive structures across all macroscopic stages, and 2) to provide more representative maturity data for use in fisheries and demographic models, for more robust assessment of the impacts of fishing pressure on poorly studied deep-sea chondrichthyans.</p>

The Reproductive Biology of Deep-Sea Elasmobranchs and Batoids from Chatham Rise and the Sub-Antarctic Region of New Zealand

<p>The reproductive biology of thirteen poorly studied deep-sea elasmobranch species, on Chatham Rise and the Sub-Antarctic region of New Zealand, was assessed. The study species are all commonly caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries and include: three viviparous species (Centroselachus crepidater, Centrophorus squamosus, Deania calcea), five deep-sea catsharks (Apristurus spp.), and five deep-sea batoid species. However, due to a lack of knowledge on their general biology, ecology, and taxonomy – the impact of fishing on these species is unknown. A species’ resilience to fishing pressure depends on its biological productivity and susceptibility to capture. Accurate assessment of maturity is critical to understanding productivity and the effects of fishing pressure on fished stocks. Maturity is commonly assessed macroscopically, using a visual assessment that lacks precision and relies on subjective judgement. The wide array of macroscopic maturity assessment keys, used internationally, employ various sets of characteristics to define the same reproductive processes, which can lead to errors and inconsistencies in maturity assessment and parameter estimates (e.g. length-at-maturity), making direct comparisons between studies difficult. Objective reproductive measurements (oviducal gland size, follicle size, uterus width, follicle number and gonad weight) were used to assess the validity and quality of the macroscopic maturity staging key used in New Zealand, towards determining the onset of maturity and accurately distinguishing between macroscopic stages. The results showed that no single measurement gave a clear-cut indicator of maturity and some fish classified as ‘maturing’ were very likely ‘mature’. Uterus width, follicle size and gonadosomatic index values were found to be the most useful attributes in determining the onset of maturity. Uterus width and follicle size were also useful in determining differences between different macroscopic stages, whilst gonadosomatic index values were useful in distinguishing between reproductive strategies. Histological observations, with a particular focus on sperm storage, were also used to inform the quality of macroscopic maturity assignment. Sperm storage was observed for the first time in Centroselachus crepidater, Centrophorus squamosus and Brochiraja asperula. This study successfully highlighted problems in the macroscopic maturity assessment key currently used in New Zealand and proposes an improved, more objective macroscopic staging key. The improved key aims: 1) to assist in distinguishing between maturity stages, particularly between stage 2 (maturing), stage 2 (resting) and stage 6 (post-partum) females, by examining the same key reproductive structures across all macroscopic stages, and 2) to provide more representative maturity data for use in fisheries and demographic models, for more robust assessment of the impacts of fishing pressure on poorly studied deep-sea chondrichthyans.</p>