I’m sure there are lots of team maturity models out there. This one is about the level of self-organisation. It’s a simplifiction (like all models).
How does your team score?
(1). Team members need to have specific tasks assigned to them e.g. build widget X for the TV section of the website.
(2). The team as a whole can be given a specific objective e.g. redesign the tv section for the website. Team members can assign themselves tasks. (This is made much easier by visibility of priorities and work in progress).
(3). The team as a whole can be given a results based objective e.g. increase traffic to the TV section of the website by 10%. Note: This objective has quality baked in – it’s hard to game. It’s also simpler to specify – try defining “done” for (1) and (2)! It gives more room for initiative.
(4). The team can work to meet a balanced set of objectives eg 50% customer loyalty, 30% profit, 20% innovation/collaboration.
(5). The team can balance their own objectives e.g. the best way to achieve a sustainable business is to delight customers (with viral baked in) but we need to break even and invest in innovation so we dont get outflanked by competitors.
Of course, a dev team won’t make product decisions in a vacuum – it will draw on the wisdom of the business. The important distinction is that it’s pull rather than push. The team can decide what to do rather then being told what to do.