## How to use this model

As platform engineering has risen in prominence over the last few years, some patterns have become apparent. By organizing those patterns and observations into a progressive maturity model, we aim to orient [platform teams]({{< ref "/wgs/platforms/glossary#platform-team" >}}) to the challenges they may face and opportunities to aim for. Each aspect is described by a continuum of characteristics of different teams and organizations at each level within the aspect. We expect readers to find themselves in the model and identify opportunities in adjacent levels.

Of note, each additional level of maturity is accompanied by greater requirements for funding and people's time. Therefore, reaching the highest level should not be a goal in itself. Each level describes qualities that should appear at that stage. Readers must consider if their organization and their current context would benefit from these qualities given the required investment.

Keep in mind that each aspect is meant to be evaluated and evolved independently. However, as in any socio-technical system these aspects are complex and interrelated. Thus you may find that to improve in one aspect you must reach a minimum level in another aspect too.

It's also important to recognize that implementations of platforms vary from organization to organization. Make sure to evaluate the current state of _your_ group’s overall cloud native transformation. A phenomenal resource to leverage for this evaluation is the [Cloud Native Maturity Model](https://maturitymodel.cncf.io/).

Finally, this model encourages organizations to mature their platform engineering discipline and their resulting platforms through intentional planning. Such planning and discipline themselves are a requirement for mature platform development and ongoing evolution.

In general, keep in mind that mapping your organization into a model captures current state _to enable_ progressive iteration and improvement. [Martin Fowler](https://martinfowler.com/bliki/MaturityModel.html) says it well: "The true outcome of a maturity model assessment isn't what level you are at but the list of things you need to work on to improve. Your current level is merely a piece of intermediate work in order to determine that list of skills to acquire next." In that vein, seek to find yourself in the model then identify opportunities in adjacent levels.