SIGPfB: LLM Adoption Capability Maturity Models and Protocol Evolution

The SIGPfB group engaged in an extended discussion about developing a comprehensive Capability Maturity Model (CMM++) specifically designed to describe how organizations mature in their adoption and integration of Large Language Models. Rather than treating LLM adoption as a generic management trend, participants analyzed how protocols and practices must evolve at different organizational maturity levels, using a framework that captures technical capability, political dimensions, and business unbundling/disruption dynamics.

Key points

• Organizations are adapting workflows to match LLM capabilities rather than forcing LLMs into existing processes—teams switching from PowerPoint to memos because LLMs excel at memo generation rather than slide design.
• A CMM++ framework should include political dimensions and (un)bundling dynamics beyond traditional capability maturity, with each level defining key tensions, emerging protocols, and organizational states.
• Levels 1-3 represent an 'uncanny valley' where organizations appear to be using AI but haven't fundamentally transformed, while levels 4-6 represent genuine discontinuous organizational performance shifts similar to continuous deployment adoption.
• Regulatory frameworks (state strength vs. law strength) will determine whether organizations face predatory pricing pressure, state control, or compliance-driven maturation in AI model selection and deployment.
• Political alignment among human participants within organizations matters more than AI alignment itself, as it determines which AI models are adopted and how organizational culture constrains AI tool selection.