Case Study — Performing an AI Capability and Maturity Assessment
- Jan 29
- 5 min read
Updated: May 15
1. Organisational Problem
As interest in artificial intelligence continues to grow, many leadership teams recognise the potential of AI but lack a clear understanding of their organisation's capability and maturity to adopt it effectively.
This case study describes a situation faced by a UK-based professional services firm that wanted to understand its organisational readiness for AI before committing to further investment or large-scale initiatives.
In the Orr Consulting AI Transformation Process, this type of engagement typically sits within the Discover stage, helping organisations establish a clear baseline of AI capability and maturity before moving into strategy development and implementation.
2. Situation
The firm operated in a professional services environment with an established digital presence and a strong focus on client delivery.
The board recognised that AI was becoming an increasingly important topic across the professional services landscape. New tools and capabilities were emerging rapidly, and the firm had begun considering how artificial intelligence might affect its future operating model, service development and internal ways of working.
However, leadership discussions quickly revealed an important question:
"How ready are we as an organisation to adopt AI responsibly and effectively?"
The board and senior leadership team also held different assumptions about the organisation’s readiness. Some believed the firm was already well positioned due to its strong data and digital environment. Others were more cautious, highlighting potential challenges around governance, skills and organisational understanding of AI.
Before committing to strategy development or new initiatives, the board wanted a clearer, evidence-based view of the organisation’s current AI capability and maturity.
3. Background
Like many professional services organisations, the firm had already encountered AI in several ways.
Generative AI tools were beginning to appear in day-to-day professional work. AI-assisted drafting, analysis and research capabilities were becoming increasingly visible across the professional services sector. At the same time, many commonly used software platforms were beginning to introduce AI-enabled features such as predictive analytics and workflow automation.
While these developments were promising, they were occurring without a clear view of:
organisational capability to adopt AI safely
leadership understanding of AI opportunities and risks
governance arrangements for responsible AI use
readiness across data, people and delivery capabilities
The board therefore requested an AI Capability and Maturity Assessment to provide an objective baseline before further decisions were taken.
4. Action Taken
Orr Consulting was appointed by the senior team to conduct a structured AI Capability and Maturity Assessment using the five AI capability pillars defined within the Orr Consulting AI Transformation Process.
The assessment took place over a two-week period and examined organisational readiness across the following capability pillars:
Functional / Technical Capability
Education and Training Capability
Governance and Assurance Capability
Data Readiness Capability
Strategy and Culture
Evidence was gathered through leadership questionnaires and discussions, review of existing processes and examination of current digital and governance arrangements.
Each capability pillar was assessed using a 0–5 maturity scale, allowing the organisation to establish a consistent baseline across all five dimensions.
0 — Informal — Little to no formal capability exists.
1 — Incidental — Very limited capability exists. 2 — Limited — Capability exists in pockets but remains immature. 3 — Emerging — Capability is functioning and repeatable in defined areas. 4 — Leading — Capability is strong, well-governed and consistently applied.
5 — Best Practice — Capability is mature, embedded and continuously improving.
The objective was not to produce a theoretical score, but to develop a practical and shared evidence-based understanding of current capability across the organisation.
5. Outcomes
The scored results of the assessment were as follows:
Functional / Technical Capability — Limited (2)
Education and Training Capability — Limited (2)
Governance and Assurance Capability — Incidental (1)
Data Readiness Capability — Emerging (3)
Strategy and Culture — Limited (2)
The assessment results were visualised and presented to the board through a capability radar showing maturity levels across the five organisational pillars.
The organisation’s overall AI Maturity Score was 10 out of 25, placing it in the Limited Capability bracket within the Orr Consulting AI Capability and Maturity model.
The radar indicated that while elements of AI capability were beginning to emerge, the organisation was still at an early stage of structured adoption.
Data readiness represented a relative strength, reflecting an established digital environment and access to structured organisational data.
Governance and assurance capability was the least developed area, highlighting a number of governance risks requiring immediate improvement
Other capability areas, including functional / technical capability, education and training, and strategy and culture, were assessed as developing but not yet mature, indicating the need for targeted improvement before AI could be adopted at scale.
The assessment therefore provided leadership with a clear baseline for strengthening capability and planning future AI strategy.
6. Recommended Next Steps
Following presentation of the assessment results, the board expressed a strategic desire to improve overall organisational maturity toward the Leading Capability bracket over time, recognising that higher maturity would enable the firm to capture greater value from AI while managing associated risks appropriately.
Based on the assessment findings, the board noted the encouraging progress with AI in a number of areas, particularly data readiness. The board also identified several priority next steps.
First, the board requested a short-term plan to strengthen AI Governance and Assurance arrangements, to mitigate the immediate risks identified and ensure current initiatives are supported by appropriate oversight and risk management.
Second, the board recognised the need to strengthen shared organisational understanding of AI, particularly among the senior team and key operational teams. This led to a recommendation for a structured programme of AI Education and Training to build a common understanding of AI capability, opportunity and risk.
Third, the board identified the need to move from general interest in AI towards structured AI Use Case Discovery, enabling the organisation to identify and prioritise the most relevant opportunities aligned to its strategic objectives.
Together, these activities would help complete the Discover stage of the Orr Consulting AI Transformation Process.
Finally, the board tasked the senior leadership team to provide a follow-up paper on progress with requested actions together with a proposed plan for subsequent AI Strategy and Roadmap development.
7. Final Thoughts
Many organisations recognise the potential of AI but remain uncertain about how prepared they are to adopt it effectively.
An AI Capability and Maturity Assessment provides a structured way to answer that question.
By establishing a clear baseline across leadership, governance, data, people and delivery capability, organisations can move beyond assumptions and develop a practical understanding of their readiness for AI.
This clarity allows leadership teams to prioritise capability development, strengthen governance and focus investment where it will deliver the greatest long-term value.
This Case Study is part of the Orr Consulting AI Insights Library — structured thinking for AI transformation leaders and decision makers.
8. Call to Action
If your organisation is exploring artificial intelligence but is uncertain about its current readiness, an AI Capability and Maturity Assessment can provide a practical starting point.
If this case study reflects questions your organisation is currently considering, Orr Consulting would be pleased to discuss your next AI steps.
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