Getting a score is easy. Acting on it is where maturity work quietly stalls.
The playbook turns a dimension-level diagnosis into one focused improvement, a measurable acceptance test, and a permanent learning loop.
Don't ask only “what's our AQ level?” Ask where you land on each of the five dimensions. Most organizations are uneven: often strong on Amplification and weak on Capture. That gap — not the headline level — is where the actual work is.
If Capture is at AQ2 while Amplification is at AQ4, more amplification won't help — you're multiplying a small number faster. The highest-leverage move is usually to bring the lowest dimension closer to the others.
Pick the specific knowledge, workflow, or decision rule to capture and operationalize next. Set measurable acceptance criteria before starting. If you can't state what success looks like up front, the target is too vague.
The team or function feeling the most pain from thin capture gets the most value from fixing it — and has the strongest reason to do the work instead of treating it as a side project.
Run the assessment again against the acceptance criteria. If the play worked, roll the pattern to the next team or dimension. If it didn't, treat the result as information and move to the next-highest-leverage gap.
The loop doesn't end at AQ5. Sustaining AQ5 is this cycle running continuously — the purpose of the Feedback & Improvement dimension in the first place.
Assess the uneven system. Fix the weakest multiplier. Prove the change. Feed the learning back in.