SmElevate — Our Model
An integrated operating model from strategic intent to measurable business performance.
SmElevate
SmElevate is the proprietary operating model developed by Acumen Plus. It synthesises Strategy Execution, Project Portfolio Management (PPM), and Organisational Change Management into a single, coherent framework — providing organisations with a structured, repeatable pathway from strategic intent to measurable business outcomes.
Why SmElevate?
Most organisations struggle not because they lack strategy, but because the disciplines required to execute it operate in silos. Strategy teams set direction. Portfolio teams manage investments. Program teams deliver change. HR and change teams manage people. Each discipline has its own frameworks, language, and governance — and the gaps between them are where value is lost.
SmElevate closes those gaps by providing an integrated model that connects each discipline to the next — ensuring that strategic intent flows through portfolio decisions, into program delivery, through organisational change, and ultimately into realised business benefits.
The nine perspectives of SmElevate
Strategy Formulation
Is strategy clear, evidence-based, measurable and executable?
- How well the organisational strategy (including vision, mission and strategic objectives) is formulated?
- Does it address the changing external environment?
- How well does it get communicated to Senior, Middle and Line Management?
Leadership Commitment
Do leaders provide visible sponsorship, accountability and direction?
- How well are top and senior leaders committed to achieving the organisational goals?
- Are these goals at the top of strategy review meetings?
- Are senior management aware that achievement of strategic goals depends on interaction of multifarious factors — spanning people, process, technology and culture — and accountable for its delivery?
- Are the value systems consistently communicated and followed? How are deviations actioned upon?
- Is the leadership open to adopting change from current AI and technology advancements?
Organisational Culture
Does the culture support collaboration, accountability, innovation and change?
- Which is the key organisational metaphor driving the culture of the organisation?
- Are middle and line management able to provide feedback if strategy is not working? How well are these feedbacks taken and actioned upon?
- Are staff empowered to take decisions within their delegated limits?
- Does the organisation foster knowledge management, innovation and action on feedback?
- What is the level of trust and transparency? How are feedback loops strengthened and actioned upon?
- How effectively is workforce planning and competency enhancement undertaken to achieve strategic goals?
Project & Portfolio Management
Are investments and initiatives selected, governed and delivered effectively?
- How strong is the project portfolio management (PPM) support for strategy execution?
- Is the project portfolio strongly aligned with the priorities of the business portfolio — in its definition and execution?
- How strong are the processes, tool support and information support for PPM?
- How well is PPM capacity and capability nurtured?
- How strong is the linkage of strategy formulation and its implementation to benefits realised and budgets spent for change?
- How well does the project portfolio adapt with changes in strategy?
- For this critical perspective, we can link up with assessment of PPM maturity through the PMBOK framework, if required.
Financial, Supply Chain, HR & Information Management
Are resources aligned effectively with strategic priorities?
- How robust is the IT support for the business?
- How well do the financial and supply chain systems support the strategic objectives?
- Are these systems set to highlight what is working and what is not, with specific data and KPIs?
- How well is the capability and capacity of human resources developed and utilised to achieve strategic goals?
- How deeply are skill enhancement, knowledge management and talent nurturing embedded in HR processes?
Governance, Risk & Compliance
Are decisions, risks and accountabilities managed appropriately?
- How strong are the organisational governance systems?
- Do they detect abnormal performance deviations, frauds and similar issues early?
- How strong are the organisational risk management systems?
- Are the organisational systems compliant with applicable regulatory and industry frameworks and good practices?
Products & Services Design and Delivery
Is the organisation continuously creating and improving value?
- How innovative is the organisation in offering new products and services to the market?
- Are these being adapted to emerging market and technology trends, including adoption of AI?
- Is the organisation nimble enough to restructure itself to offer newer products and services?
Marketing and Sales
How strong are the marketing and sales functions?
- Does the marketing and sales strategy support the overall organisational strategy?
- Does the organisation have a clear segmentation of customers and has it ascertained their needs?
- Are solutions co-designed to address specific requirements of key customers?
Service Delivery Excellence
Can the organisation consistently translate strategy into high-quality service delivery?
- How are feedbacks from customers addressed?
- Are product and service delivery processes optimised to ensure value?
- Is there a corporate culture to minimise waste and enhance efficiency?
Strategy → Portfolio → Programs/Projects → Change/Transformation → Benefits → Business Performance → Strategic Objectives
The SmElevate Assessment Process
The SmElevate model consists of six broad steps, broadly sequential in nature, but with appropriate feedback loops, as under:
Discern
Herein, we understand the organizational strategy, its vision and mission and overall strategic goals. We also assess the value systems of the organization, current performance levels, value gaps, issues and constraints faced and the expectations from Senior Management. AI facilitated assistance is leveraged where applicable.
Decompose
In this step, we work with Senior Management in decomposing the overall value gap into mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive value streams, with discrete targets. These value streams can form the basis of strategic themes, if the organization is using Balanced Scorecard or similar approach. Involvement from Business Leaders is ensured so that their buy-in for the set targets gets ensured. Stakeholder engagement and facilitation are key techniques used during this step. (If an organization has already determined its value streams, we work on from there to derive the project portfolio as in the next step.)
Design
In this step, we determine the strategic initiatives (projects and programs) to be taken up for each of the value streams, across perspectives. These perspectives can cover work to be done across processes, business organization structure, technology interventions, information needs, knowledge management and culture change requirements. Existing initiatives are taken into account — to interface with the proposed change initiatives, as needed. The overall project portfolio (with sub-portfolios if applicable) gets created/updated during this critical step. It needs to be noted that defining the portfolio will take into account the existing project portfolio management maturity, extent of support provided by the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO), business imperatives and funding/resource constraints — and its definition can involve multiple iterations.
Deploy
In this step, the actual change initiatives (projects and programs) get launched. Proprietary project management models, along with industry standard methodologies (like Agile) can be used to manage these initiatives. Extensive business involvement is a major differentiator, to enhance the business ownership of the developed solutions.
Monitor
This step goes concurrently with the Deploy step, as the projects and programs are monitored, issues and risks are managed, resources are assigned and deliverables accepted by the business, transitioning into operations. Governance, quality, testing and organizational change management are important aspects during this step. Outcomes and benefits are realized and managed, transforming the concerned business unit operations.
Adapt
Based on lessons learnt, mid-course corrections are considered due to change in strategic priorities, resource availability and other constraints. The overall value realized by the organization due to the execution of the strategic portfolio initiatives is kept under review. Project portfolio management maturity gets enhanced. Knowledge databases are maintained for the organization to leverage on its past learnings.
Beyond the Maturity Score
The purpose of SmElevate is not to achieve the highest maturity score everywhere. Different organizations may settle for different levels of maturity, based on criticality and so forth.
The objective is to determine the right level of capability required to execute the organization's strategy successfully and concentrate investment where it creates the greatest impact.
Five Levels of Service Delivery Maturity
SmElevate evaluates organisational capability across five progressive maturity levels.
Execution is largely reactive and dependent on individuals / groups.
Basic processes exist but are applied inconsistently.
Organisation-wide processes, governance and responsibilities are established.
Performance is measured systematically and decisions are increasingly data driven.
Strategy execution is adaptive, integrated and continuously improved.
Proprietary guidance enables us to assess the current maturity level an organisation is in — and where they should move to for higher levels of excellence.
SmElevate in Action
2 July 2026
BlackBerry's Rise and Fall: SmElevate Analysis
Strategic Case Analysis: The Ascension and Decline of BlackBerry (RIM)
Download PDFWhat Makes SmElevate Different
- Integrated by design — not a collection of separate frameworks bolted together
- Grounded in applicable industry standards
- Adapted to your organisational context — not applied as a generic template
- AI-enabled throughout, not as a theoretical layer but as a practical accelerator
- Focused on measurable outcomes and benefit realisation, not just delivery activity
Explore how SmElevate can work for your organisation
Contact us to discuss how the SmElevate model can be tailored to your strategic context.
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