Ocean practices, which include various methods supporting ocean research and operations, are continually developed and improved to aid informed decision-making. These practices often begin with an idea from an individual or group and evolve into what might be called good or even best practices. However, this evolution of ocean practices can follow different paths, making it difficult for new users to compare practices with similar goals and decide which is best. While a best practice should ideally be defined through collaborative efforts based on evidence, repeatability, and comparability, there need to be objective attributes for defining what makes a practice good, better, or best. A new research paper supported by ObsSea4Clim explores this issue and proposes a new maturity model for ocean practices.

In their recent paper, “An ocean practices maturity model: from good to best practices” published in Frontiers in Marine Science, the research team led by Carlo Mantovani develops a maturity model inspired by existing models for systems and software. The model helps assess both the maturity of a practice and its implementation, identifies gaps, and suggests improvements. It has been tested on several widely used practices, with results discussed in the paper. The goal is to create a common approach for developing and evaluating practices, leading to greater interoperability and trust.

One of ObsSea4Clim researchers, Jay Pearlman, reflects on the importance of this research:

“We are often asked what is a best practice”, says Jay Pearlman of IEEE France, a partner in ObsSea4Clim. “Our new model identifies a best practice as a widely used, endorsed method which is sustained through user feedback, expert review and training.  The maturity model is applicable to all aspects of the value chain from observations and data to information and applications. Users now have clearer guidance in selecting the practices they need.”

Curious to learn more?

The paper is available in Open Access through Frontiers in Marine Science:

Mantovani, C., Pearlman, J., Rubio, A., Przeslawski, R., Bushnell, M., Simpson, P., Corgnati, L., Alvarez, E., Cosoli, S., Roarty, H. (2024). “An ocean practices maturity model: from good to best practices”, Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol. 11, DOI:10.3389/fmars.2024.1415374.