MAREVA Maturity · Value assessment of public sector digital projects
The value of your digital projects, measured against MAREVA and turned into a roadmap.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
MAREVA Maturity · Value assessment of public sector digital projects
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One MAREVA (Méthode d’Analyse et de Remontée de la Valeur), the French State’s framework for assessing digital projects assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
This mechanism, a level, the level above it, and the action that connects the two, is what turns an observation into a trajectory.
Are the gains announced in the value case verified after the project goes live?
- N1
No verification after go live. The value case is no longer consulted once the decision has been made.
- N2
A few reviews exist, carried out at the initiative of project managers, with no common format or planned date.
- N3
A review is planned for each project at a defined milestone, using a common format. The main gains are compared with the original assumptions.
- N4
Each gain has a named owner, deviations are explained and presented to a governance body, and assumptions in new files are corrected accordingly.
- N5
The reviews feed a reference base of assumptions, periodically revised, used to assess and challenge any new value case.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Add a value review milestone twelve months after go live to the project file template, with a single comparison format between announced and observed gains, and put it on the investment committee’s agenda.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurementon MAREVA.
What this framework covers
MAREVA is the value assessment method developed for the French State, in line with the work of the interministerial digital directorate. It requires a project to be assessed against several complementary dimensions: value delivered to the user, internal gains for staff and departments, control of project risks, alignment with the State information system’s guidelines, and an up to date financial appraisal. The aim is not to justify spending after the fact, but to inform an investment decision and track its effects.
The difficulty starts with day to day use. The value assessment is often produced once, to get past a committee, then abandoned as soon as the project launches. Are the assumed gains attached to a named owner, or do they remain anonymous entries in a spreadsheet? Are non financial benefits, time saved by the user, a simplified process, data quality, described in measurable terms or merely asserted? And when the project drifts, is the value assessment revisited, or do the original figures stand unchanged until go live?
The context has changed since the method was designed. Public sector digital projects are now assessed against criteria that did not exist in the earliest files: digital accessibility, environmental footprint and sobriety, hosting sovereignty, reuse of shared components rather than bespoke development, continuous product rather than a project with an end date. A common confusion is to reduce MAREVA to a return on investment calculation. The financial calculation is only one dimension, and rarely the one that separates two worthwhile projects.
The maturity assessment does not ask the same question as a project file review. A review concludes: the file is acceptable, or it is not. The assessment situates the organisation’s practice on a progressive scale, theme by theme, and points to the specific action that moves it up a level. It does not judge a single project, it measures the collective capability to assess, decide on and track the value of the whole portfolio.
In Datamensio, the MAREVA framework is ready to use and adaptable. The AI adjusts the themes, questions and levels to your organisation, whether a ministry, an agency, a local authority or a public establishment, or builds a variant from your own scoping documents and investment committee templates.
Reference standard: MAREVA (Méthode d’Analyse et de Remontée de la Valeur), the French State’s framework for assessing digital projects
The themes assessed
Project scoping and objectives
Formalisation of the need, scope, alternatives considered including the option of doing nothing, alignment with a strategic direction, success criteria defined before launch.
Value for the user
Identification of the audiences concerned, description of user journeys, simplified processes, digital accessibility, usage and satisfaction indicators chosen.
Value for staff and services
Time savings, elimination of re-keying, data quality, working conditions, change management support and training planned.
Economic and financial analysis
Total cost over the life cycle, recurring costs and operational maintenance, quantified gains and their assumptions, discounting, sensitivity scenarios.
Control of project risks
Identification of schedule, workload, supplier dependency and adoption risks, scoring, mitigation measures, exit and redirection points.
Alignment with the information system
Alignment with the technical coherence framework, reuse of existing components and data, interoperability, technical debt induced, hosting and sovereignty choices.
Governance and decision making
Decision making bodies, role of the business sponsor, decision milestones, traceability of choices, alignment with budget planning.
Tracking value during execution
Revisiting the assessment at milestones, updating assumptions, trajectory dashboard, decisions taken in case of deviation.
Post go live review
Actual measurement of announced gains, comparison with the original file, lessons learned formalised and shared, reuse in subsequent files.
Digital sobriety and responsibility
Consideration of environmental footprint, equipment lifespan, eco design of services, documented trade offs between features and impact.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Is MAREVA a certifiable standard?
No. It is a value assessment method for public sector digital projects, with no certification body. The assessment measures the maturity of your assessment and tracking practices, it does not issue any certificate.
What is the difference between this assessment and a project file review?
A review examines a project and concludes on its acceptability. The assessment covers the organisation’s capability: assessing value, deciding, tracking and verifying. It operates at portfolio level and collective practice, not on a single file.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version takes about thirty minutes for a portfolio manager to complete. The full version, run collaboratively with business departments, management control and the project team, spans one to two weeks, most of the time going into data collection.
Can the framework be adapted for a local authority or an agency?
Yes. You can change the questions, levels and themes, or start from your own scoping documents. The AI produces a variant adapted to your size, governance and internal vocabulary.
Can several directorates or entities be compared with each other?
Yes. The same framework can be rolled out to several business units or directorates, with a benchmark of scores per theme and a comparison with your previous assessments. A cross cutting roadmap then consolidates the action plans.
How is the action plan built?
The gap between the observed score and the target generates the actions. The AI groups them into a prioritised roadmap, and the solutions catalogue links each action to a solution with its cost, timeframe and expected impact on the score.
Do respondents need financial expertise?
No. The questions cover scoping, decision making and tracking practices, not the construction of a discounted calculation. Financial questions can be assigned to management control in collaborative mode.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, with OVH, backed up with Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including from European providers.