Integrated Framework and SaaS Prototype for Strategic Maintenance Management
maintenance management maturity; software as a service; Brazilian public sector; Design Science Research; maintenance planning and control; quality management tools.
he maintenance function plays a strategic role in organizational performance; however, in Brazil—particularly within the public sector—maintenance management is still largely characterized by emergency corrective actions and by the lack of integrated technological instruments to assess and systematically improve maturity. In response to this gap, this study aims to develop and evaluate, under the Design Science Research paradigm, an integrated framework and a high-fidelity functional Software as a Service (SaaS) prototype to diagnose, plan, and control the evolution of maintenance maturity at the Federal Court of Rio Grande do Norte and its associated units. The research adopts a mixed-methods approach structured by the SPIDER framework, combining iterative agile technological development with exploratory innovation-management practices, guided by market-sizing metrics (TAM, SAM, and SOM). As results achieved to date, the technological artifact has been fully implemented, operationalizing an integrated logic that connects a multi-dimensional maturity audit model, a structured planning and management system, the PDCA cycle, and the 5W2H quality tool into four logical layers. This design is intended to address a technological gap identified through comparative assessments against traditional computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), by providing a consistent methodological chain linking diagnosis, action planning, and continuous-improvement control. The study concludes that the prototype shows strong potential as an innovative governance and strategic-intelligence solution, enabling the transition from a predominantly reactive scenario to a proactive, traceable approach aligned with institutional objectives and sustainability goals. This work also sets the stage for the post-qualification phase, in which empirical usability and perceived-utility validation will be conducted with end users and managers.