Change

Change Design by David King
Change Design
In the modern world of business the pressure to improve efficiency and effectiveness has never been
greater. We know change is needed, but what change?
How do we set about designing the changes required, especially in complex businesses and
organisations?
How do we begin to translate our designs for change into plans that we can actually implement?
This topic is about what should happen before you start to make changes to your procedures, your
systems, your organisational structures, your infrastructure or, indeed, anything that has complexity and
the potential for broad impact across the organisation. If you are working with change consultants, it will
help you to understand some of the tools and techniques they will be using to plan for and implement
successful change.
Copyright © David King

Introduction
According to the UK government’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the need
for effective management of change has never been more evident.
Change is a way of life for all organisations. Where there is

major change there will be complexity and risk. There
could be many inter-dependencies and conflicting
priorities to resolve.
Managing successful programmes, OGC, 2007
There may indeed be powerful and convincing drivers for the need to make significant
change, but the true rationale and underlying business goals may not always be clearly
articulated. This can result in confusion about the reason why changes are required and
what specifically needs to be done.
Change needs to be designed, and the crucial first step in any designed change is to
establish a clear vision as the basis for the change that is required.
Vision before change

The value of developing a coherent and purposeful Vision Statement for an organisation
cannot, therefore, be underestimated. Moreover, such a statement has to have real
meaning for everyone involved in the change: it must effectively communicate a vision
of the future that will be desirable, compelling, motivating and inspiring.
A good vision statement doesn’t emerge by chance, nor is it the product of some ‘dark
art’ conducted in a boardroom somewhere ‘up there’ in the organisation, possibly with
the help of external consultants. If that happens, few people understand quite where the
vision came from or what its true purpose is. The results frequently become little more
than ‘corporate wallpaper’, adorning as they do the corridors and offices of most
organisation buildings, exhorting us all to live up to the values, beliefs and vision
expressed.
It is also not the same thing as a mission statement, which is usually set at too high a
level and is often too vague to be useful when addressing specific change requirements.
The principles and techniques for creating a worthwhile and achievable Vision Statement
are readily accessible and lead to a vision that has meaning and relevance to everyone in
an organisation, especially when going through major change. What’s needed is a vision
that will inspire, motivate and achieve buy-in from everyone who contributes to the
success of an organisation.

The good...
Our vision is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best
means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make
every customer in every restaurant smile.
Well known global fast-food restaurant
The bad...
We ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the [product] and
reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the [product]. Today, we continue
to lead the industry in innovation with our award-winning computers, [product]
operating system and applications. We are also spearheading the digital media revolution
with its portable music and video players and online store, and have entered the mobile
phone market with our revolutionary [product].
Well known global technology solutions provider
This topic aims to help you approach the challenge of creating a vision for your
organisation by introducing you to simple approaches, tools and techniques so that you
can ensure your change programme gets off to the best possible start.
In a nutshell
1. Preparing for change
Change doesn’t ‘just happen’: organisations going through change have to understand
both the wider context and the key drivers for change as well as developing a clear
understanding of what the future should look like.
 If you know where you are going it is easier to get there.
 The driving and restraining forces need to be fully understood.
 The current pace of change reflects increasing pressures to improve efficiency

and economy and to deliver value for money and quality outputs.
 The context for change has a significant bearing on the approach to take and the
timescales.
 Preparing fully for change enables organisations to focus both on the realisation
of benefits and the management of risks.
More...
2. Six-step cycle for planning change

Below is the six-step cycle used for successful major change:
1. Explore all the possible (relevant) future scenarios, using the tools in this topic
2. Test and validate the scenarios that best represent the target for change
3. Compare the target for change with the current state to see what is missing
4. Specify the changes needed to get you to your target (destination, in other words)
in the most cost-effective and productive way possible, with maximum benefits
and minimum risk
5. Optimise – don’t worry if you don’t get it right first time; you can always
backtrack and try another scenario that works better or has a more attractive
return on investment
6. Agree – continue until you gain a genuine consensus across all key stakeholders.
More...
3. First things first
The logical place to start is by figuring out where you want to be when the change is
done.
 Hold workshops, brainstorms and information sharing events to explain why

change is needed and get input from a wide variety of stakeholders.
 Consider why the current situation is not acceptable – share both the good and
bad, what needs to change and why, balanced against what will be retained. You
need to uncover all the different drivers for change. If you later find that you have
missed one, and it turns out to be critical, then your change programme is unlikely
to ‘fix’ it.
 Establish what needs to change and how far-reaching the change should be: is it
‘strategic’, ‘tactical’ or ‘reactive’?
More...
4. The Kurt Lewin change model
This model describes three states that organisations go through:
 Unfreeze – something needs to change; in the ‘unfreeze’ state, you should seek to
‘unlock’ the present way of doing things or ‘status quo’, create a new vision for
the business, establish the change requirements and plan for implementing the
changes
 Move – plan and execute the required changes, managing implementation of all
change products and ensuring delivery of the required benefits
 Refreeze – the changes are fully implemented and consolidated and become the
‘steady state’ management and operation of the business or organisation.
More...
5. Exploring viewpoints
Viewpoints are expressions by stakeholders of the ultimate purpose, role or aim of the
business organisation, offered from a variety of different perspectives. It’s important to
remain aware that the real reasons for change may not always be apparent and will need
to be established.
 Hold a series of workshops and working sessions to involve as many key

stakeholders as possible.
 Use Mind Mapping® techniques to capture the different viewpoints of

stakeholders.
 Use creative thinking approaches if new ideas or insights do not come easily.
 Select the main (sometimes called ‘primary’) viewpoints for further analysis; in

other words, focus on those most relevant to the desired future state.
 Use the why-what-how hierarchy tool to prioritise and select the most relevant
and interesting viewpoints for further exploration.
More...
6. Why-what-how hierarchy
For each primary viewpoint – in other words, what you want the business or

organisation to do – you should identify one or more reasons why you want to do it.
Additionally, for each viewpoint, you should be able to identify possible ways that this
might be achieved – in other words, how.
More...
7. Developing a vision statement
For change to succeed in an organisation, a vision statement must have meaning or

relevance to everyone in it. An organisation’s mission statement is usually set at too high
a level and is often too vague to be useful when addressing specific change
requirements.
Soft systems methods suggest that you identify the following key elements, expressed in
an easy-to-remember mnemonic – VOCATE:
 Viewpoint – the ‘purpose’ or what the business wants to achieve
 Owner – who ‘controls’ the business system and is accountable
 Customer – who the business system serves or who benefits by it
 Actors – the people who will actually do the work
 Transformation – how the change we want will be effected in practice
 Environment – the constraints or factors that influence how the business will
operate.
More...
8. Blueprint models
Building models are a great way to add substance to the vision by helping others to
better understand and visualise how the business will operate in its new ‘future state’.
Models also enable more direct comparisons to be made with the current situation; for
example, why and how is it different or what, specifically, do we need to change?
 The seven-generic model suggests that every business ‘system’ should have these
seven components – a purpose or objective, environmental constraints, a plan or
programme, people, financial and other resources, business operations,
performance monitoring, and review and control.
 The seven components should be included when you construct your blueprint
business model, based on your vision statement and illustrating all of the activities
or processes that must take place for the business ‘system’ described to work.
More...
9. Capability analysis
Just having a blueprint business model is not enough. Understanding the full implications
of change enables a fully informed decision process about where developments or
investment are needed. This ‘capability analysis’ will provide the baseline against which
specified improvements can be measured, post implementation. In capability analysis
you need to
 Establish the required ‘new capability’ for each activity defined in the blueprint
model
 Ensure each activity has (without exception!) both an input and an output – the
activity represents the ‘transformation’ that converts one into the other. If either
input or output is missing, you should query what the activity is for.
Common questions
1. My organisation already has a mission statement, so why do I need to know how to
create a vision statement for my change programme?
2. We have made lots of changes in our organisation in the past, so won’t people know
what they have to do without being told?
3. Why do I need to consult widely on our plans for change: surely it is the job of the
executive board in my organisation to decide what is needed?
4. Everyone in my organisation already understands how things work so why do we need to

develop new business models?
5. We already have a set of business process models in our organisations so don’t we

already have all the information required to work out what changes we need to make?
6. Once we have worked out the changes we need to make, surely it will be obvious what
then needs to be done, so why do we need a costly ‘change programme’ to plan these
changes?
1. My organisation already has a mission statement, so why do I need to know

how to create a vision statement for my change programme?
For change to succeed in an organisation, the vision must have meaning or relevance to
everyone in an organisation. A mission statement is usually set at too high a level and is
often too vague to be useful when addressing specific change requirements. The vision
needs to inspire, motivate and achieve buy-in from everyone who will contribute to the
success of an organisation.
More...
2. We have made lots of changes in our organisation in the past, so won’t

people know what they have to do without being told?
Change doesn’t ‘just happen’ and organisations going through change have to
understand both the wider context and key drivers for change as well as developing a
clear understanding of what the future should look like.
Only then can they confidently plan and equip themselves to succeed with their change
programmes and projects.
More...
3. Why do I need to consult widely on our plans for change: surely it is the job
of the executive board in my organisation to decide what is needed?
You must endeavour to work with your key stakeholders to explore useful and
informative viewpoints of the desired ‘Future State’. The exact scope and nature of this
‘Future State’ will be influenced by many different drivers, viewpoints and perspectives.
More...
4. Everyone in my organisation already understands how things work so why

do we need to develop new business models?
Building models is a great way to add substance to the Vision by helping others to better
understand and visualise how the business will operate in its new ‘future state’.
If we have a clear picture of where we want to be, it will be easier to work out how to
get there!
More...
5. We already have a set of business process models in our organisations so

don’t we already have all the information required to work out what changes
we need to make?
For any change programme to succeed, just having a business model is not enough.
Understanding the full implications of change enables a fully informed decision process
about where developments or investment are needed. A detailed capability analysis
establishes the ‘new capability’ to be delivered by the change programme.
More...
6. Once we have worked out the changes we need to make, surely it will be
obvious what then needs to be done, so why do we need a costly ‘change
programme’ to plan these changes?
The old adage of ‘if you know where you are going it is easier to get there’ rings
particularly true for change programmes in organisations. You would not set off on a
journey without first selecting your destination and then planning your route to get
there.
Preparing for change
Change doesn’t ‘just happen’: organisations going through change have to understand
both the wider context and the key drivers for change as well as developing a clear
understanding of what the future should look like. Only then can they confidently plan
and equip themselves to succeed with their change programmes and projects.
 The need for change can have many driving and restraining forces and each of
these need to be fully understood.
 The pace of change in modern business and organisations reflects ever-increasing

pressures to improve efficiency and economy and to deliver value for money and
quality outputs.
 The context for change has a significant bearing on the approach to take and the
timescales.
 Preparing fully for change enables organisations to focus both on the realisation
of benefits and the management of risks.
The old adage of ‘if you know where you are going it is easier to get there’ rings
particularly true for change programmes in organisations. You would not set off on a
journey without first selecting your destination and then planning your route to get
there.
Business change is no different.
Six-step cycle for planning change
Whether your planned change is transformational and organisation-wide or focused on

one area of your business organisation or service, these six steps are equally applicable:
1. Explore all the possible (relevant) future scenarios, using the tools in this topic
2. Test and validate the scenarios that best represent the target for change
3. Compare the target for change with the current state to see what is missing
4. Specify the changes needed to get you to your target (destination, in other words)
in the most cost-effective and productive way possible, with maximum benefits
and minimum risk
5. Optimise – don’t worry if you don’t get it right first time; you can always
backtrack and try another scenario that works better or has a more attractive
return on investment
6. Agree – continue until you gain a genuine consensus across all key stakeholders.
The tools and techniques outlined on the following pages will help you to build a clear
picture of the changes required to transform your organisation or business area.

First things first

As with many things, how you begin is crucial. The logical place to start is by figuring out
where you want to be when the change is done.
It would be a grand waste of time making changes only to find out you had arrived at the
wrong place.
You may be starting with some kind of high-level future state or vision in mind, perhaps
for the whole organisation, or perhaps for your local team or department. Or there may
simply be a level of dissatisfaction with the status quo; you know some kind of change is
required to make things better, but so far you haven’t really worked out what that
change needs to be.
Focus first on the need for change

1. Hold workshops, brainstorms and information sharing events to explain why
change is needed and get input from a wide variety of stakeholders.
2. Consider why, specifically, the current situation is not acceptable – share both the
good and bad, what needs to change and why, balanced against what will be
retained.
KEY POINT
You need to uncover all the different drivers for change. If you later find that you have
missed one, and it turns out to be critical, then your change programme is unlikely to ‘fix’
it.
3. Establish both what needs to change and how far-reaching the change should be:
is it ‘strategic’, ‘tactical’ or ‘reactive’?
Strategic change...
is likely to be far reaching and affect many functions and ‘core’ business activities.
Consider a fundamental change programme that maps all critical interfaces, boundaries
and dependencies across the entire business.
Tactical change...
is a response to an event that must be addressed at an operational level – for example,
to improve product quality or service delivery or meet a new requirement. You will still
need to fully understand all the critical business and operational interfaces that may be
affected by the change, however small it may first seem. A more strategic response may
still be needed.
Reactive change...
is a change linked to a specific event or failure that has to be addressed or corrected
quickly. A tactical response may be needed or even a strategic response, depending on
the scale and reach of the event or failure. An interim solution may be needed while the
full implications can be worked out.
Explore relevant and interesting viewpoints and perspectives of change to help you
focus on where and how change will be beneficial.
Design a change programme to determine how a change can be achieved that responds
to the key business drivers.
The Kurt Lewin change model

Kurt Lewin describes three states that organisations go through:
 The cycle through each change state can be quite rapid.
 In modern businesses and organisations, the ‘refreeze’ state can be transitory and
brief, as the quest for improvement drives onwards.
Unfreeze
Quite simply – something needs to change. Due to an external or internal driver (or
drivers), the business or organisation needs to restructure, reorganise, reengineer its
processes, change or develop new technology solutions. This could be in response to a
change in the business, financial, management, operational, people or technology
environment (for example, increased competition or a commercial threat, or an
acquisition or merger). In the ‘unfreeze’ state, you should seek to ‘unlock’ the present
way of doing things or ‘status quo’, establish a new vision for the business, establish the
change requirements and approach for implementing the changes.
Move
In this state, you are planning and executing the required changes, managing
implementation of all change products and ensuring delivery of the required benefits.
Refreeze
In this state, the changes are fully implemented and consolidated and become the
‘steady state’ management and operation of the business or organisation – at least until
the next big ‘unfreeze’ takes place!
Exploring viewpoints
Viewpoints are expressions by stakeholders of the ultimate purpose, role or aim of the
business organisation, offered from a variety of different perspectives, for example:
EXAMPLES
1. Our primary purpose will be to provide excellent information services, on

demand, through a variety of media
2. We will provide affordable and flexible information services that match

customers’ needs.
The first addresses quality and range; the second focuses on price and need. Both are
legitimate perspectives of the purpose of an organisation, but expressed from two
different viewpoints. Viewpoints help an organisation to explore different possibilities
and, ultimately, to select the most relevant and interesting ones for further development.
Symptoms versus underlying causes

When exploring viewpoints, you must endeavour to work with your key stakeholders to
explore useful and informative viewpoints of the desired ‘Future state’ (as opposed to
how things currently work). There’s a potential pitfall here: the exact scope and nature of
this future state will be influenced by many different drivers, so stakeholders may
express their perspectives on a desirable future by responding to symptoms (in other
words, the visible effects of problems or failures in the current state, such as ‘our
systems are too slow and cumbersome’) without understanding the root causes of the
underlying problems or failures. It’s important to remain aware, therefore, that the real
reasons for change may not always be apparent and will need to be established.
How to capture viewpoints

 Hold a series of workshops and working sessions to involve as many key
stakeholders as possible.
 Use Mind Mapping® techniques to capture the different viewpoints of

stakeholders.
An example of a ‘mind map’ of viewpoints
 Use creative thinking approaches if new ideas or insights do not come easily
(see Creative Thinking).
 Select the main (sometimes called ‘primary’) viewpoints for further analysis; in

other words, focus on those most relevant to the desired future state. Other
viewpoints may still be valid, but they may not represent the principle reason why
the organisation or business area exists. An example of a primary viewpoint might
be ‘to deliver expert clinical services to patients according to need’, whereas a
secondary viewpoint may be ‘to provide patients with an accessible and
comfortable environment in which to be treated.’
 Use the Why-what-how hierarchy tool to prioritise and select the most relevant
and interesting viewpoints for further exploration.
The most useful viewpoints can now be developed further as the basis for creating a
new future state vision for your organisation or business area. It is quite likely that this
vision will emerge as a composite of all the ‘best bits’ from the exploration of different
viewpoints, rather than from just one single viewpoint.
Why-what-how hierarchy
A really great technique for sorting out the priorities or relationships between the
different viewpoints captured is a ‘why-what-how’ diagram. For each primary viewpoint
– in other words, what you want the business or organisation to do – you should identify
one or more reasons why you want to do it. Additionally, for each viewpoint, you should
be able to identify possible ways that this might be achieved – in other words, how.
Use the ‘why-what-how’ technique to confirm your understanding of ‘level’ and

significance of each selected viewpoint.
EXAMPLE
... of a why-what-how hierarchy:

‘Be more profitable/efficient’ (= WHY)
‘Expand the scope of products and services’ (= WHAT or VIEWPONT)
‘Develop new business partnerships’ (= HOW)

The most useful viewpoints can now be developed further as the basis for creating a
new vision for your organisation or business area.
Developing a vision statement

For change to succeed in an organisation, a vision statement must have meaning or
relevance to everyone in it. An organisation’s mission statement is usually set at too high
a level and is often too vague to be useful when addressing specific change
requirements.
So far you have captured your thoughts about what the ‘future state’ should be like.
Now you need to structure these ideas to create a more formal vision statement that
everyone can agree to.
One approach I have found useful is the ‘soft systems methodology’ of Sir Peter
Checkland (see Want to know more?). This will help you to define the system you want,
building on the viewpoints.
Soft systems methods suggest that you identify the following key elements, expressed in
an easy-to-remember mnemonic: VOCATE (sometimes CATWOE is used, where the ‘W’
stands for Worldview or Weltanschauung). This highlights what you need to consider
when defining the new ‘business system’, including the ‘soft’ people components:
A vision statement that uses the VOCATE elements will read like this:
An [OWNER] owned system to [VIEWPOINT] on behalf of [CUSTOMERS] by using

[ACTORS] to [TRANSFORMATION] within the constraints of [ENVIRONMENT].
Use this template as a guide only, to ensure that all systems elements are present.
Careful drafting will enhance the clarity and impact of your Vision Statement. Here is an
example of one developed for a health and fitness group that has recently acquired a
new club to be integrated into the group:
EXAMPLE
A business system owned by the General Manager [the OWNER] that will fully integrate
the new club into the Group and will ensure it meets Group business, financial, service
quality and safety goals [the VIEWPOINT]. This will be achieved through focusing as a
priority on the provision to members (and prospective members) [the CUSTOMER] of
excellent, fit-for-purpose facilities and value-added services and amenities, combined
with the development of mutually beneficial partnerships with statutory bodies, local
businesses and the community [the TRANSFORMATION].
The club’s facilities and services will be managed and delivered by suitably trained and
experienced personnel, supplemented by experts drawn from the Group [the ACTORS].
Constraints will include the health and safety regulatory framework, the club’s
infrastructure and capacity, acquisition budget limitations, image/branding requirements,
service quality and the compatibility of partners, suppliers and sponsors
[the ENVIRONMENT].
It would also be worth developing your vision statement to include reference to implicit
benefits: ‘the achievement of commercially and socially advantageous partnerships with
local businesses and the local community’, for example.
Now you are ready to develop your ideas further through building simple blueprint
business models. These will explain more fully how your vision will look in practice and
provide a basis for the work needed to turn your business vision into reality.
Blueprint models
Building models is a great way to add substance to the vision by helping others to better
understand and visualise how the business will operate in its new ‘future state’. Models
also enable more direct comparisons to be made with the current situation; for example,
why and how is it different or what, specifically, do we need to change?
More importantly, models aid learning and ensure a common understanding of what we
want – in other words, our shared ‘blueprint’ for change. If we all have a clear picture of
where we want to be, it will be easier to work out how to get there!
Blueprint models are ‘soft’ models that represent a sort of ‘prototype’ (in other words, a
model or simulation) of a viable and complete ‘business system’. At its simplest level, this
could mean drawing models of activities or processes using flip-charts or whiteboards
and coloured pens to bring them to life. Software tools are often used to create more
complex models, such as process flow diagrams.
Blueprint models are intended to be quite high-level explanations of how things should
work, so they should only include the minimum number of activities or processes that
you would expect to see working to achieve the Vision. When building models, it is
important to show how the activities/processes link together so that dependencies (both
internal and external) can be fully understood.
Models enable business managers and teams to develop and explore ideas visually and
interactively and can often be used to illustrate novel or radical alternative options that
will stimulate creative thinking.
Seven-generic model
According to research and experience of changing organisations in practice, it is possible
to define a finite set of ‘generic’ activities for any business system that involves human
activity. These activities have logical links and dependencies and are often shown as a
seven-generic model:
According to this generic model, every business ‘system’ should have these seven
components:
 A purpose or objective – such as specific targets or goals that will inform both the
Plan and Monitoring
 Environmental constraints – factors, such as available resources or legislation,

that may constrain or determine how things work and will also inform the Plan
 A plan or programme – needed to bring clarity of Purpose to the work that needs
doing, balanced against the Environmental factors and on which People, financial
and other resources can be worked out and agreed
 People, financial and other resources – these will be driven by the Plan and their
release will enable Business operations to be carried out
 Business operations – are dependent on having a Plan and the Resources needed
to do the work
 Performance monitoring – the work carried out in the Business operation is

compared to the Purpose or Objective to see how well it (the business system) is
working and inform decisions about Review and control
 Review and control – ensure that the results of Performance monitoring feed into
decisions about changes that might be needed to any aspect of how things work.
The jagged arrow (see below) indicates that a change could be needed in any
other part of the generic business model.
How to develop a blueprint business model

Although these models may look quite complicated at first, in fact they are relatively
simple to create:
 First develop or select a vision statement to model
 Make a simple list of all of the activities or processes that must take place for the
business ‘system’ described to work
 Place each activity in a cloud shape (see illustration)
 Each activity must contain a verb (it is an activity after all!)
 Always use clear, plain and descriptive language so everyone can understand
what the activity means
 Connect the cloud shapes containing activities with arrows, to show the direction
of dependencies between them (in other words, what needs to happen before
and what needs to happen after each activity is undertaken)
 Show dependencies to activities or processes that are external to the business

system being modelled (called ‘external entities’)
 REMEMBER
This is a blueprint for the future state and is therefore used to model your ideas.
Beware of ‘reality seepage’, whereby all you do is model or re-create the current
situation.
Check to ensure you have included the seven systemic components of the seven-
generic model
 Finally, test the model to see if each activity has at least one input and one output
 Create as many different models as you need to build a complete picture of how
your ‘future state’ should look and work.
Notations for blueprint models

An activity within the business model
An external entity impacting on the model
A dependency arrow between two activities

(can be two-way)
A ‘mouse hole’ is used to connect dependent

activities across the model
A multiple dependency to all other activities in

the model (can be two-way)
Blueprint model illustration

Checklist for testing your model

 Does the model fully reflect the vision statement? If not, you may need to revisit
it. Consider writing a new vision statement or even start again and draw a new
model.
 Is the model clear and explicit – does it communicate your ideas about the ‘future
state’?
 Does the model help to identify business critical activities? This is indicated by
the number of dependencies that exist with other activities in the model.
 Has the model enabled you to generate additional or new insights into how your
business could operate in the future?
 Has the process of building the model enabled you and your key stakeholders to
share a common understanding about what is needed (see below)?
Validating the model

 Construct models with your stakeholders so that validation is integral to the
process.
 Be prepared to walk people through the models to ensure they share your
understanding.
 Also be prepared to modify your models if people offer new ideas or insights.
 If different models overlap, consider merging them into a single (higher-level)

model to aid understanding.
 If more clarity is needed, consider developing additional or lower level models.
What next?
Now that you have created your blueprint business model, you are in great shape to fully
test and validate the model with the widest group of stakeholders and interested parties
in your organisation.
To do this, you need to take the model to the next level of detail by conducting
a Capability analysis.
Capability analysis
Just having a blueprint business model is not enough to make any change programme
successful. The blueprint model comprises a set of inter-dependent activities, each of
which has certain characteristics and requirements that must be fulfilled if change is to
be undertaken effectively. The next stage is to identify and consider the new activities
required to create effective change.
These are:
Knowledge and information – what do we need to know or understand and what data
or information is needed to carry out this activity well?
Organisation and people – what organisation structure, people skills and experience is
necessary to perform the required task(s)?
Process and procedure – what processes and procedures need to be followed and what
standards, criteria or rules govern its execution?
Environment and infrastructure – what physical and environmental requirements need

to be satisfied for the activity to be performed safely and productively?
Understanding the full implications of change enables a fully informed decision process
about where developments or investment are needed. This ‘capability analysis’ will
provide the baseline against which specified improvements can be measured, post
implementation.
In capability analysis you need to:
 Establish the required ‘new capability’ for each activity defined in the blueprint

model
 Ensure each activity has (without exception!) both an input and an output – the
activity represents the ‘transformation’ that converts one into the other. If either
input or output is missing, you should query what the activity is for.
The combined ‘capability’ of all activities represents the basis for a change programme.
The defined ‘new capability’ forms part of the overall blueprint and lays the foundation
for developing a detailed change requirements specification.
How to conduct a capability analysis

NOTE
Remember this: you are defining ‘future state’ capability, not what you currently do –
NO REALITY SEEPAGE ALLOWED!
1. Select each activity in your blueprint business model in turn (alternatively, closely
related activities may be grouped).
2. Use a capability table to capture, for each activity, the required capability in terms
of the four KOPE categories and to summarise the total ‘new capability’,
highlighting recurring requirements, themes and priorities.
The following are examples...
Knowledge and information
 Knowledge and experience
 Data and information needs
 Data inputs, outputs and flows
 Records, data stores and archives
 Management and operational information
 Data and application systems
Organisation and people
 Nature and type of work
 Core skills and competencies
 Specialist skills and attributes
 Discretion and delegation
 Staffing levels
 Organisation and team structures
 Roles and responsibilities
Processes and procedures
 Business processes/work flows
 Laws, regulations or rules
 Working principles or ‘rules of engagement’
 Critical success factors

 Performance criteria and measures
 Quality criteria and measures
 Decision flows, delegations and authorities
Environment and infrastructure
 Networks and business systems
 Physical infrastructure and facilities
 Working environment and ergonomics
 ‘Work-style’ interactions and proximity
 Flexible and alternative working methods
 Home and remote working
 Special tools and equipment
Capability summary table

Capture the results of your analysis in a capability summary table:
Knowledge Organisation Process Environment

Activity 1 for example: for example: for example: for example:
equipment use equipment skills fault reporting customer facing
Activity 2
Activity 3
and so on
What recurring requirements, themes and priorities have emerged from your analysis?
Where is more detail needed to help key stakeholders understand the proposals?
Is the capability defined complete and coherent? In other words, are there any significant
gaps in your understanding of what needs to happen and, more importantly, what needs
to change from the current situation?
What next?
 The capability analysis establishes the ‘new capability’ to be delivered by a change
programme as a whole, but often lacks explicit detail.
 More may therefore be needed to define the specific business changes to be

implemented.
 This usually means undertaking a thorough ‘requirements analysis’ so that the

changes to be delivered by individual projects in a change programme are
specified in full.
 Explicit (and quite detailed) user requirements and design ‘parameters’ will be
required by specialist solution providers and suppliers, such as IT services,
buildings and equipment suppliers.
 How well your capability analysis and the ensuing detailed requirements analysis
is done will be a major influencing factor on the design and planning of your
change programme and the journey towards your desired ‘future state’.
 Want to know more?
 Other topics
 Change
 Developing vision is about preparing people to change by helping them to focus

on a desirable ‘future state’. You need to get this right; so have a look at this topic
and you have a better chance of getting it right first time!
 Creative Thinking
 Creative thinking could provide a useful approach to helping stakeholders to

develop fresh insights and ideas about the desired ‘future state’.
 Facilitation
 When developing viewpoints and vision with a diverse group of stakeholders, you
want to be sure that you are getting their input without influencing that input
unduly. Facilitation will help them say what they need to say not what they think
you want to hear!
 Mind Mapping®
 Mind Mapping could provide a useful technique for developing vision with a
diverse group of stakeholders, providing a visual way to capture their viewpoints
and ideas about the desired ‘future state’.
 Vison and Mission
 Inevitably, purposeful change requires a view of the desired future, so Vison and
Mission are critical.
 Books
 Think, learn, improve – turn your business vision into reality
 David King, published by Management Books 2000, 2006, 200 pages
 This book is a practitioners’ master class in business programme design. It will

help you to understand how to apply systems thinking and utilise practical tools
and techniques for translating business strategy and vision into a complete and
integrated programme of development and implementation projects. This is a
book written for practitioners by a practitioner. The author has deliberately set
out to write only about the practical application of business analysis and related
tools and techniques. You will find some academic references but not very many.
Where the principles and thinking behind a particular approach are explained, this
is always followed by a description of how to apply it in practice, and illustrations
of the key techniques are always shown. The book is superbly illustrated by the
author with original diagrams and case study examples.
 Systems thinking, systems practice
 Peter Checkland, John Wiley & Sons 1999, 416 pages
 This book brings up to date Peter Checkland’s ideas about an alternative

approach to organisational design – Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) – which
enables managers of all kinds and at any level to deal with the subtleties and
confusions of the situations they face. This work established the now-accepted
distinction between ‘hard′ systems thinking, in which parts of the world are taken
to be ‘systems′ which can be ‘engineered′, and ‘soft′ systems thinking, in which the
focus is on making sure the process of inquiry into real–world complexity is itself
a system for learning. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice (1981) and Soft
Systems Methodology in Action (1990) together with an earlier paper, Towards a
Systems–based Methodology for Real–World Problem Solving (1972), have long
been recognised as classics in the field.
 Managing successful programmes
 Office of Government Commerce, 2007, 270 pages
 Combining rigour and flexibility, MSP helps all organisations – public sector and
private, large and small – achieve successful outcomes from their programme
management time and time again. To enable an organisation to manage its

programmes successfully, there must be a structured framework that does two
things. It must acknowledge that every programme exists in its own context and
demands unique interpretation. At the same time, the programme management
system must be universally applicable. MSP has been developed with these two
priorities in mind. Its framework allows users to consistently manage a huge
variety of programmes so that they deliver quality outcomes and lasting benefits.
Fusing leadership with management best practice, MSP enables organisations to
coordinate their key functions, develop a clear sense of unity and purpose and
achieve the strategic cohesion necessary to drive through effective change.
 Websites
 There is an archive of a Special Interest Group on the Chartered Quality Institute
website which explores the Deming approach - the implementation of an
alternative management style as introduced by the late Dr W Edwards Deming,
the renowned contributor to both management and the quality improvement
revolution worldwide. Change and quality go hand in hand and there is lots of
good material on this site.
 Author
 You can also contact the author directly: David King

Change

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Change

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Change Design by David King

Copyright © David King

Change is a way of life for all organisations. Where there is

Vision before change

1. Preparing for change

 If you know where you are going it is easier to get there.

 The driving and restraining forces need to be fully understood.

 The current pace of change reflects increasing pressures to improve efficiency

2. Six-step cycle for planning change

Below is the six-step cycle used for successful major change:

3. First things first

 Hold workshops, brainstorms and information sharing events to explain why

4. The Kurt Lewin change model

This model describes three states that organisations go through:

 Hold a series of workshops and working sessions to involve as many key

 Use Mind Mapping® techniques to capture the different viewpoints of

 Select the main (sometimes called ‘primary’) viewpoints for further analysis; in

For each primary viewpoint – in other words, what you want the business or

7. Developing a vision statement

For change to succeed in an organisation, a vision statement must have meaning or

 Viewpoint – the ‘purpose’ or what the business wants to achieve

 Owner – who ‘controls’ the business system and is accountable

 Customer – who the business system serves or who benefits by it

 Actors – the people who will actually do the work

 Transformation – how the change we want will be effected in practice

4. Everyone in my organisation already understands how things work so why do we need to

5. We already have a set of business process models in our organisations so don’t we

1. My organisation already has a mission statement, so why do I need to know

2. We have made lots of changes in our organisation in the past, so won’t

4. Everyone in my organisation already understands how things work so why

5. We already have a set of business process models in our organisations so

Preparing for change

 The pace of change in modern business and organisations reflects ever-increasing

Business change is no different.

Six-step cycle for planning change

Whether your planned change is transformational and organisation-wide or focused on

First things first

Focus first on the need for change

The Kurt Lewin change model

 The cycle through each change state can be quite rapid.

1. Our primary purpose will be to provide excellent information services, on

2. We will provide affordable and flexible information services that match

Symptoms versus underlying causes

How to capture viewpoints

 Use Mind Mapping® techniques to capture the different viewpoints of

An example of a ‘mind map’ of viewpoints

 Select the main (sometimes called ‘primary’) viewpoints for further analysis; in

Use the ‘why-what-how’ technique to confirm your understanding of ‘level’ and

... of a why-what-how hierarchy:

‘Expand the scope of products and services’ (= WHAT or VIEWPONT)

‘Develop new business partnerships’ (= HOW)

Developing a vision statement

An [OWNER] owned system to [VIEWPOINT] on behalf of [CUSTOMERS] by using

 Environmental constraints – factors, such as available resources or legislation,

 Performance monitoring – the work carried out in the Business operation is

How to develop a blueprint business model

 First develop or select a vision statement to model

 Place each activity in a cloud shape (see illustration)

 Each activity must contain a verb (it is an activity after all!)

 Show dependencies to activities or processes that are external to the business

Notations for blueprint models

An external entity impacting on the model

A dependency arrow between two activities