3.4.1. CI Model Steps: Vision, Assessment, and Planning

💡 First Principle: Successful improvement begins not with action, but with clarity: understanding the high-level goal, the current reality, and the specific, measurable target for the future.

Scenario: A team feels their incident response is "too slow." To improve, they first clarify the vision: "To be the most responsive support team in the company." They assess where they are now by measuring their current average resolution time. They define where they want to be with a specific target: "Reduce average resolution time by 20% in the next quarter." Finally, they plan how to get there by identifying key bottlenecks in their current process.

This subsection covers the initial steps of the Continual Improvement model, focusing on understanding the vision, assessing the current state, defining targets, and planning the approach.

1. What is the vision? (Align with organizational objectives)
   • Your Role: Understand the overall organizational vision and how your potential improvements align with it. What are we trying to achieve as a team or department?
2. Where are we now? (Baseline assessment)
   • Your Role: Gather data and information about the current state of the service or practice you want to improve. Be objective and data-driven. Use techniques from the "Start Where You Are" principle.
3. Where do we want to be? (Define measurable targets)
   • Your Role: Define clear, measurable goals for your improvement initiative. What does success look like? How will you know if you've made a difference?
4. How do we get there? (Define improvement plan)
   • Your Role: Develop a plan outlining the steps needed to reach your targets. Consider the resources, timelines, and potential challenges. Apply principles like "Progress Iteratively."

⚠️ Common Pitfall: Skipping the "Where are we now?" step. Without a clear baseline, it's impossible to measure whether an improvement has actually made a difference.

Key Trade-Offs:

• Ambitious Vision vs. Achievable Targets: The vision can be aspirational, but the target for a specific improvement iteration (where do we want to be?) must be realistic and achievable to maintain motivation and demonstrate progress.

Reflection Question: Why is it critical that the target defined in "Where do we want to be?" is measurable? What happens to an improvement initiative without measurable goals?