Full framework · 69 questions
Four areas, seen through four lenses
You don’t need to ask every question. Choose the ones most likely to expose assumptions at the stage you’re in, or let the Question Builder choose for you.
The four lenses
Codes like O·D1 are map references: area, lens, and item. Recurring questions come up in more than one area. New marks questions added from panel feedback.
Outcomes and what good looks like
Align on the problem, the value of solving it, and the evidence that the work was worthwhile.
Destination
Are we heading to the same place?
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O·D1
What problem are we solving right now, not eventually?
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O·D2
What are we optimizing for?
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O·D3
What does “worth it” look like for the institution? For the partner?
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O·D4
What does success look like 30, 60, and 90 days after delivery?
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O·D5
What must still be true a year after this project is delivered?
Routes & Roles
Who navigates, who decides, who’s accountable?
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O·R1
Who defines success metrics and acceptance criteria?
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O·R2
Who owns adoption and change management, and who owns delivery?
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O·R3
What stays internal by design?
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O·R4
Where are we assuming capacity?
Signals & Checkpoints
How do we know when the landscape is changing?
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O·S1
What will tell us we’re off track?
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O·S2
What does silence mean?
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O·S3
How do we surface uncertainty early, and make it safe to do so?
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O·S4
Who speaks for the institution?
Arrival & Success
How will we know we’re getting where we intended?
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O·A1
What does “good enough” mean, and who decides?
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O·A2
How do we evaluate progress before launch?
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O·A3
What can change midstream without renegotiating “success”?
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O·A4
What triggers a reset or re-baseline of outcomes?
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O·A5
What are your internal success measures for whether you nailed this engagement?
Decision rights, governance, and escalation
Align on who can decide, what needs approval, and how to move when decisions stall.
Destination
Are we heading to the same place?
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D·D1
What decisions are open, and what’s already decided?
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D·D2
What decisions must be made in the next 2–3 weeks to keep momentum?
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D·D3
What does delaying a key decision cost?
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D·D4
What are the institution’s non-negotiables?
Routes & Roles
Who navigates, who decides, who’s accountable?
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D·R1
Who has decision authority?
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D·R2
What needs explicit approval, and at what stage?
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D·R3
What stays internal by design?
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D·R4
What tradeoffs are implicit?
Signals & Checkpoints
How do we know when the landscape is changing?
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D·S1
What are the early signs decision-making is breaking down?
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D·S2
What does silence mean?
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D·S3
How do we document decisions so they don’t get relitigated?
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D·S4
What’s the escalation path, and what triggers it?
Arrival & Success
How will we know we’re getting where we intended?
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D·A1
How will we know governance is working?
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D·A2
What does a healthy escalation look like?
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D·A3
What triggers a reset of decision rights?
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D·A4
If we have to choose, which decisions can wait and which must be made now?
Capacity, roles, and ownership
Align on the work each side actually has to do, especially the work between meetings.
Destination
Are we heading to the same place?
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C·D1
What else must be true for the deliverable to matter?
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C·D2
What are we optimizing for, given real capacity limits?
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C·D3
What’s the highest-value slice we can deliver if time or people shrink?
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C·D4
What is explicitly not being solved in this engagement?
Routes & Roles
Who navigates, who decides, who’s accountable?
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C·R1
Where are we assuming capacity on the institution side?
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C·R2
Who owns the work between meetings?
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C·R3
What stays internal by design?
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C·R4
What’s the tradeoff between the partner doing more and the institution building its own capability?
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C·R5
What’s your interpretation of your role in this project?
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C·R6
Where will the work be managed, and who is the point person for each area?
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C·R7
Who owns the work after the engagement ends?
Signals & Checkpoints
How do we know when the landscape is changing?
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C·S1
What are the early signs capacity is failing?
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C·S2
What does silence mean?
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C·S3
How can either side say “we can’t meet this commitment” early, without stigma?
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C·S4
Who speaks for the institution?
Arrival & Success
How will we know we’re getting where we intended?
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C·A1
What does “good enough” look like for institutional inputs?
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C·A2
How do we evaluate readiness early?
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C·A3
What can change midstream without derailing the work?
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C·A4
What capacity change should trigger a reset?
Change, risk, and map updates
Align on how you spot drift, make tradeoffs, and update the plan without calling it failure.
Destination
Are we heading to the same place?
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C·D1
Given what we know now, what problem are we solving this month?
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C·D2
What risks are we optimizing against?
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C·D3
What does “worth it” look like if conditions change?
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C·D4
What is our shared definition of a material change?
Routes & Roles
Who navigates, who decides, who’s accountable?
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C·R1
Who can approve a re-baseline of scope, timeline, or budget, and how fast?
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C·R2
Who owns risk mitigation in each category?
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C·R3
What stays internal by design?
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C·R4
What tradeoffs become explicit when change happens?
Signals & Checkpoints
How do we know when the landscape is changing?
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C·S1
What are the leading indicators of drift?
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C·S2
What does silence mean?
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C·S3
How will we make uncertainty visible early?
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C·S4
Who speaks for the institution?
Arrival & Success
How will we know we’re getting where we intended?
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C·A1
What does an acceptable risk posture look like?
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C·A2
How will we evaluate progress against risk before the end?
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C·A3
What can change without forcing a full renegotiation?
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C·A4
What triggers a formal reset?