The methodology

Sixteen stages, each with a template and a gate.

Every stage produces a named artifact from the AITA working template set. An engagement only advances when the gate for the current stage has a recorded decision, an owner and a date.

Five phases

How the work is sequenced

Stages 00–02

Frame

Qualify the engagement, agree the outcomes that matter, and establish the baselines that describe the organization as it is today — not as anyone hopes it to be.

Stages 03–05

Discover

Current-state map, stakeholder interviews and an opportunity register. Problems are written in business language; no technology is named at this point.

Stages 06–09

Analyze

Intervention options compared on equal terms including doing nothing, value and readiness scored on published scales, and risks rated with named control owners at the gate.

Stages 10–12

Decide

A ranged value case, a pilot charter with stop criteria and human review, and a sequenced roadmap with an owner for every commitment.

Stages 13–15

Close

The decision package, the executive decision session, and the client's paths forward — including the path where the client executes internally at no further fee.

Stage register

Every stage and its template

  1. 00QualifyAITA-01
  2. 01Define Business OutcomesAITA-02
  3. 02Establish BaselinesAITA-04
  4. 03Map the Current BusinessAITA-04
  5. 04Stakeholder DiscoveryAITA-03
  6. 05Business Improvement Opportunity RegisterAITA-05
  7. 06Evaluate Intervention OptionsAITA-06
  8. 07Value ScoreAITA-07
  9. 08Readiness ScoreAITA-08
  10. 09Risk GateAITA-09
  11. 10Build the Value CaseAITA-10
  12. 11Pilot CharterAITA-11
  13. 12Build the RoadmapAITA-12
  14. 13Executive Decision PackageAITA-13
  15. 14Executive Decision SessionAITA-14
  16. 15Client Paths ForwardAITA-16

Governing documents

Two documents sit across the sequence

  • AITA-15

    Assumptions & Evidence Register

    Governs every stage

  • AITA-17

    Economic Model & Assumptions

    Governs Stage 07 Value Score and Stage 10 Build the Value Case