Pre-Start Triage. Assess each vital sign before the programme begins. All seven must be Stable to be Briefed. Any Critical finding is a DNS condition — do not proceed until it is addressed or formally accepted as owned risk. Learning is the capstone: if the programme is not designed to build capability, everything else produces dependency.
01
Resources
Stable: Budget, timeline, and capacity honestly assessed and committed — stress-tested against comparable programmes. The financial case has been derived from a realistic operating model, not reverse-engineered to justify a target already set. DNS signal: Financial case built to meet a savings target rather than from an honest operating model — the numbers driving the design, not the other way around. Timeline set to meet a deadline rather than reality. Capacity assumes teams can run this alongside full existing workloads.
02
Capability
Stable: The right people, with the right skills, are named, confirmed, and available at the point they are needed — not intended or planned for. DNS signal: Critical roles filled by available rather than right people. Skills gaps reframed as training opportunities. Senior time committed but not protected.
03
Accountability
Stable: Named individuals — not committees — own specific outcomes at every level. They carry the consequence if their part fails and are visible to governance as doing so. DNS signal: Shared ownership with no single accountable person. Sponsor engagement is nominal. Escalation paths unclear or untested.
04
Governance
Stable: A decision-making structure that can respond at the pace the programme requires. Right people, real authority, decisions actually made. DNS signal: Governance cadence mismatched to programme pace. Board present but disengaged. No real authority to stop or redirect.
05
Culture
Stable: Demonstrated — not merely stated — willingness to change ways of working. Evidence of actual behavioural change already underway. DNS signal: Change management treated as a communications exercise. Leaders endorsing but not modelling. Resistance not surfaced.
06
Practices
Stable: Processes, tools, and operating patterns the programme depends on are fit for purpose or have a credible, resourced plan to get there before they are needed. DNS signal: Delivery depends on process redesign not yet started. Operational readiness deferred or treated as someone else's problem.
07
Learning The capstone condition
Stable: The people and teams involved are on a genuine learning curve — building understanding of purpose, mechanism, and governance through doing, not observing. They can describe what they have learned and articulate what they will do differently when external support ends. The programme is designed to leave the organisation more capable than it found it. DNS / DNF signal: The programme is being delivered to the organisation rather than with it. Internal teams are observers, not participants. Knowledge transfer is a scheduled event, not a continuous practice. The organisation is more dependent at month six than it was at month one. Capability is being consumed rather than built.
Assessment
Complete all seven vital signs
Pending
Resources
Capability
Accountability
Governance
Culture
Practices
Learning
Set each vital sign to Stable, Concerning, or Critical to generate your assessment.
This is a clinical triage instrument, not a formal programme assurance review. The Brief does not replace IPA or MPA processes where these apply.