Collaboration
Align on Your Impact Goals
The term "impact" is used in a broad sense and can refer to the influence or effect on almost anything. To ensure that your team and stakeholders are working towards the same vision of success, it is important to take the time to explore and align on your impact goals. This process will reveal expectations for both long-term change and immediate outcomes that contribute to that change. Your design challenge may focus on these smaller shifts in behavior or more immediate outcomes.
Workshop steps
Gather your team and others invested in your design challenge's success. Request everyone to jot down their desired project impact on Post-it notes.
After everyone has shared their ideas, arrange the sticky notes in a vertical "ladder" formation. Place the most long-term, significant, and challenging changes at the top, while positioning the more immediate, direct, and attainable changes further down.
Begin by utilizing the Impact Ladder worksheet to establish and record two statements. The first statement should represent the enduring social transformation of the project, which will be your long-term Impact. To identify this, refer to the post-its near the top of your ladder. The second statement should signify a short-term objective, a noticeable shift or behavior that you aim for the individuals you're designing for to accomplish. This will be your Key Outcome.
In the initial phase of the project, simply focus on determining the Impact and Key Outcome. You can revisit the other worksheet steps later on, as you develop prototypes and establish the precise impact of your solution through a Theory of Change activity.
Ensure your Impact and Key Outcome statements act as a guiding light for your design challenge, maintaining focus on your objectives. Also, confirm that all essential stakeholders share the same goals with your team.
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