Phase 1 – Frame the Performance Question

Purpose

• Translate business context into focused, actionable questions
• Align performance monitoring to strategic, operational, or experiential needs
• Set the direction for metrics, data, and reporting that follow

Objectives

• Develop one or more clear performance questions aligned to value, risk, or improvement goals
• Ensure traceability between the question and business drivers
• Secure agreement on ownership, purpose, and audience of each question

Inputs

• Organisational strategy, KPIs, and delivery roadmaps
• Risk, audit, and incident data
• Voice of the customer/employee feedback
• Regulatory or contractual obligations

Outputs

• Approved performance question(s) with contextual rationale
• Documented ownership and reporting scope
• Draft insight requirements and impact areas

Tools and Techniques

• Performance Question Canvas: Define drivers, audiences, and decision links
• Value Linkage Map: Align questions with strategic objectives or delivery outcomes
• Stakeholder Mapping Grid: Understand the purpose, priority, and needs of stakeholders
• Facilitated Workshops: Used to co-create consensus and reduce later resistance

Step 1: Analyse Context and Intent

• Conduct document review of strategic plans, KPIs, audits, or feedback channels

• Interview or survey key stakeholders to surface performance pain points

• Identify recurring complaints, unmeasured areas, or emerging risks

Step 2: Frame Performance Questions

• Use framing prompts (“How well are we…”, “To what extent do we…”)

• Avoid binary or overly simplistic questions

• Ensure questions link to decisions or actions (e.g. improve, reassign, escalate)

Step 3: Map Value and Ownership

• Use the Value Linkage Map to trace each question to an outcome or decision

• Assign an owner responsible for maintaining the question and acting on results

• Confirm governance alignment for review, escalation, or update cycles

Step 4: Validate with Stakeholders

• Conduct lightweight testing of draft questions with users

• Iterate to ensure understanding and relevance

• Record rationale and use cases in your portfolio or service records

Step 5: Finalise and Record

• Final approval of questions and owners

• Document in a performance question log (linked to metrics registry in Phase 2)

• Link to service artefacts, governance reports, or improvement portfolios

• Start small: one well-formed question is a better foundation than a library of weak ones

• Use collaborative language: “We want to understand…” instead of “You need to show…”

• Reinforce that performance questions are not audits—they are tools for improvement

• Revisit performance questions quarterly to ensure continued relevance

• Maintain a clear record of question history, changes, and ownership transitions

• To what extent are we delivering outcomes that align with strategic commitments?

• Where do customer touchpoints most frequently result in dissatisfaction?

• Which capabilities are most susceptible to performance degradation under demand?

• How well are teams using available resources to meet delivery goals?

• What percentage of incidents are linked to recurring service design flaws?

• COBIT (APO08): Aligns with defining metrics that support strategic objectives and ensure control effectiveness

• ITIL (Continual Improvement): Reflects Step 1 of the improvement model (“What is the vision?”)

• OKRs: Questions form the basis of objectives, enabling better-designed key results

• Balanced Scorecard: Helps position the question within one or more perspectives (financial, customer, internal, learning)

• Governance & Alignment: Provides accountability for question ownership and action pathways

• Experience & Outcomes: Ensures questions reflect end-user or stakeholder experience, not just internal targets

• Design & Flow: Helps position questions within system-wide process maps or architectural elements

A well-framed performance question turns uncertainty into insight. It enables the rest of the cycle to deliver value—not just visibility.