The Capability Readiness Review™

Find the real problem before you invest in the solution.

The first step before investing in training, consultancy or capability development. Most organisations know something isn't working — few know whether it's a capability, leadership, process, governance, workforce or training issue. The ten questions behind it are available here free, as an indicative self-assessment.

What it is

A diagnostic, not a sales tool. The Capability Readiness Review tests how clearly you can answer the ten questions that determine whether an intervention will actually work — and shows where the risk really sits. The questions follow the Golden Thread, from the problem itself to how success will be measured.

Prelude Method · building on DSAT traceability

The Golden Thread

One unbroken line from business need to business outcome. Read top to bottom, it is a design method; bottom to top, an audit tool. If an activity can’t be traced back to a performance requirement, why is it being done? From the book Training Isn’t Always the Answer.

01Business NeedWhat the organisation needs to achieve or change02Performance OutcomeWhat people need to be doing, differently or better03Role / TaskWhich roles, and which tasks within them04Capability RequirementWhat role holders must be capable of, to standard05Intervention RequirementWhat must change: training, tools, process, resources06Learning RequirementWhere applicable: what people need to learn, find or practise07ObjectiveThe observable performance the learning must produce08AssessmentHow achievement of the objective is checked09Performance MeasureHow change in the real job is checked10Business OutcomeHow the original need is shown to be met
Capability Readiness Review™

Six dimensions. One real problem.

Before investing in a solution, the Review tests performance across the six places the problem actually lives.

READINESS score Capability Leadership Process Governance Workforce Training
Three levels

A clear path from free self-check to full diagnosis.

Free · self-assessment

Capability Readiness Self-Assessment

The ten questions on this page, or in the printable workbook. Indicative results based only on your own responses.

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Facilitated review

Capability Readiness Review™

Your answers tested through structured evidence-gathering and stakeholder input, producing a prioritised picture of the real problem and what to do about it.

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Consultancy

Full diagnostic

A more comprehensive investigation: root-cause analysis across the eight domains of the Capability Diagnostic, and evidence-based recommendations traced along the Golden Thread.

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The self-assessment

Ten questions. Two minutes. An honest read on your readiness.

0 of 10 answered
01We can clearly state the problem we're actually trying to solve.
02We know which behaviours need to change.
03We're clear on the impact we're trying to achieve.
04We've defined what 'good' looks like.
05We know how success will be measured.
06We have evidence supporting our view of the current position.
07We've genuinely tested whether training is the real problem.
08We understand the organisational barriers in the way.
09We understand the risks if nothing changes.
10We know what capability is required to achieve the outcome.
Download the workbook (PDF) Answer all ten, then calculate.
0%Readiness

Areas of risk

    Potential root causes

      Recommended next steps

        This is an indicative self-assessment: the result reflects only your own answers. It is not an audit or an independently validated measure. It runs entirely in your browser; nothing is sent or stored. A facilitated review tests the answers against evidence and stakeholder input.

        Want the full, facilitated Review?

        The self-assessment is the starting point. The full Capability Readiness Review brings evidence, stakeholder input and a prioritised plan.

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