Insights

Capability & Learning Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms used across this site — DSAT, TNA, capability frameworks and the rest — each linking through to where we cover it properly.

Active SC / DV Clearance: UK Government security clearance levels — Security Check (SC) and the higher Developed Vetting (DV) — required to work on sensitive Defence and government programmes. Jason holds Active SC clearance and is a former DV holder. About Jason's clearances →
Apprenticeship Funding Compliance: The evidence and audit trail required to protect government-funded apprenticeship investment — proving that funded time, off-the-job training and progress tracking meet the rules, not just that someone eventually qualified. Apprenticeships service →
Capability Diagnostic Framework™: Prelude's framework for tracing performance from mission and outcomes down through required capability, behaviours and evidence — used to identify exactly which layer is missing when capability fails. See it applied on the Defence page →
Capability Framework: A defined, consistent standard of competence for a role or specialisation, used for assessment, development and workforce planning. Unlike a job description, a capability framework is meant to be applied the same way by every assessor, not interpreted locally by every team. Read the full definition →
Capability Improvement Approach™: Prelude's six-stage method for turning a capability problem into measurable performance: understand the mission, analyse the gap, identify root causes, design the right intervention, measure impact, and improve continuously. How I Work →
Capability Readiness Maturity Model™: Five stages of organisational capability maturity, from Reactive (ad-hoc, no evidence) through Compliant and Structured to Measured and Optimised. Most organisations can place themselves on this scale within one conversation. How I Work →
Capability Readiness Review™: Prelude's ten-question diagnostic for identifying which of six areas — capability, leadership, process, governance, workforce or training — a performance problem actually sits in, before any solution is designed. Take the free self-assessment →
Capability vs Competency: Related but distinct: competency usually describes an individual's skill or behaviour, while capability describes whether the organisation as a whole — people, governance, structure and process together — can reliably deliver the outcome. An organisation can have competent individuals and still lack capability. Read the full explanation →
Change Management: The discipline of managing the human and structural side of organisational transformation — communication, adoption, resistance and sequencing — distinct from capability building, though the two need to work together for change to stick. Read the full explanation →
CMI: The Chartered Management Institute — the UK's professional body for management and leadership, awarding recognised qualifications in leadership and coaching. About Jason's qualifications →
DSAT: The Defence Systems Approach to Training — the methodology set out in JSP 822 for designing, delivering and assuring training across UK Defence. In practice, it's a structured way of answering five questions: what capability is required, how will training be designed, developed and delivered to build it, and how will you know it worked. Read: DSAT Explained →
Evaluation (Kirkpatrick Model): The standard four-level model for measuring training effectiveness: reaction, learning, behaviour and results. Most organisations measure only the first level (did people enjoy it) and call it evaluation — genuine evaluation asks whether behaviour and results actually changed. Read the full article →
JSP 822: The Ministry of Defence Joint Service Publication that sets out DSAT requirements — the policy document behind Defence training governance, assurance and audit. Read: DSAT Explained →
Learning Governance: The decision rights and evidence trail behind how training and learning are assured, audited and held accountable — who owns which decision, and what evidence proves it was made well. Read the complete guide →
Learning Strategy: The document connecting capability investment to organisational goals — what's being invested in, why, and how impact will be measured — as distinct from a training plan, which just lists what's being delivered. Read the complete guide →
LMS (Learning Management System): The platform used to deliver, track and report on training. An LMS produces data by default, but data isn't the same as trustworthy reporting — most LMS problems are configuration and information management issues, not platform failures. Read the full definition →
Organisational Development: The discipline of improving how an organisation functions structurally — roles, governance, culture and process — rather than only developing individual skills. Capability work often surfaces organisational development needs that training alone can't address. Explore services →
Performance Consulting: Diagnosing why organisational performance is falling short before prescribing a solution — testing whether the cause is genuinely a skills gap, or something structural, before recommending training, restructuring or anything else. Read the complete guide →
Prelude Capability Model™: Prelude's primary framework, tracing performance from mission and outcomes down through required capability, behaviours, skills and knowledge, governance and assurance, to performance evidence. When any layer is missing, capability fails — and no amount of training fixes it. How I Work →
PRINCE2: A structured project management methodology widely used across UK government and Defence programmes. Jason is a PRINCE2 Practitioner. About Jason's qualifications →
Skills Framework: A map of the specific skills required for particular roles — narrower and more operational than a capability framework, which sets the broader standard a role needs to meet. Skills frameworks are what make workforce planning and succession possible in practice. Read the full definition →
Succession Planning: Preparing the pipeline for critical roles before a vacancy forces a rushed decision — identifying and developing likely successors ahead of need, rather than reacting when someone leaves. Read the article →
TNA (Training Needs Analysis): The structured process of testing whether a performance gap is genuinely a training gap, or whether it's being held back by something else — unclear roles, weak governance, or a structure working against the outcome. A properly run TNA can conclude that training isn't the answer. Read the complete guide →
Totara: An open-source Learning Management System, built on Moodle, widely used across UK healthcare and public sector organisations for its flexibility around compliance reporting and structured learning pathways. Read the comparison →
Training Governance: Governance applied specifically to training delivery and compliance — audit-ready evidence, clear decision rights, and defensible assurance that training is meeting the standard it's supposed to. Read the complete guide →
Training vs Capability Decision Model™: Prelude's test for whether a performance gap needs training or something structural: if the knowledge or skill is genuinely missing, it's a training problem. If it isn't, the real issue is usually structure, governance, leadership or process. Read the full explanation →
Workforce Planning: Aligning roles, skills and structure to actual operational demand, so an organisation is ready for what's coming, not just resourced for what's here today. Workforce Planning service →

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