The DNA method
Find out what is actually true about how decisions get made and how work moves. Test the assumptions underneath those decisions. Build and run the changes alongside the team.
Read the operation as it exists. Connect the plan to the decisions, systems, and daily work underneath it. Make the assumptions and unanswered questions visible.
Compare the options against the same business criteria. Test what matters to the decision. Document the implications and the reasoning.
Put the decision into practice. Build the systems and operating changes, work alongside the team, and leave clear ownership and usable documentation.
The evidence scale
An untested assumption. The plan depends on it, but it has not been checked.
An initial observation.
A documented test.
Meets a defined test criterion.
Proof is bounded by the test and its criterion. It does not promise certainty. A finding carries its limitation alongside its result.
How an engagement runs
The starting point and boundaries are established together. The work can stop after a stage when that is what the decision requires.
Each stage leaves documented work the team can act on. A further stage follows from the need, the evidence, and the agreed scope.
Start with the problem