I was recently thinking about the impact a potential change would have, and my mind wandered to the various mnemonics and frameworks that can be used for this. My mind went to frameworks such as POPIT™ 1, POTI2, McKinsey’s 7S3, and the like.
I was specifically thinking about the ethical impact of change, and was surprised that ethics isn’t directly covered by any of the commonly-used frameworks. It might be indirectly covered by some, but to me this felt like a missing piece of the puzzle, and one that is arguably relevant now more than ever. Always being someone who is somewhat ‘action oriented’, I decided to have a go at putting together an alternative framework that plugs this gap.
After some head-scratching, and thinking about making something short enough to be memorable while also broad enough to be useful, I came up with a group of terms. These terms are like “lenses” to look at a situation. I’m not suggesting for one moment that this is exhaustive, nor will it fit all circumstances. However I found it useful so thought I’d share it in case you do too!
The POETICS Framework
By happy coincidence, the series of terms I landed on happened to spell POETICS. Or rather, they did after a bit of jiggling (let’s be honest, we all know these things are really “backronyms”, right? LOL)
The first draft of the framework is shown below. I’ve also included some potential focus areas, and key reflective questions. However, it isn’t designed to be rigid… if you feel something should be added or changed for your context, you are probably right! It isn’t designed to be interpreted too literally or narrowly either. Like so many of these frameworks, it’s intended to act as a ‘thinking tool’. But it isn’t intended to replace the actual thinking…
| Lens | Focus Areas Include | Key Questions for Reflection |
| People | Individuals and Teams. Internal and External. Customers, Suppliers and Staff. | Who is affected? Do they have the skills and support needed for the shift? What are their hopes and fears? What does success look like from their perspectives? |
| Operations | Processes and Workflows. | How do our daily activities change? What processes become redundant, change or need creation? |
| Ethics | Ethical, Ecological and Social Impact. | Is this change fair? Does it align with our values? What might the unintended consequences be? Which voices have been missed, and how can they be represented? Are there any gaps which mean that unethical consequences might occur? |
| Technology | Tools, Infrastructure and Integration. | What digital or physical tools are required? How does the tech stack evolve? |
| Information | Data, Information and Knowledge. Information and Cyber Security. | What data is needed to make this work? How consistent and structured is that data? How do people make sense of the data? How is knowledge captured and shared? How is the information used to drive decision-making, and is anything missing? What are the information and cyber security considerations? |
| Culture | Values and Mindsets. | Does this fit “how we do things here”? Does it challenge or reinforce our shared values? |
| Structure | Governance and Hierarchy. | How are reporting lines affected? Who holds the decision-making authority now? |
With the help of AI, POETICS can also be illustrated graphically. Building on the metaphor of using ‘lenses’, I’ve used the metaphor of a camera aperture:
Building on the Giants
The POETICS framework doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is designed to build upon and supplement the excellent models and concepts that already exist in the BA arena. Specifically, it draws inspiration from frameworks such as:
- POPIT™: A holistic model covering People, Organisation, Processes, and IT (a trademark of Assist Knowledge Development Ltd)
- POTI: A framework from Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®), focusing on Processes, Organisation, Technology, and Information.
- McKinsey 7S: The classic model examining Strategy, Style, Skills, Systems, Structure, Staff & Shared Values
A relevant question at this point is why another model? Don’t we have enough! While we do have a range of well-established industry frameworks, POETICS is intended to plug two key gaps. Firstly, it explicitly highlights ethics and culture, elements that are often implied in other models but rarely given their own dedicated seat at the table. Secondly, it is totally open source, so it can be used/copied/adapted as needed.
Using POETICS
Here are three ways the POETICS framework could be used:
- Impact Assessment: The “lenses” can be used to consider impacts (both positive and negative) that would occur if a proposed change is implemented. It can also be used to compare competing change ideas.
- Gap Analysis: The framework can be used to compare an existing situation against a future (desired) state, to determine key gaps.
- Ethical Guardrails: The “ethics” lens can act as a useful checkpoint to ensure that “can we do this” never overrides “should we do this.”
I’ll be continuing to experiment with the framework. If you find it useful, feel free to do so too. It’s very much intended as a flexible framework that can be copied, shared, adapted and remixed… so please feel free to customise it! And please do share any adaptations that you make. It is always interesting to see tools get adapted.
Footnotes & Sources
1. POPIT™: A trademark of Assist Knowledge Development Ltd. Reference to this model is made for comparative and educational purposes. The POPIT™ framework is a core component of the syllabus for the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis. Learn more about the POPIT model here.
2. MSP® / POTI: Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) is a registered trademark of AXELOS / Peoplecert. POTI is a model defined within the MSP® framework. These marks are used here in a nominative capacity to identify the established industry frameworks upon which this independent work builds. Find out more about MSP® here.
3. McKinsey 7S Framework: A proprietary framework of McKinsey & Company, originally introduced by Robert H. Waterman, Jr. and Tom Peters in the late 1970s. Reference is made to this work for historical and academic context. Read more about the framework here.
Creative Commons License: The POETICS framework and the text of this specific blog post are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). This allows for the free sharing and adaptation of the material in this specific blog post, provided appropriate credit is given and any derivative works are shared under the same license terms. View the full license here.
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About the author:
Adrian Reed is Principal Consultant at Blackmetric Business Solutions, an organisation that offers Business Analysis consulting and training solutions. Adrian is a keen advocate of the analysis profession, and is constantly looking for ways of promoting the value that good analysis can bring.
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