A desirability assessment is a strategic management tool used to find out exactly what is most needed by organisation to resolve specific issues and pain points. It consists of:
- Empathy Mapping: An empathy map is a collaborative visualization used to articulate what we know about a particular type of stakeholder. It externalizes knowledge about stakeholders in order a) to create a shared understanding of their needs, and b) to aid in decision making
- Pain vs Frequency Matrix: A pain vs Frequency Matrix is a collaborative visualization tool that is used to prioritize the most important to the least important pain points that need to be addressed.
- Value Chain Mapping: A value chain map is a collaborative visualization used to articulate the components required to create the solution to the pain points identified in the pain vs frequency matrix.
Why is a Desirability Assessment Important?
A desirability assessment is an important part of any organisational strategy. It helps you understand your organisations needs better. It also highlights areas where you can improve your processes to meet these needs. This information can help you uncover opportunities to improve your processes, help you prioritize which areas to improve and help you create a strategy for addressing these needs.
How do you Conduct a Desirability Assessment?
Create an Empathy Map
To figure out how to improve a process, we must first understand what issues/problems/pain points each stakeholder that is involved in the process faces. To do this we will need to create a shared understanding of what the issues are for each stakeholder involved in the process. An Empathy Mapp helps us build this shared understanding.
Pain vs Frequency Matrix
To successfully implement solutions, it is critical to understand what the most important problems are and what should be tackled first. To do this we will need to create a shared understanding of what the priorities should be via a Pain / Frequency Matrix.
A Pain / Frequency Matrix helps us develop this shared understanding by providing a framework for assessing what the most painful problems are and how often they occur. We want to focus on the most painful processes that occur frequently.
Value Chain Map
To figure out how to solve a problem, we must first understand what possible solutions can we apply and at what levels. To do this we will need to create a shared understanding of what the possible solutions are for each of the pains identified by stakeholders in a process. A Value Map helps us build this shared understanding by helping us develop and then combine solutions from multiple disciplines.
