T. Target

Establish intent before action.

The Target stage creates shared understanding of why work exists before any effort begins. Without it, execution starts before direction is established.

The Question This Stage Answers

Why does this work exist, and what outcomes would make it successful?

The Output: The Target Brief

The Target Brief must answer:

• Why does this work exist?
• Who owns this decision?
• What outcomes define success?

The Target Brief is a living reference. It is created at the start and refined as understanding deepens through Reality, Analyze, and Choose. It is baselined when Choose completes. At any point, it should provide an instant, clear overview of why this work exists and what success looks like.

Format scales to context. A programme gets a document. A backlog item gets three sentences. The clarity it provides is not optional.

What Success Looks Like

Someone new to this work reads the Target Brief and understands, without interpretation, why it exists, who owns it, and what outcomes are expected.

Commitment Checklist

Do not proceed until:

• The purpose is agreed, not just acknowledged
• Decision ownership is clear and accepted
• Initial outcomes are defined, even if directional
• The Target Brief can be read without confusion

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Target Brief? The Target Brief is the output of the Target stage. It documents why work exists, who owns the decision, and what outcomes define success. It is updated through the analysis stages and baselined at Choose.

Can you skip the Target stage if the work is small? No, but the depth scales. A backlog item may produce three sentences. The clarity a Target Brief provides is always necessary. Only the format changes.

What happens if there is no clear decision owner? Establishing who owns the decision is itself the practitioner's first task. Work without a Decision Owner will drift. The Target stage surfaces this before execution begins.