Step 2. Scope the project

This step focuses on understanding the initiative’s boundaries, key objectives and strategic fit within broader government goals. 

Establishing a clear scope provides direction, helps manage expectations, and serves as a foundation for planning, resourcing and approval processes.  

A clear scope is also crucial for assessing the feasibility and strategic alignment of potential solutions later in the process. A kick-off workshop with key stakeholders can assist with achieving this step.

Determine high-level scope

Clarify objectives

Define the primary goals of the initiative and ensure your goals align with government and whole-of-government strategies.

Identify key stakeholders

Determine who will be involved or affected by the initiative, including internal and external stakeholders.

Assess strategic alignment

Evaluate how the initiative fits within broader government priorities to ensure relevance and value. This includes existing policies or frameworks.  

As part of this, you should determine how the initiative aligns with capabilities in the AGA’s Domain and Capability Model.

Define core (high level) deliverables

Determine the expected outcomes and outputs of the initiative, focusing on what must be achieved for success.  

Estimate resources and timelines

Develop indicative high-level estimates of the resources required and the expected timeline for key phases.

Set boundaries and constraints

Identify the scope limitations. This may include:  

  • policy or regulatory constraints
  • budgetary limits  
  • other potential challenges.

Resources

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Next: Phase 2: Discovery

Policy toolkit: alpha

Phase 1: Pre-discovery

Step 3. Develop a project plan

Developing a plan is essential before commencing a policy initiative. A project plan provides a clear roadmap for the activities, resources, and timelines needed. 

It also assesses the feasibility and strategic alignment of the initiative before any work commences.  

A well-structured plan sets an informed and organised journey and ensures that all stakeholders understand the objectives, approach and governance required. 

Alongside your project plan you might also like to develop a risk assessment and mitigation plan. This will help you identify potential risks or challenges that could impact the project and develop mitigation strategies.  

Project plan inclusions

Objective and scope  

Include a clear statement of the policy initiative’s purpose, goals, and high-level scope.

Key stakeholders

Identify internal and external stakeholders who will be involved in or affected by the policy initiative. Develop a stakeholder engagement plan.

Approach and methodology

Define the framework or approach that will guide the development process, including:

  • research methods
  • stakeholder engagement
  • consultation strategies
  • the skills and resources needed to deliver the approach and methodology.  

Governance and approval

Include a description of the governance structures and decision-making process required for the initiative, including who will approve the plan.

Resources

 

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Phase 2: Discovery

Policy planning tips

5-phase policy development process

Purpose, objective and outcome

There are 6 steps to complete in the discovery phase, after which you can share your findings with key stakeholders and seek relevant approvals to proceed.  

  • Purpose: to understand the problem, assess the landscape, and identify user needs to inform policy development and potential approaches.  
  • Outcome: a clear understanding of the problem space and users’ needs.  
  • Output: a well-informed discovery report with useful insights and findings about the problem and opportunities to address it, ready to move into the alpha phase to ideate possible solutions.   
Step 1. Stakeholder engagement

Consultation is vital to ensure the voices of stakeholders and affected parties are heard. Consultation will help you gather diverse insights, build trust and foster collaboration. 

Effective consultation ensures that the policy is informed by those impacted by it, leading to better outcomes and smoother implementation. 

This step will help you engage stakeholders, define the problem and understand the user needs.  

Actions to prepare for stakeholder engagement  

Identify key stakeholders

Determine who will be affected by the policy and who should be involved. Do stakeholder mapping to identify key stakeholders.

Define objectives

Clearly outline what you aim to achieve in consultation, such as:

  • gathering feedback
  • validating findings
  • identifying new perspectives.

Plan your research

Plan how you will conduct research, including what methods you will use. For example:

  • workshops
  • surveys
  • focus groups
  • public forums
  • consultation papers.  

Make sure the process captures a broad range of perspectives, particularly from voices that may otherwise be overlooked.

Develop materials

Prepare background information, guiding questions and other materials to help stakeholders understand the context and contribute meaningfully:

  • establish feedback documenting processes
  • prepare background information and guiding questions
  • include any other materials to help stakeholders understand the context and contribute meaningfully.
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Step 2. Define the problem

Defining the problem is critical. A clear definition of the problem will ensure the core issue is clearly understood and articulated – this will set the direction for the solution.

A well-defined problem provides focus, ensures stakeholder alignment, and helps guide research and engagement.

It is important to take the time to thoroughly understand the issue, to avoid addressing symptoms rather than root cause.

Actions to define the problem  

Identify key stakeholders

Gather relevant background information about the issue including context and impacted stakeholders. You may have found some of this information during the pre-discovery phase or while preparing for stakeholder engagement.

Engage stakeholders

Consult with key stakeholders to gain insights into their perspectives, challenges and how the problem affects them.

Explore the underlying factors

Further understand the problem by exploring and articulating the underlying factors based on what you have found so far.

Clarify symptoms vs. root causes

Analyse the information you have gathered to distinguish between surface-level issues (symptoms) and the underlying factors driving the problem (root cause).

Create a problem definition

Articulate the problem in a clear, concise statement that captures the essence and scope without suggesting solutions.

Validate the problem

Test the problem definition with stakeholders to ensure it is well-understood and agreed on.

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Digital inclusion is the capability of individuals or groups to enjoy the benefits of being online and use technology confidently to improve their day-to-day lives.2

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Step 3. Understand user needs

This step focuses on defining what the stakeholder needs are and the challenges and opportunities to address the problem. It also outlines the stakeholder views on how the problem should be addressed.

If you intend to speak with the same stakeholders in this step and the previous step, you may wish to combine the consultations. Alternatively using different research methods can help differentiate between activities. For example, conducting workshops to explore the problem and interviews to delve into stakeholders’ needs.

Conduct user research

Engage stakeholders

Engage stakeholders to understand user needs, including potential opportunities to address the problem.

Analyse information

Analyse information from stakeholders to establish key findings about the user experiences.

Synthesise insights

Bring all the information you have gathered from the desktop research in pre-discovery together with the landscape review and the stakeholder research to develop key insights.

Summarise the consultation

Summarise who you consulted with and what you found. This will feed into the discovery report in step 5.

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Step 4. Explore the landscape

Diving deeper into the broader context surrounding the policy issue will help you expand on initial research and gain a comprehensive understanding of the current policy environment, relevant regulations, stakeholder perspectives and existing solutions.

This step ensures the proposed solution is well-informed and positioned to address gaps, challenges, and opportunities within the landscape.

Further explore the landscape

In-depth desktop research

Deepen initial research by reviewing detailed reports, academic studies, and government publications to identify relevant policy approaches, both locally and internationally.

Avoid duplication

Consider if refreshing or expanding on existing policies or standards would meet your requirements and avoid duplication. To understand existing artefacts aligned to the capabilities, visit the Australian Government Architecture (AGA).

Engage stakeholders

Meet with additional internal and external stakeholders to gather further insights.

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Step 5. Define success measures

Success measures ensure that objectives are being met and provide a framework for evaluating the impact of the solution over time. 

Success measures also help stakeholders understand the intended outcomes and help you to adjust if necessary. 

It’s important to do this early in the process before you develop a solution. This will give you a clear understanding of what success looks like and how to measure it throughout the process, up to and including the live phase. You can also use these success measures to test the prototypes you will build in this phase.

Actions to define success measures  

Identify key outcomes

Determine the outcomes the solution aims to achieve – what does success look like?  

Determine metrics

Decide what to measure based on the key outcomes and what information you have available. Establish success metrics and conduct benchmarking of current performance levels. 

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Step 6. Create a discovery report

A discovery report is a critical output of the discovery phase. 

It captures findings, insights and research gathered during the phase. It also provides a comprehensive overview of the policy problem, user needs and the context surrounding the issue. 

This report will serve as the foundation for decision-making. It will guide the phases of solution development, providing a clear understanding of the problem space and key considerations  

Include in your discover report  

Stakeholder engagement summary

An overview of stakeholder consultations and their input on the issue.  

Problem definition

A clear articulation of the problem identified, including its scope, significance and impact on the stakeholders in step 2 of this phase.

User research insights

An analysis and summary of the user research conducted, highlighting key themes, pain points and user needs.

Policy landscape review

A review of existing policies, frameworks, and strategies that relate to the issue.  

Opportunities and challenges

Identifying potential opportunities for intervention and challenges that may need to be addressed.

Resources

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Next: Phase 3: Alpha

Policy toolkit: alpha

5-phase policy planning
Defining policies

A policy can describe both the goals and intent of an authority, like government, Cabinet, a department or an organisation.

  • Policies establish overarching principles and rules to guide decision-making and behaviour.
  • Policy also refers to the specific tool, instrument or approach used to achieve those goals and objectives.

Policy outcomes can be achieved through various paths, but compliance with mandatory policies requires a clear understanding from those implementing the policy and those effected.

There are a range of tools and instruments that apply to policy work.

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