A set of lighweight tools to explore and evolve an organization's business model, structure and teams.
Note: This is the short text as it appears in the Google doc and the PDFs
The S3 Delegation Canvas is a tool for negotiating and clarifying the delegation of a domain (i.e. an area of activity and decision making) to a team or an individual (the so-called delegatee(s)). Sections are numbered to indicate the suggested order of moving through the canvas.
The Delegation Game: a simple and fun activity for defining and delegating a new domain, or for developing shared understanding and revealing misconceptions about an existing domain. Gather those delegating the domain (e.g. a manager) and those the domain is delegated to (e.g. somebody in a role or position, or the members of a team). Allow for 15 minutes for each participant to fill in their canvas individually, and then go through each section together, comparing notes and agreeing on the details of the domain.
What purpose does the team (or role) serve in the organization?
Explain the purpose of the team (or role) in the organization, clarify the organizational need it responds to.
What are the delegatee’s main responsibilities, i.e. objectives, or essential work and decision making being delegated?
Clarify at least the top three responsibilities (i.e. objectives, essential work and decision making being delegated), preferably with a measurable outcome for each one.
What are the essential dependencies between this domain and other parts of the organization? Describe customers (those who consume the team’s output), providers of products or services essential to the work of the delegatee(s) (include reasonable expectations about the delivery) as well as shared resources (if any).
What are the essential dependencies between this domain and other parts of the organization? Describe who relies the team’s output (customers), who provides key products or services (providers), and shared resources (if any).
What are important external constraints to the autonomy and influence of the delegatee(s)?
Constraints may be related to customer requirements, to the outside world, to essential stakeholders in the organization, to other responsibilities the delegatee(s) may have, or to the preference of the delegator. Consider decisions requiring authorization; legal, time, or budget constraints; audits and/or expected reporting; and organizational strategy or values.
List alt least three important constraints to the autonomy and influence of the team/role (e.g. decisions requiring authorization; legal, time or budget constraints; audits; expected reports).
What are the three most important known (or anticipated) challenges the delegatee(s) might face?
Consider the outside world, the organization itself, the delegator and the specific delegatee(s). Look for
Identify at least least three important known ·or anticipated) challenges for the team/role. Consider the outside world, the organization itself, the delegator and the specific delegatee(s). Look for risks, vulnerabilities, variables, uncertainty, complexity, and lack of skills or resources.
What does the team/role provide to achieve its purpose and meet the key responsibilities and key challenges?
When describing deliverables, take into account what other parties would expect from the team / role.
Describe at least the top three deliverables (products, services, experiences or transformations). Take into account what other parties would expect from the team / role.
What competencies, qualities and skills are required – or at least preferable – to successfully achieve the purpose of this domain? Consider what you listed as Key Responsibilities, Key Deliverables and Key Challenges.
What are essential resources the delegatee(s) can make use of?
Examples: time allocation, budget, privileges, facilities, hardware, software, etc.
List essential resources the delegatee(s) can make use of, e.g. time allocation, budget, privileges, facilities, hardware, software, etc.
What is the delegator’s contribution to the success of the delegatee(s)?Responsibilities should be specific and measurable, so they can be reviewed and developed over time.
What are the critical indicators of progress, project health or performance? Prefer simple, continuous and actionable metrics related to the domain’s purpose, key responsibilities, challenges, deliverables, and delegator responsibilities, and define specific targets, acceptable range or tolerance.
List at least three critical indicators of progress, project health or performance related to purpose, responsibilities, challenges, deliverables or delegator responsibilities. Define specific targets, acceptable range or tolerance.
How will you monitor the key metrics, and when (and how) will you evaluate success of the team/role?
Monitoring: When will you check the key metrics, and who will do it?
Evaluation: Agree on a schedule for evaluation of success of the team/role, any evaluation criteria in addition to the key metrics, and any other relevant aspects of the evaluation.
Define when the key metrics will be checked, and who will do it. Agree on a schedule for evaluating the success of the team/role, any evaluation criteria in addition to the key metrics, and any other relevant aspects of the evaluation.