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Practice Area 1

Define the Change
Building the Business Case for Action

Every implementation begins with a question most organizations answer too quickly: What exactly are we changing? Define the Change establishes the shared foundation every other practice area depends on.

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Quick Answer

Define the Change is Practice Area 1 in AIM's Accelerating Implementation Methodology. It creates a clear, commonly held understanding of the Present State and Desired State through four components: WHAT success looks like, WHY the change is happening, the CONSEQUENCES of not changing, and WDIMFM - What Does It Mean For Me - for each target group. The primary tool is the Business Case for Action.

Peacock Hill Consulting applies AIM (Accelerating Implementation Methodology), created by Don Harrison and developed through 40+ years of implementation research by IMA.

The Foundation

When This Step Is Rushed, the Cost Shows Up Later

Every implementation begins with defining the change. When this step is rushed or incomplete, the consequences surface downstream - inconsistent messages, uneven adoption, and a growing gap between what leadership believes is happening and what targets are actually experiencing.

Defining the change means creating a clear, commonly held understanding of the Present State and the Desired State - with enough behavioral specificity that every target group can recognize what success looks like in their daily work.

4

Required components every Business Case for Action must answer

5

Measures of implementation success established in this step

#1

Always the first practice area because all others depend on it

The Four Required Components

AIM Structures Define the Change Through Four Questions

WHAT - What Does Success Look Like?

Define in specific, observable terms what the desired state looks like. Vague definitions produce vague adoption. Targets need to be able to see, measure, and recognize the end state in their own work - not just understand it at an organizational level.

WHY - What Is the Business Reason?

Articulate the business reasons and expected benefits clearly enough that leaders at every level can deliver the message consistently. Inconsistency in the WHY message is one of the most predictable sources of resistance. When people hear different explanations from different leaders, they fill in the gaps themselves - and rarely in ways that support adoption.

CONSEQUENCES - What Happens If We Don't Change?

Describe what happens to the business and to individuals if the organization stays in the present state. Consequences make the cost of inaction visible. Without them, the status quo has a structural advantage: it requires no effort, no disruption, and no risk. A compelling consequence statement removes that advantage.

WDIMFM - What Does It Mean For Me?

Translate the change into each target group's Frame of Reference so people understand how it affects their daily work, their role, their relationships, and their skills. People adopt change when they understand it personally, not just organizationally. Generic communications addressed to "all employees" do not create personal relevance.

The Primary Tool

The Business Case for Action

AIM's primary tool for this practice area is the Business Case for Action. It is not a project charter or executive summary. It is a structured document that answers all four components - built to be used by leaders at every level of the sponsor cascade, not kept at the top.

Not This

A Business Case for Action that lives only in the C-suite is not a Business Case for Action. It is a document.

This

The value comes from cascading it so every leader who owns targets can deliver consistent, credible answers to the four questions.

Implementation Success

Five Measures of Implementation Success

Define the Change is where the five measures of success are established. Most organizations measure the first three. The last two are where AIM delivers its highest value - and where most implementations fall short.

1

On Time

2

Within Budget

3

Technical Objectives Met

4

Business Objectives Met

AIM focus

5

Human Objectives Met

AIM focus

Metrics 4 and 5 require behavior change, not just deployment. They cannot be achieved without a clear, shared definition of what the desired state looks like and why it matters. That is what this step creates.

Structural Priority

Why This Step Is Done First

AIM is a diagnostic system, not a sequential checklist. Practice areas are prioritized based on where implementation risk is highest - not executed in order. But Define the Change is always first for one structural reason: every other practice area depends on it.

Sponsorship activities require a clear definition to cascade.

Target readiness work requires a definition of what targets must be ready to do.

Reinforcement strategy requires a definition of what behaviors to reward.

Communication planning requires a definition of what to communicate.

Without a clear definition of the change, all downstream work operates on assumptions. And assumptions held by different people produce different implementations.

Implementation Risk

What Happens When This Step Is Skipped

Skipping or rushing Define the Change does not save time. It redistributes the time into resistance, rework, and re-explanation. These are not communication failures - they are definition failures, and they are predictable and preventable.

Leaders delivering different answers to the same question

Targets adopting only the parts of the change that fit their current work

Middle managers unable to answer "what does this mean for my team" with confidence

Post-go-live confusion about whether the change is actually succeeding

Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions About Define the Change

What is Define the Change in AIM?
Define the Change is Practice Area 1 in AIM's Accelerating Implementation Methodology. It involves creating a clear, shared understanding of the Present State and Desired State, structured through four components: WHAT success looks like, WHY the change is happening, what the CONSEQUENCES of not changing are, and WDIMFM - What Does It Mean For Me - for each target group. The primary tool is the Business Case for Action.
Why is this the first step in AIM?
Every other practice area depends on a clear definition of the change. Sponsorship, target readiness, reinforcement strategy, and communication planning cannot be executed with consistency if the change itself is not precisely defined. A shared definition is the foundation everything else is built on.
What is WDIMFM?
WDIMFM stands for "What Does It Mean For Me." It is the component of Define the Change that translates the initiative into each target group's Frame of Reference - their daily work, role, skills, and relationships. People adopt change when they understand it personally. WDIMFM is what makes that possible.
What is the Business Case for Action?
The Business Case for Action is the AIM tool used to document and cascade the four components of Define the Change. It is designed to be used by leaders at every level of the organization - not kept at the executive level. Its value comes from giving every sponsor the consistent language needed to answer the four core questions about the change.
What are the five measures of implementation success?
AIM defines five measures: (1) On Time, (2) Within Budget, (3) Technical Objectives Met, (4) Business Objectives Met, and (5) Human Objectives Met. Most organizations consistently track the first three. Measures 4 and 5 require behavior change and cannot be achieved without a clear, shared definition of what the desired state looks like and why it matters.
What is Frame of Reference in AIM?
Frame of Reference is the unique set of values, past experiences, role expectations, and daily context through which an individual or group interprets and responds to change. Effective change communication must be translated into each target group's Frame of Reference rather than delivered in a universal format. Face-to-face communication is the most effective way to access someone's Frame of Reference because it allows real-time calibration to individual concerns and context.
What happens when Define the Change is skipped?
When Define the Change is skipped or rushed, the initiative lacks a shared definition of success. Leaders deliver inconsistent messages. Target groups fill in gaps with worst-case assumptions, increasing resistance. Communication and training are built on an unstable foundation. Reinforcement systems cannot be designed without knowing what behaviors to reward. Adoption becomes uneven because different parts of the organization are working toward different versions of the desired state.
How does Define the Change relate to the other 9 AIM practice areas?
Define the Change is the foundation all other practice areas build on. Build Agent Capacity requires knowing what agents are supporting. Generate Sponsorship requires leaders to understand and deliver the Business Case for Action. Develop Target Readiness requires a defined desired state to assess readiness toward. Build Communication Plan requires knowing the WHAT, WHY, and CONSEQUENCES to communicate. Develop Reinforcement Strategy requires knowing which specific behaviors to reward.
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Peacock Hill Consulting applies AIM's Accelerating Implementation Methodology, created by Don Harrison and grounded in 40+ years of implementation research from Implementation Management Associates (IMA).

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