The five stages between “done” and “it worked”
Completion is an event. Impact is a claim that needs evidence.
Complete and delivered
Complete means the assigned work has been finished. Delivered means it has reached the intended recipient. A training guide can be complete on the author’s desk while remaining undelivered to the teams expected to use it.
Accepted
Acceptance asks whether the recipient reviewed and adopted the deliverable within its responsibilities. Attendance, acknowledgment or a signature can help document the process, but they should not be substituted for evidence of practical use.
Outcome observed
Re-observation tests what changed in behavior, service or decision flow. Use a stated baseline and comparable conditions. Record both improvements and unintended effects; an honest result can include no detected change.
Impact attributed
Attribution asks whether the intervention explains the observed change, considering other influences. Keep the confidence and remaining uncertainty visible. The distinction protects the institution from turning a successful delivery into a claim it cannot support.
Design transfer before the training ends
A course attendance list measures exposure. A knowledge check measures recall under test conditions. Neither establishes that the behaviour is used during a busy shift. Define the work behaviour before designing the session: what should the person do, in which situation, with which tools and authority? Practise representative tasks, provide feedback, then observe use in the workplace. If the environment prevents the behaviour, the response may require a workflow or managerial change as well as learning support.
A baseline makes improvement interpretable
Agree the observation window, eligible opportunities, behaviour definition and recording method before the intervention. Repeat the observation under comparable conditions and report both the numerator and denominator. Examine workload, staffing and case mix as alternative explanations for change. Track service experience and rework as balancing measures, not only compliance. A before-and-after difference is an association unless the design supports a stronger causal claim. The contract should state who owns the review and what evidence closes the engagement.
A transfer-of-learning review
| Record | Question or field |
|---|---|
| Target behaviour | Specific action, eligible opportunity, tools and authority. |
| Baseline and follow-up | Observed applications / eligible opportunities, in comparable windows. |
| Impact and explanation | Service experience, rework, workload and alternative causes. |
Free templates: record the decision and observe the friction