future-state-and-change-strategy

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name: future-state-and-change-strategy description: Design a target-state process and a structured change strategy from a gap analysis. Use this skill when the user wants to redesign a process after gaps have been identified; when they ask "what should the process look like", "how do we fix this", "design the to-be process", or "build a change plan". Produces a future-state process artifact and a change strategy document. This is a recommended extension skill — use after process-gap-and-exception-analysis has produced a gap analysis. Scope firewall applies: never include employer-proprietary constraints without explicit user authorisation. license: MIT homepage: https://github.com/overkillhill/mermaid-diagram-bpmn/tree/main/skills/future-state-and-change-strategy repository: https://github.com/overkillhill/mermaid-diagram-bpmn metadata: bp_skill_version: "0.3.0" status: recommended-extension version: "0.1.0" author: OverKill Hill P³ project: "BP-SKILL: Business Process Agent Skill Suite" category: process-improvement standards_refs: - "BPM CBOK v4 §7 (Process Transformation)" - "BABOK v3 §7.5 (Recommend Actions to Increase Solution Value)" - "Kotter 8-Step Change Model" - "ADKAR Change Management Model" produces: "future-state.yaml, change-strategy.md" consumes: "gap-analysis.yaml" depends_on: ["process-gap-and-exception-analysis"] tags: future-state, to-be-process, change-strategy, process-redesign, transformation, ADKAR, Kotter, BPM-CBOK triggers: - design the future state - to-be process - change plan - redesign the process - improvement strategy - fix the gaps - target state - change management

Purpose

Design the target-state (to-be) process and a structured change strategy based on gap analysis findings. The future-state artifact documents the intended process design; the change strategy documents how to get there.

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When to use this skill

• gap-analysis.yaml exists with at least one critical or major gap
• User wants to redesign a process based on identified gaps
• User needs a change management plan to accompany process redesign
• Preparing the target-state PNS input for process-narrative-authoring

When NOT to use this skill

• No gap analysis exists — run process-gap-and-exception-analysis first
• User wants to document only the current state — use as-is-process-capture
• Scope firewall: do not include confidential employer constraints, proprietary system names, or commercially sensitive process details without explicit user instruction

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Scope Firewall

This skill operates on process abstractions. Before authoring the future state:

• Confirm all described gaps are based on user-provided information
• Do not infer proprietary business rules from industry knowledge without flagging them as assumptions
• Flag all assumed constraints with confidence: assumed in the future-state YAML
• Do not include employer-identifying details in any generated artifact

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Future-State Design Workflow

Step 1 — Prioritise gaps

Rank gaps from gap-analysis.yaml by severity: critical → major → minor → observation.

Focus the future-state design on resolving all critical and major gaps.

Step 2 — Design to-be steps

For each resolved gap, define the replacement or new step:

• State the intended action in a single imperative statement
• Assign a named role (not a person)
• Define entry and exit criteria
• Specify any system or tool involved

Step 3 — Validate completeness

Check the future-state design covers:

• All structural gaps (missing steps, unowned activities)
• All exception gaps (undefined handling, missing escalation)
• All compliance gaps (absent controls, missing segregation)

Step 4 — Define change approach

For each major change, define:

• change_type — add | remove | modify | automate | transfer
• effort — low | medium | high
• risk — low | medium | high
• dependencies[] — other changes that must happen first
• owner_role — who is responsible for implementing this change

Step 5 — Draft change strategy

Structure the change strategy document with:

1. Change summary — what is changing and why
2. Stakeholder impact — who is affected, how significantly
3. Transition plan — sequence and timeline for changes
4. Risk register — what could go wrong during transition
5. Communication plan — how and when to inform each stakeholder group
6. Success criteria — how to know the change has landed

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Output Schema

future-state.yaml contains:

• process_id — matches PIR process_id
• future_state_version — "0.1-draft" initially
• design_date, designed_by_role
• resolved_gaps[] — each gap from gap-analysis.yaml with its resolution
• to_be_steps[] — id, description, actor_role_id, systems[], confidence
• open_assumptions[] — assumed constraints flagged for user confirmation
• change_items[] — each with change_type, effort, risk, dependencies[], owner_role

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Handoff Instruction

Pass future-state.yaml to process-intake-and-scope or process-narrative-authoring to create the target-state PNS. The future-state steps map directly to activity_sequence.activities[] in the new PNS.

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References

Load on demand:

• references/change-strategy-framework.md — change type taxonomy, effort/risk classification, ADKAR and Kotter alignment, and scope firewall rules

Scripts

• scripts/generate-future-state.mjs — scaffolds future-state YAML from gap-analysis input

Assets

• assets/fixtures/future-state-example.yaml — canonical future-state design for purchase-approval process