• 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

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    5-phase policy planning

  • Creating a new policy is not always be the best approach. It’s crucial to start with a clear understanding of the problem, rather than having a solution like a policy or standard already in mind.

  • 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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  • 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.

    Choose the right instrument

    The 5-phase process introduced in this toolkit will help you determine the most appropriate instrument to address the problem.

    Beyond the type of instrument, the level of endorsement or approval should be considered in line with the problem or objective to be addressed, this will depend on the ‘needs’ of the solution.

    Endorsement and approval levels may range from Cabinet, Ministerial, head of agency or CEO.

    Policy categories and approval

    In practical terms, policies can be categorised as:

    • Whole-of-government policies: apply to all government agencies, organisations and entities. They are often broad in scope and require Cabinet-endorsement.
    • Portfolio, sector or area policies: apply to agencies or organisations within a specific portfolio or sector and policies that are relevant to a particular area. For example, the digital delivery policies available on the Australian Government Architecture (AGA) website. The close connection to digital delivery means these types of policies will be more flexible and, in some cases, more suitable than a Cabinet-endorsed policy.
    • Organisation or agency level policies: these policies are internal to entities and guide internal decision-making, while aligning to broader whole-of-government policies. They often relate to human resources, such as governing travel and remote work. They may also cover topics like technology, risk or internal governance.

  • The Australian Public Service Academy uses a definition from the Australian Policy Handbook of policy as ‘a Statement of government intent, and its implementation through the use of policy instruments’. 

    Althaus, Bridgman, Davis 2023

  • Standards

    Standards can be mandatory or voluntary. They use measurable and enforceable requirements and set clear rules that ensure consistency and compliance.

    Standards are usually narrower and more specific than policies and less flexible than guidance.

  • Standards ‘set out specifications, procedures and guidelines that aim to ensure products, services, and systems are safe, consistent, and reliable.’

    Standards Australia 2025

  • Guidance

    Guidance includes recommendations or best practice advice that tells the user how to meet a policy, standard or other instrument. Guidance can be wider in scope than policies or standards. 

    They are not endorsed or authorised at a high level, so they can be more flexible and are often easier to update.  

    Frameworks

    Frameworks set our clear principles, roles and processes for how something should be done, without setting rigid requirements. 

    Supportive policy instruments  

    Depending on the problem you want to solve, different actions may be needed. This may include changing laws, improving processes or strengthening skills and resources.

    • Legislative amendments: Used to modify existing laws to address a problem.
    • Administrative changes:  Improve workflows or processes to solve operational problems.
    • Capacity building: Includes training and resources to enhance agency capability and understanding. 

  • Policies and instruments

  • Next: Policy planning tips

    Policy toolkit: alpha

  • The alpha phase focuses on generating ideas and gathering feedback. Early concepts can be developed into prototypes to share with stakeholders for feedback to inform solutions.

  • Criterion 7 – Do no harm

  • Purpose, objective and outcome

    There are 4 steps to complete in this phase. Once you have completed the steps, progress the preferred prototype(s) to the beta phase.

    • Purpose: to create, test, and refine policy prototypes based on user interaction and behavioural insights.
    • Outcome: a validated policy approach, based on initial testing and feedback, that demonstrates feasibility and readiness for further development.
    • Output: a validated prototype, ready for further development and testing in the beta phase.
  • Step 1. Ideate potential solutions

    Policy ideation is the initial phase where broad ideas and potential solutions are identified.

    It is a creative and exploratory phase, focusing on understanding the problem space and considering innovative approaches.

    The ideation process allows stakeholders to contribute ideas, ensuring that diverse perspectives are considered early.

    Actions to ideate potential solutions

    Consider the findings from the discovery phase

    Revisit your research into the problem, the users’ needs and the broader landscape to familiarise yourself with what you are trying to achieve in the project and what solutions exist elsewhere.

    Explore issues to address

    Conduct an exercise to explore what issues could be addressed, for example a ‘how might we’ exercise.

    Generate ideas

    Generate ideas for potential solutions – at this stage don’t worry about feasibility or practicality, it’s all about getting lots of ideas!

    Prioritise ideas

    Evaluate and prioritise ideas based on feasibility, impact and alignment with broader objectives.

    Shortlist ideas

    Select a shortlist of ideas that you will develop into prototypes in step 3.

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  • Step 2. Conduct prototyping

    Prototyping is an early version or model of a potential solution, created to test and refine. Prototypes are developed before a solution is determined and build out in more detail. 

    Prototyping includes testing ideas with users and refining based on feedback (also called iterating). This process reduces risks, ensures the solution is user-centered, and increases the likelihood of success in later stages. 

    Prototypes may include draft policy options, a draft policy outline, a consultation paper or a framework for implementation.  

    Create prototypes

    Confirm ideas to prototype

    Confirm which ideas from step 2 you want to build into prototypes.  

    Develop the prototype

    Create an initial version of the prototype. 

    Ensure it is simple and focused enough to test the critical components, avoiding unnecessary complexity at this stage.

    Define test objectives and measures

    Clearly outline what you aim to learn from testing the prototype, focusing on key questions or risks to be validated. Develop any criteria or metrics needed to evaluate the prototype effectiveness. 

    These may be similar or different to the success measures established in Step 1.  

    Identify test participants

    Select a group of stakeholders that represent the target audience who can provide diverse and valuable feedback.

    Test with users

    Gather both qualitative and quantitative data from users through direct observation, surveys, or interviews. This will help identify usability issues and improvement areas. 

    You may like to design realistic scenarios or tasks for participants to interact with the prototype and observe how it performs in a simulated environment.

    Refine the prototypes

    Use insights from testing to make iterative improvements to the prototype. You may also decide not to pursue prototypes that are not working.   

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  • Step 3. Prepare the alpha report

    Based on the results of the testing step, identify the preferred prototype(s) to build out in the next phase. Once complete, draft an alpha report to close out this phase.

    An alpha report is a key deliverable in this phase of the policy development process. It summarises the outcomes of testing prototypes, key insights, and recommendations for further development.

    The report provides stakeholders with clear information about what was learned during the alpha and it lays the groundwork for moving into the beta phase. To ensure informed decision-making, the report captures evidence from user testing, challenges encountered and proposed next steps.

    Create the alpha report  

    Objectives

    A clear articulation of the goals of the alpha phase and what was intended to be tested or validated.

    Overview of the prototype(s)

    A description of the prototype(s) developed and tested, including core features and design decisions.

    Testing methodology

    An explanation of the approach taken for testing, including test participants, scenarios and data collection methods.

    Key findings

    Insights and feedback gathered from users, including any identified issues, risks and areas for improvement.

    Performance against objectives

    Include an evaluation of how well the prototypes met the alpha phase objectives.

    Identification of preferred prototypes

    Identify the preferred prototype(s) to build out further in the next phase.

    Resources

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