Intent Gap
The intent gap is the total distance between what an organization could reasonably have achieved and what it actually achieved.
What is the intent gap?
The intent gap combines the decision gap and the execution gap. It is the whole of the avoidable loss across the lifecycle, and it cannot be observed directly because its first component depends on an unobservable reference point.
Best Feasible Outcome
The best feasible outcome is the strongest outcome the organization could reasonably have pursued in response to the problem or opportunity, given the information, perspectives, and options available or reasonably discoverable at the time.
It is the reference point for judging a direction, and it is a counterfactual: the outcome of a direction not taken. It is never directly knowable, before or after, which is why the decision gap and the intent gap are diagnostic distinctions rather than measurable quantities.
Not the theoretical optimum, and not what hindsight shows was possible. It is bounded by what was reasonably discoverable at the time the direction was chosen.
Target Outcome
The target outcome is the outcome the chosen direction was expected to produce.
The target outcome is the boundary between the two gaps. Everything above it belongs to the quality of the decision; everything below it belongs to execution. Attaining the target is not the same as producing value, since only a sound direction makes a target worth attaining.
Not a measure of success in itself. A change can hit its target outcome exactly and still leave most of the intent gap open, if the target was weakly chosen.
Realized Outcome
The realized outcome is the outcome that actually occurs following execution.
Realized outcomes remain shaped by conditions outside the change, so a realized outcome by itself says nothing about the quality of the decision that preceded it. Under uncertainty, a well made decision can be followed by a disappointing outcome, and a careless one by a lucky success.
Not the delivered output. What was delivered is the work; the realized outcome is what changed as a result.
What it is not
Not the variance between plan and actual, which measures only delivery against a target already chosen. The intent gap includes the loss created by choosing that target in the first place.
Where it sits
The intent gap decomposes into two parts that need different responses. The decision gap is the distance from best feasible to target. The execution gap is the distance from target to realized.
Related concepts
- Decision Gap: The intent gap decomposes into the decision gap and the execution gap, which have different causes and require different responses.
- Execution Gap: The intent gap decomposes into the decision gap and the execution gap, which have different causes and require different responses.
- Best Feasible Outcome: Its three reference points are the best feasible outcome, the target outcome, and the realized outcome.
- Intent Integrity: Higher intent integrity is expected to produce a smaller intent gap.
Referenced by
Cite this page
Lars. “Intent Gap.” Intent Integrity. https://www.intent-integrity.com/intent-gap. n.d.
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