★ Start here

An impact assessment maps who a change touches, how hard it hits each group, and how ready they are, so you can aim your energy where it matters most. Work top to bottom; a rough first draft beats a perfect one that never gets done.

1. Name the change and pick its reach: one person, a team, or the whole enterprise.
2. List every affected group, including the easy-to-forget ones (IT, security, support, managers, leadership), not just the obvious team.
3. For each group, set the severity on each dimension, the number of people, and how ready they feel. Tap a dimension box to cycle None → Low → Medium → High.
4. Read the quadrant. Groups in the top-left (high impact, low readiness) need your attention first.

New or accidental change manager? Start upstream. Before you can assess impact, get clear on what's changing and why you're on this project. Begin at the source: review the business requirements, user stories, and the business case. That's your source of truth for the change. Then engage your leadership and sponsors to confirm the scope and the goal, and list the stakeholders the change touches. Only then go to the people: a 15-minute chat with a few frontline managers, a short pulse survey, or one stakeholder workshop tells you more than any desk guess. Ask each group: “What changes day to day? How big a shift is it? How ready do you feel? What worries you?” And remember, readiness is self-reported, so pressure-test any “High” against real evidence; sponsors tend to over-rate it.