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Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Assessing your needs

Feeling overwhelmed? Needing help getting started?

Through a series of statements, the needs assessment tool will help you determine the game plans and plays that are relevant to you at this point in time.

We recommend that you go back to your results every couple of months and that you complete a new needs assessment every 4 to 6 months.

Before you start: Tell us who you are.

Please complete the following fields:

Step 1: Tell us how much you agree (or disagree) with various statements

* You can complete the questionnaire individually or as a group.

Section 1 – Collaborate and engage I agree I somewhat agree I disagree/I don't know Not applicable
We don’t work in a silo. We are well-connected with other teams (i.e. modes, branches, or other departments). We learn from each other and share ideas.
As a team, we provide a safe space to discuss what worked and didn’t work. We have a high level of trust and respect, and each team member has a great sense of belonging.
We know who our stakeholders are, and we have a trusting relationship with them. We continually consult with them and keep them informed in a timely manner. We are viewed as “easy to do business with” by key stakeholders.
Given the complexity, infrastructure involved, risks, resources, effort, and timeline for our initiative/project, we know who we depend on, and who depends on us.
Section 2 – Deliver service excellence I agree I somewhat agree I disagree/I don't know Not applicable
We have clear team or project objectives and they align with Transport Canada’s mission, vision, and goals. Our activities are evaluated against them.
Our decision-making process considers impacts on people, including their diverse needs, beliefs, and culture as well as impacts on the economy and the environment.
We are skilled at understanding, empathizing and resolving requests from users. Our process drives improvements and services.
Section 3 – Improve, modernize, and transform I agree I somewhat agree I disagree/I don't know Not applicable
We understand the importance of using digital tools to accomplish tasks and goals. We explore and use digital capabilities to improve our business processes and services.
We understand the meaning and importance of data. We have a clear process for collecting, storing, analyzing, sharing, and reporting data. We make data-driven decisions.
We experiment and find new ways of doing things to solve problems and to provide better products or services.
We identify, assess, and understand the risks to which we are exposed, and take mitigation measures appropriate to the level of risk.
Our project/initiative is cost-effective, which means that we are producing good value for money paid. We have also considered options on how we might recover our costs.
Section 4 – Manage projects and change I agree I somewhat agree I disagree/I don't know Not applicable
We have consensus on the most important aspects of our initiative/project: main objective, scope, timing, trade-offs, and decision ownership. We practice effective project management throughout our planning, implementation and reporting.
We are aligned with the purpose and value of the change and we have created a plan of action to help us successfully navigate through it.
We have a strategy and plan for informing and communicating our initiative/project. We have determined our audience, objectives, key messages, tactics, timeline, and evaluation measures.
Our activities are aligned with Transport Canada’s Transformation Strategy.
We know what skills and competencies our team needs to fulfill our mandate (or complete our project/initiative). We prepare for those needs through effective HR planning and learning and development opportunities.

Your Tailored Game Plan

Your new needs assessment is complete. Your Game Plan contains a list of plays that are relevant to the areas that need improvement or need major attention. Plays are listed in the order they should be completed. You do not need to do them all at once - start with the first play to gain confidence.

Reframe the problem

Understand the "who," "what," "why," and "where" of a problem.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Making better decisions, Next-level project management activities, all
Assess your cost recovery potential

Respond to the evolving transportation landscape by modernizing TC’s service fees and fee structure.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, all
Assess your environmental impact

Address potential environmental impacts when developing policy, plan and program proposals.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, all
Use the Sustainable Transportation Assessment Tool (STAT)

Consider potential effects of transportation policies, plans and programs on the economy, on society and on the environment.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative all
Understand Indigenous engagement

Understand the relationship between your work and Indigenous Peoples of Canada.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, all
Conduct a GBA+ analysis

Ensure your program or project considers and meets the needs of a diverse set of users by conducting a GBA+ assessment.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, all
Build cross-disciplinary teams

Understand the skills and talents you need for your initiative, project or program and explore options to acquire them.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Making better decisions, Becoming more agile, Integrating change in your project management, Goal-setting, Building belonging, all
Conduct a dependency mapping session

Understand and prevent process bottlenecks before they happen.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Becoming more agile, Effective operational planning, Next-level project management activities
Make decisions using RACI framework

Understand and prevent process bottlenecks before they happen.

Start the play →

Effective operational planning, Making better decisions
Learn about the Digital Standards

Familiarize yourself with the Digital Standards.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative
Develop an integrated plan

Your team’s success starts with integrated strategic objectives - your integrated strategic plan is your minimum hassle roadmap to achieve this.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Becoming more agile, Effective operational planning, Making better decisions, Next-level project management activities
Develop your project’s critical path

Create a detailed timeline from your project’s start to finish to keep your team on track.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Becoming more agile, Effective operational planning, Next-level project management activities
Plan your team’s capacity

Create a capacity plan for your team, with your team.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Becoming more agile, Effective operational planning, Goal-setting,Next-level project management activitiesall
Assess skills and competencies needs

Meet your team’s full potential by identifying gaps in competencies as growth opportunities for your employees.

Start the play →

Building Effective Teams
Have a prioritization session

Prioritize your work so time is spent on what matters most.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Becoming more agile, Building effective and healthy teams , Effective operational planning, Next-level project management activitiesall
Manage change

Organizations don't change; people within organizations change.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Integrating change in your project management
Build a project management plan

Plan and track projects through five steps: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Integrating change in your project management, Effective operational planning, Next-level project management activitiesall
Build an Agile project management plan

Explore how you might use the Agile approach and Scrum method for project management.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Becoming more agile, Effective operational planning, Next-level project management activitiesall
Conduct a change management kick-off meeting

Align your team and create a plan of action. 

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Integrating change in your project management
Conduct focus groups

Gather views from users or stakeholders .

Start the play →

Becoming more agile
Interview your users

Understand your users’ needs and environment.

Start the play →

Develop a project or initiative, Becoming more agile
Understand users with empathy mapping

Align your success criteria with the needs of user personas.

all, journey, customer, user, client, service design, Becoming more agile, Making better decisions

Start the play →

Conduct an end-to-end demo

Visualize your project and get feedback at every stage.

Start the play →

Create a learning circle

Promote life-long learning within and across teams.

Start the play →

all, Building belonging
Do a contextual inquiry

Observe how your product or service is used by real users.

Start the play →

all,
Map your users’ journey

Understand the client journey from a specific persona's perspective.

Start the play →

all, Making better decisions, Becoming more agile
Conduct a 4Ls retrospective session

Sort through what you learned, loved, loathed, and longed for in the past quarter.

Start the play →

Becoming more agile, Next-level project management activities
Analyse your 5 “Whys”

Uncover the root of a problem and explore possible solutions.

Start the play →

all, Develop a project or initiative, Next-level project management activities
Conduct a project poster session

Agree on prioritization and define where it's okay to delay or drop tasks.

Start the play →

all, Making better decisions, Next-level project management activities, Goal-setting
Conduct a project kick-off session

Build consensus on objectives, timing, scope, and decision-making.

Start the play →

all, Develop a project or initiative Making better decisions, Next-level project management activities
Create your elevator pitch

Create a simple explanation of your work and the value it delivers.

Start the play →

all, Next-level project management activities, Building effective and healthy teams
Define and design team culture

Collaboratively define and design your team culture.

Start the play →

all, Building effective and healthy teams
Clarify objectives and key results (OKR)

Challenge your team to reach new heights, and track your progress.

Start the play →

all, Making better decisions, Next-level project management activities, Goal-setting
Conduct a retrospective session

Provide a safe space to discuss what worked and what didn't.

Start the play →

all, Becoming more agile, Building effective and healthy teams,Creating open lines of communication, Next-level project management activities
Conduct a premortem session

Anticipate risks so you can solve for them while there's still time.

Start the play →

all, Making better decisions, Next-level project management activities
Know your goals, signals and measures

Make sure your team is focused and know what success looks like.

Start the play →

all, Next-level project management activities, Goal-setting, Building effective and healthy teams
Conduct inclusive meetings

Make sure everyone's voice is heard in every meeting.

Start the play →

all, Building effective and healthy teams, Building belonging
Assess your team’s diversity balance

Gain new insights into the state of balance and belonging on your team.

Start the play →

all, Building belonging
Create your user manual

Help your teammates understand how best to work with you.

Start the play →

all, Building effective and healthy teams, Building belonging
Clarify roles and responsibilities

Clarify who does what, plus identify gaps and overlaps.

Start the play →

all, Making better decisions, Building effective and healthy teams, Next-level project management activities
Organize ideas with mind mapping

Explore a problem space and organize your ideas for solutions.

Start the play →

all, Making better decisions

Suggestions for plays

The Transport Canada How We Work Playbook is an evergreen document that is constantly updated to improve the way we work across the department. However, we don’t have all the answers and are always seeking your help to make things better. If you have an idea for a play that should be added, contact us.

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