An outcomes model is simply the 'cascading set of causes in the real world' which lie behind any outcome occurring.

 

A range of different terms are used in strategic planning, project planning, program logic and outcomes models for the elements which can go in these models: These terms include: outcomes, goals, missions, intermediate outcomes, strategies, outputs, activities, tasks, drivers, key drivers, causes, effects, priorities etc.

 

Many type of strategic planning software hard-wire these terms into their structure. As a result, many normal users spend a lot of time trying to work out whether something is an activity or an intermediate outcome, or an output or a whatever.

 

The DoView approach is to keep it all very simple and is based on the belief that all we are talking about here is a set of things causing other things. At the top we have some outcomes and all of their causes, from those at the very bottom, which make them happen. To keep it really simple, DoView just calls all of these steps which lead to outcomes at the top.

 

The technical reason for calling them all outcomes is that the distinction between an outcome and lower level steps is  often a relative one. An outcome for one organization may be a strategy step for another organization. The DoView approach is to draw outcomes models which are about the real world, not just about organizations. This makes such models much more useful for a wide variety of purposes.

 

There is no reason why, after you have built a DoView model, you can not go through the model and identify elements in it for particular purposes. For instance you might want to go through and identify all those which are outputs for a particular party (color them, or put a text code in them, or link the particular player to them). (Outputs are easily measurable actions that players take and which they are held to account for doing).