Using the information gained from your knowledge and awareness-raising activities, you now match the best set of available innovations and changes from your reading of the external environment (e.g., your market, customers, competition, innovation and change options, government policy and regulation), with your internal environment (e.g., strategic plans, core competencies, competitive advantages, strengths and weaknesses). This results in a list of potential innovations and technical changes that address various strategic and organisational needs and plans.

Sometimes these activities have already taken place before you ever became involved in the project. That is, the decision has already been made regarding what innovation or technical change is to be implemented. In this case, we suggest you go on to the next stage in the process, strategic/organisation level decision, to continue with your overview of these processes.