Blueprint in the value conversation
A value conversation is not a separate activity that happens after design. In an approach led by Pega Blueprint™, value emerges during design, as the team clarifies the problem and the solution takes shape.
Enterprise stakeholders do not approve platforms or features. They approve expected outcomes. The role of the Solution Designer is to make those outcomes visible and credible before teams build anything.
Blueprint enables this by turning design elements into measurable points of comparison against the current state. Every step, decision, and handoff marks a point at which time passes, work accumulates, or risk arises. When those elements reflect what the client experiences today, the Blueprint becomes a working model of improvement.
What a value conversation looks like in practice
The Solution Designer's role is not to calculate return on investment (ROI) but to help stakeholders see where improvement occurs and why.
Solution Designers do this by linking Blueprint elements to three questions:
- Where does time, cost, or effort accumulate today?
- What is happening in the system or process at that point?
- How does this design change that behavior?
The following examples illustrate this approach:
- "This Service-Level Agreement (SLA) marker exists because work currently sits here for two days without visibility. By making that delay explicit, we can measure it, manage it, and reduce it."
- "This decision point exists because different teams make inconsistent judgments. Here, we are standardizing that logic so the outcome is predictable."
- "This step is where the customer experience breaks down. We are using that same moment to introduce a coordinated Next Best Action instead."
The phrasing is direct, but the effect is significant. The stakeholder is no longer reacting to a proposal. They are inspecting a model that explains their own business.
Examples of discovery questions
The following examples and questions help Solution Designers develop a clear understanding of the client's current situation. Use the following questions to establish a clear picture of the as-is situation and measures of success:
Current state and pain points
Use the following questions to understand where the client's current process breaks down:
- Can you describe your current process from start to finish? Where do manual steps or bottlenecks occur?
- What are the main challenges your team faces with the current process, for example, inconsistency, time consumption, or lack of traceability?
Opportunities and desired outcomes
Use the following questions to identify what the client wants to achieve and where they see potential for improvement:
- What would an ideal process look like for your team?
- What outcomes would you like to see for advisers, managers, and customers as a result of process improvements?
Value and success metrics
Use the following questions to establish how the client measures success and what targets the solution must meet:
- How do you currently measure operational efficiency, for example, time to complete reviews, error rates, or rework?
- What metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) would demonstrate success for this initiative, for example, time savings, cost reduction, or improved compliance?
- Are there specific financial or performance targets you are aiming to achieve, for example, annual savings or improved customer satisfaction?
Stakeholder experience and change management
Use the following questions to understand how different stakeholders interact with the process and what will drive adoption:
- How do different stakeholders, for example, advisers, managers, compliance, and IT, interact with the process currently?
- What would make adoption of a new process or tool easier for your team?
Case volume requirements
To establish specific Case volume requirements, use the following questions:
| What types of work or processes does your organization currently manage, and how are these categorized? | High-level identification of relevant Case Types. |
| How is each type of work tracked and measured today, for example, by volume, duration, or error rates? | Understanding current metrics enables accurate mapping to Case volumes. |
| What is the annual volume for each type of work, contact, or request handled by your organization? | Annual numbers are preferred because of seasonal variability and provide a solid basis for estimation. |
| What channels does your organization use to receive and process work, for example, back-office, contact center, self-service, mobile, or web? | Channel analysis helps determine where Cases originate and how they are processed. |
| What is the average time spent and error rate for each work item or contact type? | Essential for understanding workload, potential automation benefits, and compliance costs. |
| What percentage of work or contacts could move to self-service channels, and what is the expected impact? | Supports estimation of self-service Case volumes. |
| Are there processes that require independent lifecycles or parallel operation, justifying separate Case Types or child Cases? | Identifies complex orchestration needs and the volume of parent and child Cases. |
Real-time validation, not retrospective justification
Stakeholders can interact with the design by using Blueprint's preview feature before it is built.
When the stakeholder confirms the model, they are also confirming the source of value. The improvement is not hypothetical. It is anchored to behavior they recognize.
What makes this different
Traditional value conversations depend on abstraction: estimates, projections, and assumptions made after discovery. Blueprint replaces that with a visible, inspectable model that ties directly to how work and decisions happen today.
The result is that value is not asserted but demonstrated. The Solution Designer moves the stakeholder from:
"Our process is slow" to "That is where it slows down, and this is how we speed it up."
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