Australian Government Architecture Reference Models Version 3.0

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OPM Definition Examples
Effects The observable, measurable impacts that the
usage of outputs has on any state of the
world. 10
Outcomes The qualitative, cumulative impacts that can be
inferred through the observation/measurement
of the effects produced as outputs are used.
Outcomes cannot be directly measured.
4.1.4.3 Key concepts of the Outcome Process Model
Australian Government Architecture Reference Models Version 3.0
� Fewer arrests for drink-driving offences
� A decline in concentrations of pollutants
found in national waterways
� Greater efficiency in government
functions
� Reduced environmental impact of heavy
industry in Australia
� Reduction of long-term unemployment
While the model is robust in its application to the process of transforming inputs into outcomes, it does not
include a formal representation of time. Time is an implicit attribute of the model components of work and
usage. Work is effort applied over time, and usage is consumption conducted over time.
Determining the efficiency and effectiveness of an initiative is often contingent on the attribute of time. ‘Were
outputs delivered on time? Was work completed in a timely manner? Were deliveries made on time?’ For this
reason, efficiency and effectiveness are embedded in the model as attributes of work and usage.
Project management methodologies, such as PMBoK and Prince2, do not make a distinction between project
outputs and outcomes and often use the two terms interchangeably. The OPM emphasises the difference
between outputs and outcomes, and that separation carries through to the PRM framework. While the PRM is
suitable for the effective measurement of ‘project’ performance, care needs to be taken to ensure that stated
project outcomes and outputs are correctly identified within scope statements in order for the model to deliver
maximum value.
The three types of ‘work’ that may be conducted within agencies—ad hoc tasks, projects and operational
processes—are not directly represented in this model, as they possess common characteristics and
fundamentally achieve the same result: the production of an output. For more information on the handling of
work by the PRM, see the detailed PRM Framework and implementation Guide.
Demonstrations of the OPM’s applicability to business activity planning and operational management are
provided in Section 4.9 Demonstrating the Outcome Process Model.
4.1.4.4 Department of Finance and Deregulation’s ‘Outcomes and Programs’ Policy
The AGA Framework PRM is designed to support and reinforce the ‘Outcomes and Programs’ guidance issued
by the Department of Finance and Deregulation for the development of agency outcome statements and the
formation of effective program key performance indicators (KPIs).
This alignment makes the PRM:
� explicitly applicable to all agencies within federal government, as all agencies have budget outcome
statements that can easily be mapped to the PRM
� simpler for agencies to implement, as many measurements will already be established
� a logical choice of measurement framework for agencies.
10 A ‘state of the world’ is defined as the ‘observable reality that surrounds government’.