Impact Analysis Template

What is an impact analysis?

The purpose of an impact analysis is to evaluate the effects, both pro and con, of an item under consideration—
anything from solutions to a stated problem to a pending organizational change. In order to be sure that the team
understands all the ramifications of a possible change and not just the obvious ones, it's important to consider the
situation from multiple perspectives.

Naming the document

Following this proposed naming convention will improve communications and enable you to track the version:

CN_Impact Analysis_Project Name_V0

Where…

CN: Your company name/abbreviation

Impact Analysis: The type of document
Project Name: Your project name (if the project name is long, please use an acronym, the number of the
project proposal or other relevant information)
V0, V1, V2: Keep the versions of the document updated

Preparing for an impact analysis

Review the project objectives and requirements to develop a baseline for evaluation. Identify the principal team
members that schedule a working session meeting.

 Try to step back and look at the bigger picture.

 Review by looking at the business process, systems, countries and resources who will be affected by the
solution or change.
 Consider the potential impact on existing systems, the knowledge and skills of users, and existing processes
or practices.
 Create a list of those items and a brief descriptive note about each element or aspect potentially affected by
the solution. (Point 4 of the NS_Impact Analysis_Project Name_V0)

Evaluating your findings and preparing a recommendation

Once you’ve analyzed and consolidated the gathered information, step back and evaluate the overall impact.
Remember, all domain areas are not of equal importance; some will affect the project more than others. Summarize
your findings and assess the overall impact to the business. If you analyzed multiple solution options, recommend the
solution that presents the least or most favorable impact. (This information will be included in the Point 3 of
NS_Impact Analysis_Project Name_V0)

Completing the impact analysis document

1. Project Description: Complete a basic description.
2. Project Benefits: List the main benefits of project realization.
3. Recommendation: Keep in mind the overall impact and provide a brief recommendation.
4. Affected Business Processes, Systems and Resources: Create a list of the items that will be impacted and a
brief descriptive note about each element or aspect potentially affected by the solution.
5. Risk and Mitigation: Keep in mind that this document isn’t a risk analysis. This is a high-level description of the
risks and mitigation plan/actions.

1
 Impact Analysis Template
Project Name:
Date:

1. Project Description
Complete with a basic description

2. Project Benefits
List the main benefits of project realization

3. Recommendation
Based on the information collected by the analysis team (see details on points 4 and 5), add the recommendation
here.
For more information about how to elaborate the recommendation, review document Impact Analysis_Instructions

4. Affected Business Processes, Systems and Resources

Review by looking at the business process, systems, countries and resources who will be affected by the solution
or change. Consider the potential impact on existing systems, the knowledge and skills of users, and existing
processes or practices.
Complete a list of those items and a brief descriptive note about each element or aspect potentially affected by the
solution.

5. Risks and Mitigation

Risk Risk Impact Description Mitigation
(Name of Low/Medium/High (Description of (High-level mitigation plan/action)
risk) the risk)