Find the friction your organisation is carrying
The Friction Architecture™ Diagnostic shows where structural friction sits, estimates its employment-cost impact and gives your leaders a clear place to begin.
See the conditions
Understand which organisational systems are making work harder than it needs to be.
Know where to focus
Turn evidence from your own people into a Profile your leadership team can act on.
A clearer picture of what is getting in the way
The Friction Architecture™ Diagnostic is an evidence-based organisational diagnostic tool. A short online questionnaire gathers perspectives from across your organisation, then traces recurring friction to the conditions and systems producing it. Rather than asking leaders to guess why capacity is being lost, the Friction Architecture™ Profile shows where the patterns are concentrated.
Using your organisation’s own data, the Profile estimates the Friction Tax in employment-cost terms. It makes the scale of capacity involved visible without presenting it as a forecast of cash savings. Leaders receive a practical view of what to examine first, grounded in how the organisation actually works.
What the Diagnostic does — and does not — measure
Conditions, not sentiment
It examines the conditions people work within, rather than simply asking how they feel about them.
Systems, not personalities
It describes patterns in the working environment, never individual traits or personality types.
Evidence, not opinion
Findings come from your organisation’s own responses, scored consistently rather than shaped into a consultancy narrative.
Patterns, not individuals
Results are reported only for groups of ten or more, revealing shared friction without identifying anyone’s answers.
Step 1
01 · Agree the scope
We agree who will take part and what you most want to understand. We handle the set-up.
Step 2
02 · Gather responses
At least ten people from across the organisation complete the online questionnaire, each taking 20–25 minutes at a time that suits them.
Step 3
03 · Produce your Profile
We score the responses, trace friction to the systems producing it and calculate your Friction Tax. Your Profile is ready within five working days of the final response.
Step 4
04 · Debrief and decide
We walk your leadership team through the findings, test them against what you are seeing and agree where to focus. Then you can act on the brief yourselves, use the Redesign Studio or re-measure with an annual health check.
See the patterns across your organisation
The Friction Architecture Profile brings responses together into an organisation-wide view. It shows where friction is concentrated and traces the patterns back to the systems producing them, so leaders can focus on conditions rather than individuals. Findings are reported only for groups of ten or more.
A view of the Profile, not your results
Any Profile example shown here is illustrative. It is not drawn from sample-report test data and does not represent your organisation’s findings. Your own Profile is built from your organisation’s responses and gives your leadership team a basis for deciding what to change first.
Different pressures. A clearer view of friction.
Growth companies · Test the plan against capacity
After investment · See what may slow delivery
Not-for-profits · Understand pressure on delivery
Rising demand · Locate the friction it exposes
Trustees and funders · Build a clearer picture
Larger organisations · Map friction across the whole
Complex structures · Compare where patterns differ
Leadership teams · Agree where to focus
Organisation-wide evidence · Look beyond anecdotes
The Friction Architecture Profile · See the systems at work
Friction Tax · Estimate capacity tied up in friction
Redesign brief · Identify what to change first
Redesign Studio · Work through the changes
Annual health check · Re-measure the conditions
The Diagnostic · Start with what is actually there
“An engagement survey tells you how people feel about their conditions. The Profile helps you see what those conditions are and which systems are producing them.”
Reading the evidence together
The Profile’s engagement lens lets you read its findings alongside your existing survey, connecting reported experiences with the organisational conditions behind them.
FROM PROFILE TO REDESIGN
Turn the Profile into a route for change: a personalised plan, a focused Redesign Studio session of no more than 90 minutes, and 6–12 week experiments with clear owners and 90-day markers. Book the Diagnostic and Studio together if you prefer.
Questions about the Diagnostic
Practical answers on taking part, protecting responses and using your Profile.
How many people need to take part?
At least ten, drawn from across the organisation rather than only the leadership team. More participants give a richer picture of where friction is concentrated.
How long does it take each person?
Each person completes the questionnaire online in 20–25 minutes, at a time that suits them.
Are responses anonymous?
Yes. Results are reported only for groups of ten or more. The Profile shows patterns across the organisation, never what any one person said.
We already run an engagement survey. Do we need this?
They do different jobs. An engagement survey tells you how people feel about their conditions; the Diagnostic identifies those conditions and the systems producing them. The Profile includes an engagement lens so you can read both side by side.
How accurate is the Friction Tax?
It is an estimate based on your organisation’s own data, making it considerably more specific than the free calculator. Expressed in employment-cost terms, it shows the scale of capacity involved; it is not a forecast of cash savings.
Do we have to use the Redesign Studio afterwards?
No. You can act on the redesign brief yourselves. The Redesign Studio is available if you want structured support to make changes and see them hold.