RIDE™ Deliver Stage

In this stage, teams decide what will change in search, on the site, on college search platforms, in social channels, in outreach, and in enrollment processes, and then commit to doing that work. 

Teams also set up tracking for the agreed Discovery Signals in analytics and reporting tools, so that the Evaluate stage can later read the Discovery Scorecard and judge progress.

In this stage, the team is responsible for:

• Translating strategy into defined initiatives and tasks
  The Information Discovery Strategy is broken into clear initiatives, workstreams, and practical tasks. For each segment and program, the Deliver stage makes explicit what will be done, in which discovery channels, and at which stages of the Discovery Journey.
  
  This can include initiatives such as rebuilding core program pages, strengthening non-branded search presence, improving profiles on rankings and review sites, redesigning visit experiences, or improving tracking around key moments in the journey.
  
• Building a single delivery plan that can be executed
  Planned actions are gathered into a single working plan rather than being buried in separate presentations and notes. Each initiative is linked to the relevant IDO™ pillars Get Found, Get Trusted, and Get Chosen, as well as to priority segments and journey stages, so the connection to the Discovery Journey is visible.
  
  This gives leaders a view of how work supports awareness, comparison, and choice for undergraduate, graduate, and other key segments in one place.
  
• Assigning owners, timelines, and dependencies
  Every initiative becomes owned work with clear responsibility, realistic timelines, and visible dependencies across marketing, content, web, CRM, IT, enrollment operations, and other teams.
  
  This clarifies how marketing and admissions will coordinate, who is accountable for each part of the work, and how related initiatives move together across cycles.
  
• Running a structured feasibility and resourcing check (6Ms)
  During resource planning, the team applies the 6Ms model Men, Money, Minutes, Materials, Machines, Management to test whether each initiative can be delivered with the current people, budget, time, information, systems, and governance available.
  
  When the assessment shows that the plan cannot be supported, the Deliver stage prompts a return to the Integrate stage so initiatives can be resized, sequenced, or adjusted before they are committed. This reduces the gap between ambition and capacity and helps avoid plans that collapse once the academic year and recruitment cycle are underway.
  
• Making Discovery Signals measurable in real systems
  The Discovery Signals agreed in the Integrate stage are mapped to real events, fields, and reports in analytics, CRM, and other tools. The team checks that each signal can be reliably tracked and that the data needed for the Discovery Scorecard can be pulled from the systems.

When does the Deliver stage start and end?

The Deliver stage only works if everyone is clear on when to stop designing the strategy in the Integrate stage and start translating it into a specific work plan, and when the team is ready to move into the Evaluate stage. The Deliver stage starts when:

• The Information Discovery Strategy has been agreed and signed off by the relevant leadership group.
• The institution has chosen the segments and programs it will promote.
• There is a list of strategic initiatives emerging from the Strategy, each already linked to Discovery Journey stages and IDO™ pillars.
• Discovery Signals and Scorecard have been defined so the team can start setting up the tracking and reporting infrastructure.

From this point, a six-step Delivery Process is used to prioritize these initiatives, define the work, and build the actual Delivery Plan. The Deliver stage ends with a plan that is specific enough to execute and grounded enough to fit the institution’s reality.

By the end of the Deliver stage, the institution has:

• Defined a delivery plan
  A single realistic plan for the cycle that gathers all initiatives and tasks from the Delivery process, with owners, dates, dependencies, tags for IDO™ pillar Get Found / Get Trusted / Get Chosen, Discovery Journey stage, channel, segment, and program, and notes from the resource and capability checks.
  
• Setup tracking
  Analytics, CRM, and other systems are configured so that the agreed Discovery Signals are captured consistently and can be pulled into the Discovery Scorecard in the Evaluate stage without major rework.
  
• Defined a review and adaptation cycle
  A simple pattern of RIDE™ catch-ups and RIDE™ review sessions is recorded in the Delivery Workbook, where the team checks which initiatives are on track or behind, updates tasks and timelines based on performance data and internal feedback, and records changes directly in the plan.
  
• Deliver planned work
  A record of the changes shipped during this cycle across search, site content, college search platforms, social channels, outreach, and enrollment processes, logged in the Delivery Workbook against the relevant initiatives and Discovery Journey stages.

Once these outputs are in place, the Information Discovery Strategy has been turned into a work plan, and the institution is ready to move into the Evaluate stage to understand its impact and decide what should change in the next round of strategy and delivery.

The 6-Step Delivery Process

As part of the Deliver stage, the six-step Delivery Process is a defined workflow that serves as a bridge between the Information Discovery Strategy and the day-to-day work that delivers that strategy. It assesses initiatives against current capacity, assigns ownership, sets deadlines, delivers the work, and reviews the outcomes through two regular review sessions.

The workflow is organised in 5 steps:

1. Define

The team lists five to ten initiatives that matter most for this cycle, gives each a short name and a one-line result statement, and tags it by Discovery Journey stage, IDO™ pillar, segment, program, and main discovery channels. This creates a focused set of initiatives that can be consistently discussed, planned, and measured.

2. Assess

With the main initiatives clear, this step checks whether the plan aligns with the resources and skills actually available. Most marketing planning still focuses on three basics: people, budget, and time, as captured in PR Smith’s SOSTAC® model as the 3Ms (Men, Money, Minutes).

While these remain valid, they are insufficient to succeed in today’s discovery ecosystem. Here is where we propose three new buckets of resources that need to be checked, before an initiative or task is assigned to someone:

• Materials (Information) – the information and proof the organization will rely on in discovery. Materials must cover the core facts, explanations, outcomes, and narratives, and these must be accurate and consistent wherever they appear. Treating Materials as a distinct resource means defining, consolidating, and maintaining this body of information so that every channel and team draws from the same base.
  
• Machines (Systems) – the systems and tools that publish and track that information.
  Machines are the digital platforms used to put content in front of audiences, connect data between systems, and measure what happens. 
  
• Management (Governance) – The policies, protocols, playbooks, and guides for how work is done. Management is the set of agreed rules, principles, and processes that define how information is created, approved, and maintained in the discovery ecosystem. 

For each initiative, the team estimates people time, budget, information needed, systems involved, and governance requirements, then compares these with actual capacity.

Whenever there is a capacity gap, initiatives are resized, sequenced, or dropped before execution begins.

Whenever there are gaps in skills or clarity, training, coaching, and reference materials are planned and executed accordingly.

3. Assign

Each initiative gets a single accountable owner. Under each initiative, tasks are broken down and assigned to named people, with helpers and people who must be kept informed made explicit. Decision rights are written down so everyone knows which calls they can make and when to involve others.

4. Schedule

For every initiative, the team sets a realistic date for first results. Tasks are ordered, given start and end dates, and linked by clear dependencies so it is obvious what must happen first and what can run in parallel. Fixed dates such as intakes, open days, and campaign windows are built into the plan, so work aligns with the academic and recruitment calendars.

5. Deliver

Once work has been defined, assessed, assigned, and scheduled, initiatives move from planning to active execution. Tasks in the Delivery Workbook move from planned to active, and day-to-day work begins.

Owners and teams carry out the agreed tasks, launch and optimize campaigns, publish and update content, adjust pages and flows, send emails, refine paid activity, and make the required changes in systems and processes. The Delivery Workbook is used as the single place to track active work and status.

6. Review

The Review step supports delivery as work progresses across delivery cycles. As tasks are completed and initiatives move forward, the team needs a regular way to monitor progress, address issues, and keep the Delivery Plan up to date. The Review step provides that rhythm and ensures delivery reflects what the team can realistically execute during each period.

Review works through two recurring sessions that serve different needs within delivery. One focuses on short-term progress and task execution. The other looks at initiative progress over the last month and prepares the next period of work. Together, they keep delivery organized, visible, and aligned with the agreed Information Discovery Strategy and term priorities.

The Delivery Check-In takes place weekly or every two weeks. It looks at the tasks worked on during the last period and focuses on understanding progress, identifying bottlenecks, and agreeing on what will be worked on next. The team works from an initiative list that has already been agreed and ordered by the plan owner.

When tasks for an initiative are completed or the initiative is put on hold, the team moves to the next initiative in that order. Updates are recorded directly in the Delivery Workbook, so it reflects current work and near-term focus.

The Delivery Review takes place once a month and examines delivery at the initiative level. It reviews how initiatives performed over the last month using the Discovery Scorecard and supporting data from analytics and CRM systems.

This session turns that view into decisions about which initiatives should continue, which need to change, and which should pause or stop in the coming month. It also provides a clear summary of results for management through a Monthly Report. Decisions are recorded in the Delivery Workbook and reflected in the Delivery Plan for the next month.

By the end of the Review step, the team has a clear view of what is in progress, what is coming next, and how delivery will continue during the next period.

A separate guide gives the full step-by-step instructions, templates, and example questions for each of these six steps.

Read next: RIDE™ Evaluate Stage