The Outcomes Star™ is applicable where:

• You have an on-going relationship with your service users in which you meet one-to-one on a regular basis
• You want to measure outcomes as an integral part of the on-going work of your organisation rather than through occasional research
• You want to measure progress on a range of areas (at least three but usually five or more)
• You want to measure distance travelled towards end outcomes rather than just whether or not an end outcome has been achieved
• You want to use the data in an on-going way for learning and service-improvement.

When choosing a particular Star it is also important that the outcome areas on the Star (or at least most of them) are relevant to your service and that the ladder of change underpinning that Star fits for your client group. Find out more on the different versions of the Star that are currently available or in development. 

In addition to the above there are also a number of other practical considerations when choosing an outcomes tool:

• The costs involved
• The extent to which it is recognised, valued and understood within your sector
• The resources available to support the use of the tool such as training, manuals, up-dates and online versions.

Download a guide to choosing an outcomes tool and a review of 18 commonly used tools.