Ben - interesting post. As-Is 'design' is definitely key. For major change or transformation programmes - getting the target journey, process, operating model defined (informed by stakeholders) is key - but unless you know exactly what you're going from, your ability to understand the effort and roadmap to your future position is hobbled. Sometimes its about bringing completely new capability and moving customers to that new capability - but sometimes it's about adapting existing capability - and understanding your start point in this situation is vital.