The Six Elements of Planning ProcessThe Planning process is made up of parts starting from the present position ending at the goal. All your planning should cover the following six parts: Present position - Define where you are now. If you are planning a project this is an important definition. This is your starting point; your "You Are Here" post. Also, remember to state your present position in the same terms as the objective. What I mean is, just as the objective is stated in terms of profitability, efficiency, growth, and survival, so should the present position.
The Objective - What do you want to accomplish? Where do you want to be? Be aware that you may not reach your goal. More on that below. Put a price on succeeding as well as not succeeding. Learn more about setting business objectives here.
Action Program - Here you develop the meat of the project. What, when, where, who. and how would do the project. Review the critical decisions that must be made.
Obstacles - Think about all the obstacles you might encounter. Problems and difficulties should be overcome if you want to reach the objectives. Some you will be able to anticipate, but some will pop up along the way. Be flexible. Alternative Objectives - Obstacles, always around, might divert you from your original objective. Be prepared with other, alternative objectives you might have to settle for or develop due to changing conditions. Time Line The all important question: How long did you think it would take from beginning to end? Are you on schedule?
Example: A large corporations has offices in several cities. They also have several accounting offices and would like to combine them into one. Present Position part would be to assess how many accounting offices there are, how many people in each office, what kind of software is used, etc. Calculate the cost of operating this way. The objective is to combine several offices into one. Ask the same question: what's the cost? The planning process guides management at both the 1,000 feet level and on the ground. Action Program stage will help define who, what, when, where, etc. Here, you select the staff and define tasks. Reviewing the timeline will measure where are you on the project, on schedule or off schedule. ------------ Here are more pages to help with the Planning Process:
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