Among your plans may be one that addresses the completion of a single project. A project entails planning very similar to that for your unit. Besides goals for the project, you will need to identify who within your unit is responsible for what. You also will need to put together a schedule for completion of the project (milestones).
Let me share with you some tools you can use to set milestones. These tools also may work in setting completion dates for unit plans.
Scenario Planning
This process builds three or four descriptions of potential future conditions and develops a plan that will succeed regardless of which scenario actually comes to pass.
Backwards Planning
This is exactly what it sounds like. You begin with the desired result, or objective, of the plan. Then you and your team back up in a sequential manner from the final project result, identifying each required prior action. As each preceding task is completed, the time required to achieve it is estimated. The process continues, working backwards from each task, until all tasks are identified and the interval for completion of each is determined.
PERT Planning
Determining the starting date is then simple, as it merely requires adding the times required for each task.
PERT stands for Program Evaluation and Review Technique and was developed in the late 1950s. It continues to be used today for projects from cross-functional situations to smaller, department projects. It is a version of backwards planning but a little more sophisticated, in that it shows graphically both the time frame and interrelationships between tasks.
Like backwards planning, PERT identifies each milestone, their interrelationships, and finally any bottlenecks that can occur when a problem arises. The last is referred to as a critical path, and it is shown graphically. The various steps in the plan are also depicted as they will look if all goes smoothly.
Gantt Chart
This shows the time-phasing and scheduling of events necessary to reach an objective. A bar chart format is used. It is good for tracking progress on a plan after either PERT or backwards planning is used to dissect a plan into its various stages.
If you find yourself in charge of a project outside your unit, you should become comfortable with using all four techniques. For traditional planning, they are less necessary. Based on conversations with your staff and your peers, you should be able to identify the activities and time each plan will take. But before you share your plans with your manager, you may want to review your goals and plans with colleagues who are skilled in planning. If time, money, or equipment are essential to your plans, you may also want to talk to an experienced planner to be sure that you have made accurate estimates.
Tips
Identify the steps and the roles needed to successfully implement your plan.
Review your unit’s goals and plans for compatibility with your organization’s strategic and tactical plans.
Identify the business processes involved in achieving each goal. Then identify process owners for each process. These individuals should be included in your planning if possible.
Include vendors and suppliers when their commitments are necessary and cannot be taken for granted—for example, when a plan depends on new technology.
Set aside time each day to review progress toward plan objectives and to revise plans accordingly.
See Also
Bangs, David H., Jr. The Business Planning Guide (9th Edition). Dearborn Trade, 2001.
Bittel, Lester R. and John W. Newstrom. What Every Supervisor Should Know (6th Edition). McGraw-Hill, 1995.
Petersen, Steven D. and Peter E. Jaret. Business Plans Kit for Dummies. For Dummies, 2001.
Pinson, Linda. Anatomy of a Business Plan (5th Edition). Dearborn Trade, 2001.