What is Planning?

After the Business Case has been presented and approved, the next step is to create a Project Charter, define Project Scope and Plan. Planning is not done off hand. It is prepared after careful and extensive research. Deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next month, next year, over the next 5 years, etc.) and generating plans for action. For a comprehensive business plan, I beleive that management has to:

• Clearly define the target/goal in writing.
• Goals should be SMART( Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely).
• Identify all the main issues which need to be addressed.
• Review past performance.
• Decide budgetary requirement.
• Focus on matters of strategic importance.
• What are requirements and how will they be met?
• What will be the likely length of the plan and its structure?
• Identify shortcomings in the concept and gaps.
• Define strategies and activities for implementation.
• Review periodically.

Goals

With today's highly competitive global marketplace, unanticipated costs and delays can make or break a company if the projects they undertake are not managed well. Your competition is becoming increasingly aware of this and the competitive advantage clearly lies with cost-based companies that control their costs using project management techniques which in turn allows them to sell their products and services at a lower margin, again giving them the competitive edge. Therefore successful management of a project, requires that the Project Manger invests sufficient time in defining and planning the project. A detailed project plan will save your company both time and money!

Strategic vs Tactical Planning

I am sometimes asked to explain the difference between strategic and tactical plans. In business usage, the term strategy is the thinking process required to plan a change or to organize something. It defines the goals desired and how to achieve them. Tactics are the substance of strategy. They comprise what is done pursuant to strategic planning. In other words how people need to act in order to attain the objectives of the strategic plan.