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3 Steps for Tracking, Monitoring & Implementing Your Strategic Plan

By Jenna Sedmak - May 08, 2019

So, you've completed your strategic planning session and crafted an impressive strategic plan for your organization. But what happens next? That's where the importance of tracking and monitoring your strategic plan comes into play. In this article, we'll explore the crucial steps to ensure your plan stays on track and leads you to success. We'll discuss the significance of establishing clear key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your strategic priorities. By consistently monitoring and adjusting your strategy, you'll have the power to drive your organization forward and achieve its goals.

The strategic planning process doesn’t end once a document is created. To successfully execute your strategy across the organization, careful attention needs to be paid to the next steps: communication, implementation, monitoring, tracking, and leadership development. 

Download our free Strategic Planning Workbook and get the help you need to structure your strategic planning process

Communication to Develop Alignment:

If you’re working within a mid-sized or large organization, chances are that all employees could not be present at the planning meeting. Most likely, your executive leadership team members or potentially key departmental leaders participated in developing your plan. 

Prior to the strategy meeting, leaders can survey their teams to get information on their team’s perspective on various organizational strengths and weaknesses, goals and directions, and other topics to be addressed in the strategy session. Stakeholder engagement is key here, as it allows leaders to incorporate the perspectives of those who will be carrying out the operational tasks to achieve your organization's strategic objectives. Following the planning session and document creation, it’s important for leaders to make sure their team understands the organization’s strategic priorities, goals, and tactics and the reasons behind them.

If staff are engaged and feel heard during the pre-planning process, they are more likely to buy into the organizational strategy and to take ownership of their departmental and individual action items. By fostering communication and buy-in , your team will be more aligned, accountable, and better equipped to make decisions that serve your organization.

Starting the Strategic Plan Implementation Cycle:

Prior to implementing your strategic plan and moving forward with your action steps, it is critical that your strategic priority areas and goals support the vision . It is also critical that each department and individual understands which goals and tactics they are accountable to deliver on. Furthermore, it is important that they are aware of project expectations and understand what success looks like. 

Related Content: What is the Strategic Planning Process Strategic Problems and how to address them  

Monitoring & Tracking Your Plan:

To best understand where you’re succeeding and where you may be falling behind, strategic plans need to be continually monitored, and goals should be regularly tracked. There are multiple ways to track progress toward your strategic goals, including spreadsheets, software, or an office whiteboard. They can be as simple or complex as you desire, but the important thing is that everyone is using the same method and frequency for tracking. 

>> Watch below : How to use strategy dashboards for tracking & monitoring your plan:

If you decide to track your strategic planning progress with a software, we recommend using a dedicated strategic planning software, like Cascade Strategy , that has been specificall y develope d for this purpose.  With various features such as task management, GANTT charts, and various metric functions, you can quickly see where you’re meeting or exceeding goals and where you might be falling short.

> Read more : You Need These 5 Elements for Successful Strategy Implementation

In addition to monitoring your plan regularly, it is important to continually develop your leadership team's skills in critical areas such as project management, values and behavior alignment, change management, and communication. Additionally quarterly strategy reviews are a great way to make adjustments to your strategy on an ongoing basis so that you can maximize what is working and address any areas of weakness throughout the year.

Within our three levels of strategy implementation programs , our strategic planning facilitators work with teams to strengthen their leadership skills and capacities so that they are better equipped to execute their strategic plans. 

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How to effectively track the implementation of your strategic plans

"Fail to plan and you plan to fail"

For a strategic plan to be actionable and trackable it needs to have tactics with measures that are not vague or general but specific and actionable as well as measurable. Those doing the planning need to consider and build in at every step in the development of the strategic plan how they will track it. Building in the concept of track ability at every step in the strategic planning process helps keep it concrete and not in blue sky generalities. The more specific we can be at every step in the strategic planning process, the better the chances the goals will be achieved.

Once the plan is deployed and the operating and program units begin to develop tactics they will undertake to help achieve the strategic goals, they must make sure that they have tactics that are specific, measurable, and actionable. One key thing that is sometimes missing at the tactic level is the "Completion Date." Defining when we will achieve the tactic is a key input for track ability.

Tracking does not have to be difficult or complex. It needs to be organized, done on a regular schedule, and centralized. The Oklahoma City-County Health Department has developed such a process to track their strategic goals and associated tactics that is shown in the spreadsheet below (and available on the web here ).

Spreadsheet - click to go to web template

The spreadsheet tracks the strategic goals which are listed as priority areas in the tabs of the spreadsheet and each has an objective, past activities (see what has been done), future activities, and who is responsible (executive and program level), and a tab to identify the status over the five years of the Strategic Plan .

This gives a snapshot of each goal and the associated objectives, what is completed, and who is responsible in a compact and concise format. An example of the Oklahoma City-County Health Department tracking is as follows:

• Goal: Maximize use of technology to improve the efficiency of services at each location.
• Objective: By FY 2014 implement a Public Health Electronic Medical Record .
• Past activities: Contract negotiations complete with Fusion consulting, first site visit completed.
• Future activities: Request for Information from potential PHEMR vendors to be released and vendor demonstrations scheduled by March, 2014.
• Responsible: Executive – G. Cox Program/Staff – A. Plati.

Other fields such as baseline data, resources required, action plans for areas behind schedule, lessons learned, changes, etc. can be added to customize it to your organization. The key thing with the Oklahoma City-County Health Department is they track and have regular reviews as to where they are with their strategic goals. The reviews are focused since a track ability process is in place and utilized to guide the review.

Once we have a good track ability process in place we need to have reviews quarterly and annually to make sure that we are on track.

The quarterly reviews help us to see where we are, what has been accomplished, what is behind schedule, and what are the action plans to get back on schedule. Quarterly reviews are a good time to test to see if we have over or under-estimated what we could accomplish and make adjustments. This is also a good time to review the assumptions that were made that the strategic plan was built upon and decide if they are still valid. Remember the Strategic Plan is a living document that needs to reflect reality. Some questions that should be asked during quarterly reviews by the executive team are:

Current status of objectives? Are they on or off schedule with the implementation timeline? If so, why? Important for either on or off schedule since there are lessons to be learned that may help others .

What challenges are you encountering? What has been getting in the way?

Do you have the right staff involved and sufficient resources?

Is the scheduled timeline developed realistic?

Any updates to the timeline required? Why?

What can the executive team do to help you be successful?

The Annual Review is a good time to take a fresh look at the strategic plan and conduct:

• Review of the accomplishments .
• Understand what was not achieved and why?
• Conduct an Action SWOT Analysis and see what has shifted in our business environment. Our strategic plan must reflect reality .
• Make adjustments to the Strategic Plan for the next year and communicate to the organization and develop the tactics for the next year .
• Begin the process of tracking and reviewing again .

A strategic plan is the road map to the future for an organization. It must have realistic goals and accountability built into it. Tracking and reviewing the plan on a regular basis helps ensure the goals are realistic and those executing the strategy are accountable. The tracking mechanism is the plan’s GPS since it tells us if we are on or off the roadmap.

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5 Keys to Successful Strategy Execution

• 17 Nov 2020

You’ve set organizational goals and formulated a strategic plan . Now, how do you ensure it gets done?

Strategy execution is the implementation of a strategic plan in an effort to reach business goals and objectives . It comprises the daily structures, systems, and operational goals that set your team up for success.

Access your free e-book today.

Why Is Strategy Execution Difficult?

There are several factors that make successful execution of your business strategy challenging.

According to the Harvard Business School Online course Strategy Execution , some of the most common factors include:

• Poor communication of strategic objectives
• Lack of employee buy-in
• Ineffective risk management

All of these can cause the best strategic plans to fall flat in their execution. In fact, poor execution is more common than you may realize. According to research from Bridges Business Consultancy , 48 percent of organizations fail to reach at least half of their strategic targets, and just seven percent of business leaders believe their organizations are excellent at strategy implementation.

“If you’ve looked at the news lately, you’ve probably seen stories of businesses with great strategies that have failed ,” says Harvard Business School Professor Robert Simons, who teaches the online course Strategy Execution . “In each case, we find a business strategy that was well formulated but poorly executed.”

How can you equip yourself and your team to implement the plans you’ve crafted? Here are five keys to successful strategy execution you can use at your organization.

Keys to Successful Strategy Execution

1. commit to a strategic plan.

Before diving into execution, it’s important to ensure all decision-makers and stakeholders agree on the strategic plan.

Research in the Harvard Business Review shows that 71 percent of employees in companies with weak execution believe strategic decisions are second-guessed, as opposed to 45 percent of employees from companies with strong execution.

Committing to a strategic plan before beginning implementation ensures all decision-makers and their teams are aligned on the same goals. This creates a shared understanding of the larger strategic plan throughout the organization.

Strategies aren’t stagnant—they should evolve with new challenges and opportunities. Communication is critical to ensuring you and your colleagues start on the same page in the planning process and stay aligned as time goes on.

2. Align Jobs to Strategy

One barrier many companies face in effective strategy execution is that employees’ roles aren’t designed with strategy in mind.

This can occur when employees are hired before a strategy is formulated, or when roles are established to align with a former company strategy.

In Strategy Execution , Simons posits that jobs are optimized for high performance when they line up with an organizational strategy. He created the Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT) that individuals can use to assess whether their organization's jobs are designed for successful strategy execution.

The JDOT assesses a job’s design based on four factors, or “spans”: control, accountability, influence, and support.

“Each span can be adjusted so that it’s narrow or wide or somewhere in between,” Simons writes in the Harvard Business Review . “I think of the adjustments as being made on sliders, like those found on music amplifiers. If you get the settings right, you can design a job in which a talented individual can successfully execute your company’s strategy. But if you get the settings wrong, it will be difficult for any employee to be effective.”

3. Communicate Clearly to Empower Employees

When it comes to strategy execution, the power of clear communication can’t be overlooked. Given that a staggering 95 percent of employees don’t understand or are unaware of their company’s strategy, communication is a skill worth improving.

Strategy execution depends on each member of your organization's daily tasks and decisions, so it’s vital to ensure everyone understands not only the company's broader strategic goals, but how their individual responsibilities make achieving them possible.

Data outlined in the Harvard Business Review shows that 61 percent of staff at strong-execution companies believe field and line employees are given the information necessary to understand the bottom-line impact of their work and decisions. In weak-execution organizations, just 28 percent believe this to be true.

To boost your organization’s performance and empower your employees, train managers to communicate the impact of their team's daily work, address the organization in an all-staff meeting, and foster a culture that celebrates milestones on the way to reaching large strategic goals.

4. Measure and Monitor Performance

Strategy execution relies on continually assessing progress toward goals. To effectively measure your organization’s performance metrics, determine numeric key performance indicators (KPIs) during the strategic planning stage . A numeric goal serves as a clear measure of success for you and your team to regularly track and monitor performance and assess if any changes need to be made based on that progress.

For instance, your company’s strategic goal could be to increase its customer retention rate by 30 percent by 2026. By keeping a record of the change in customer retention rate on a weekly or monthly basis, you can observe data trends over time.

If records show that your customer retention rate is decreasing month over month, it could signal that your strategic plan requires pivoting because it’s not driving the change you desire. If, however, your data shows steady month-over-month growth, you can use that trend to reasonably predict whether you’ll reach your goal of a 30 percent increase by 2026.

5. Balance Innovation and Control

While innovation is an essential driving force for company growth, don’t let it derail the execution of your strategy.

To leverage innovation and maintain control over your current strategy implementation, develop a process to evaluate challenges, barriers, and opportunities that arise. Who makes decisions that may pivot your strategy’s focus? What pieces of the strategy are non-negotiable? Answering questions like these upfront can allow for clarity during execution.

Also, remember that a stagnant organization has no room for growth. Encourage employees to brainstorm, experiment, and take calculated risks with strategic initiatives in mind.

Related: 23 Resources for Mobilizing Innovation in Your Organization

Building the Skills to Successfully Execute Strategy

Setting strategic goals, formulating a plan, and executing a strategy each require a different set of skills and come with their own challenges. Keeping in mind that even the best formulated strategy can be poorly executed, consider bolstering your execution skills before setting strategic goals and putting a plan in place. Developing these skills can have a lasting impact on your organization's future performance.

Are you interested in designing systems and structures to meet your organization’s strategic goals? Explore our eight-week Strategy Execution course and other online strategy courses to hone your strategic planning and execution skills. To find the right HBS Online Strategy course for you, download the free flowchart .

This post was updated on November 9, 2023. It was originally published on November 17, 2020.

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• What is an implementation plan? 6 steps ...

What is an implementation plan? 6 steps to create one

An implementation plan—also known as a strategic plan—outlines the steps your team should take when accomplishing a shared goal or objective. This plan combines strategy, process, and action and will include all parts of the project from scope to budget and beyond. In this guide, we’ll discuss what an implementation plan is and how to create one.

Projects require planning to be successful. Would you build a house without a blueprint? Probably not, because nailing pieces of wood together without a plan could lead to disaster. The same concept is true in the corporate world. An implementation plan functions as the blueprint for any shared objective. Your plan should include everything from the project strategy, to the budget, to the list of people working on the project. 

In this guide, we’ll discuss what an implementation plan is and how to create one. These steps can help you and your team prepare for projects both big and small.

What is the purpose of an implementation plan?

The purpose of an implementation plan is to ensure that your team can answer the who, what, when, how, and why of a project before moving into the execution phase. In simple terms, it's the action plan that turns your strategy into specific tasks.

A good way to know whether your implementation plan is effective is to hand it to someone outside of your team and see if they can understand the project in its entirety. Your implementation plan should leave no questions unanswered.

How to create an implementation plan in 6 steps

If you want your implementation plan to be comprehensive and beneficial to your project team, you’ll need to follow specific steps and include the right components. Use the following steps when creating your plan to reduce the risk of gaps in your strategy.

1. Define goals

The first step in the implementation process is defining your goals . Determine what you hope to accomplish when your project is complete, like whether you hope to win over a new marketing client or revamp your internal content strategy. Starting with your project objectives in mind can help flesh out your project plan. 

Tips to consider:

Ask questions: When defining your goals, you and your team may want to ask questions about your project such as, “What are we trying to achieve with this project? What deliverables do we hope to produce? Who are the stakeholders we plan to share our project deliverables with?”

Brainstorm risk scenarios: Although you’ll perform a more in-depth risk assessment later on in your implementation plan, brainstorming potential risk scenarios early on gives you a more realistic idea of what you’re able to achieve. 

2. Conduct research

Once you have a broad idea of the project goals you want to achieve, you can hone in on these goals by conducting research such as interviews, surveys, focus groups, or observations. Your research should come from key experts in your field. These experts may be team members or external stakeholders. Your research outcomes should include a list of what your project timeline, budget, and personnel may look like.

Collaborate using shared tools: Collaboration is easier when you have the right communication tools in place to do so. Use a team collaboration tool to share your project goals and get feedback from others, regardless of their location. 

3. Map out risks

You brainstormed risk scenarios in step one of your implementation strategy, and in step three, you’ll map out all the potential risks you may face in your project. Risks can include anything from paid time off and holidays to budget constraints and loss of personnel. 

A great way to map out your risks is by using a risk register. This tool will help you prioritize project risks and prepare for them accordingly. You can also conduct a SWOT analysis , which will identify any weaknesses or threats affecting your project. 

Be flexible and proactive: Mapping out risks is more than just a preparation strategy. If you identify preventable risks during this stage of the implementation plan, you can take action to prevent those risks. This may mean adjusting your initial project goals. 

4. Schedule milestones

Scheduling your project milestones is an important step in the planning process because these checkpoints help you track your progress during execution. Milestones serve as metrics—they are a way to measure how far you’ve come in your project and how far you have left to go. 

To visualize project milestones and keep your entire team on track, use a Gantt chart . With a Gantt chart, you can visually lay out your implementation schedule and show how long you think each task will take.

Add wiggle room: Things don’t always go as planned, even if you do everything in your power to a schedule. By adding wiggle room to your schedule, you can ensure your project stays on track instead of keeping tight milestones and failing to meet them.

Clarify dependencies: Dependencies are tasks that rely on the completion of other tasks. Clarifying your dependencies makes it easier to keep the project on track and hit your milestones.

5. Assign responsibilities and tasks

Every action plan must include a list of responsibilities with team members assigned to each one. By assigning responsibilities, you can assess the performance of each team member and monitor progress more closely. Using a RACI chart can be an effective project management tool for clarifying roles and responsibilities. 

Assigning responsibilities is different from assigning individual tasks. One team member may be responsible for overseeing the project review, while you may assign three other team members to handle the delivery and communication of the project to various teams for review. When you assign responsibilities and tasks, be sure to make your expectations clear. 

Communication is key: When you assign roles, responsibilities, or tasks, it’s best to communicate why you’re choosing one team member over another. Instead of letting team members question why they have specific roles, you can use this step in the planning process as an opportunity to highlight team member strengths.

Track responsibilities in a shared tool: Having a shared tool, like project management software, can give team members clarity on who's doing what and by when.

6. Allocate resources

Resource allocation is one of the best ways to reduce risk. If you can plan out what resources you need for your project and ensure those resources will be available, you’ll avoid the risk of running out of resources mid-project. If you notice that you don’t have enough resources in this step of the implementation process, you can adjust your project accordingly before it kicks off. 

Resources may include money, personnel, software, equipment, and other physical or technical materials. Time can also be a resource because the team members you need to complete the project may be working on other projects.

Tips to consider: Ask yourself the following questions when identifying available resources for your project: 

What is the project’s priority level? 

Who is available to work on this project? 

What budget or tools are available? 

What additional resources do we need? 

Who needs to approve the resource allocation plan?

Following these steps as you create your implementation plan will increase the likelihood of hitting your project goals. Having a checklist of the items to include in your implementation plan can also lead to successful implementation. 

What to include in an implementation plan

Knowing how to create your implementation plan is crucial, but you also need to know what to include in your plan. This checklist includes the six most important items you’ll want to consider if you want to move forward with a successful project. 

1. Objectives

You’ll outline your project objectives in step one of the implementation process. Set your goals and decide what metrics your team will use to measure to monitor progress. By clearly identifying your project objectives, you and your team can measure progress and performance as you move forward.

2. Scope statement

You’ll set the scope of your project in step two when conducting research. Your project scope statement should outline the boundaries you’ve set for your project and broadly define what goals, deadlines, and project outcomes you’ll be working toward. Defining your project scope in the implementation plan can help prevent scope creep when you’re farther along in the project.

3. Outline of deliverables

Deliverables are the tangible goals of your project. Outlining the deliverables you hope to create can serve as a resource when managing time frames, delegating tasks, and allocating resources. 

4. Task due dates

Although the project timeline may change as your project progresses, it’s important to clarify your expected due dates during implementation planning. When you estimate task due dates, you can schedule milestones around these due dates and plan for project completion. You will commonly see Gantt charts used for strategic planning and implementation planning. This is because Gantt charts display information in a follows a linear path, similar to a timeline. 

5. Risk assessment

You’ll conduct your risk assessment in step three of the implementation process. Whether you use a   risk register , SWOT analysis , or contingency plan to identify risks , be sure to include these documents in your plan. That way, others involved in the project can look through your findings and potentially help you prevent these risks. 

6. Team member roles and responsibilities

You assigned roles and responsibilities to team members in step five of your plan, and keeping a detailed record of what these are can hold everyone accountable. Whether you use a RACI chart or another tool to clarify team member roles, there should be a place in your plan for everyone to refer to in case questions arise. 

Your implementation plan will likely be unique to the project you're working on, so it may include other components not listed above. However, you can use the six items above as your guide so you know your plan is comprehensive.

Many aspects of project implementation overlap with strategic planning. As a project manager , working on the project implementation plan while you are also working on the strategic plan can help minimize the total time spent on planning.

Another way to save time during the planning process is to house all of your plans in a work management platform. When your project team is ready to start the implementation process, everything is in one convenient place.

Benefits of having an implementation plan

There are many benefits to implementation planning, with the top benefit being an increased chance of project success. Implementing a project plan creates a roadmap for executing your project so you can prevent issues from occurring. 

Other benefits to having an implementation plan include:

Improved communication between team members and key stakeholders

Better organization and management of resources

Increased accountability for everyone involved in the project

More structured project timeline and daily workflow

Easier collaboration between team members

Going straight into the execution phase without an implementation plan may feel like walking on stage to give a speech without knowing what you’re going to say. Preparation is key for top-notch performance. 

Simplify implementation planning

Knowing the steps for implementation planning is the foundation of project management. A well-planned project leads to a successful project.

Related resources

Cost control: How to monitor project spending to increase profitability

How to use a feasibility study in project management

How to track utilization rate and drive team profitability

How to accomplish big things with long-term goals

How to Monitor & Control Your Business Plan

• Small Business
• Business Planning & Strategy
• Business Plans
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The Advantages of Single Business Strategy

How can a company keep its strategic plan dynamic, what are the benefits of preparing a business plan.

• Business Planning & Analysis
• What Does "Abridged" Mean on a Business Plan?

A business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines key elements of how you operate your business. The plan typically includes an assessment of your market and your competition, your operating budget breakdown, and your short and long-term business goals. While many business owners write a marketing plan to obtain business loans, the plan can be a useful tool for monitoring and controlling ongoing operations.

Create Plan Review Dates

Business plans should be reviewed on a regular basis, especially if a business is expanding quickly, experiencing cash flow problems, adding new products or services or reaching into new markets. Align your review dates with the short-term and long-term goals outlined in the original business plan and conduct a comparative analysis. Depending on your business, this could be a monthly, quarterly or annual review.

Develop a Tracking System

If your business plan contains measurable goals, develop a tracking system to assess where you stand regularly. For example, if the plan calls for earning a certain amount of revenue per month, track revenue on a daily or weekly budget to monitor and control the process. This approach allows you to tweak the system if your numbers are far off the mark. Monitor key elements frequently. Key elements of the business plan include research on your market and competition as well as revenue projections. Each of these elements is subject to rapid change, and you should remain aware of where you stand with regard to these issues.

Coordinate Business and Marketing Plans

Business and marketing plans overlap in several ways, so reviewing both documents simultaneously on a regular basis helps you monitor and control the goals and measurements of each plan. If an element of one plan changes dramatically, evaluate the impact it has on the other plan. For example, if your marketing plan calls for you to launch a major media campaign, but your business plan’s revenue projections are weak, revise each to stay on track.

Make Changes When Necessary

A business plan is not an unchangeable document. Consider it a fluid plan that can be tweaked and updated as your business changes and grows. Don’t cling to elements of your plan that are outdated or no longer useful. For example, if part of your five-year plan includes moving to a larger facility, but you find after five years that your small facility works just fine, revise and update the business plan. Continually revise your plan so that you are always looking ahead in one, three and five-year increments, basing future projections on past performance.

• U.S. Small Business Administration: How to Write a Business Plan
• U.S. Small Business Administration: Essential Elements of a Good Business Plan
• U.S. Small Business Administration: Making Your Business Plan Work for You

Lisa McQuerrey has been a business writer since 1987. In 1994, she launched a full-service marketing and communications firm. McQuerrey's work has garnered awards from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the International Association of Business Communicators and the Associated Press. She is also the author of several nonfiction trade publications, and, in 2012, had her first young-adult novel published by Glass Page Books.

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The importance of knowing how to evaluate a strategic plan

Now that you know more precisely what strategic planning is and what it is for – with the help of Peter Drucker’s ideas – let’s take a look at some strategic planning objectives.

3 main objectives of strategic planning

Below are the main objectives and benefits of monitoring your organization’s strategic plan:

1- Ensuring that activities are being performed within the defined parameters

During the development of strategic planning, for each activity planned for the organization, necessary parameters for their accomplishment are considered.

Costs, execution time, financial, material and human resources needed, among others.

Now, while the plan is being put in place, the manager must make sure that all activities are being carried out within the proper parameters.

Rather than assessing, the manager must look at whether a change of course is required, and whether the parameters for any activity need to be rethought.

Ensuring activity progress helps set performance standards that indicate progress towards long-term goals, assesses people’s performance, and provides input for feedback.

2- Ensuring activities are consistent with company DNA

The soul of the organization is closely linked to its vision, mission and values.

Monitoring strategic planning is also a way to ensure that activities are being developed in accordance with the values that guide the organization and its organizational culture.

Since they are directly related to the organizational climate and the corporate image of the company.

Check out this unique Siteware infographic that shows the consequences of a misaligned organizational culture of strategic planning:

3- Assessing ability to achieve goals and identify problems

Analyzing both the internal and external workforce and the exchange of ideas is also important in measuring how well a company is able to achieve what was set for the period.

By comparing performance data with established standards, it is possible to visualize or anticipate possible bottlenecks in corporate daily life.

Why is monitoring strategic planning important?

When a company monitors its strategic planning closely, it ensures that its teams are doing a good job, committed to maintaining progress, and with proper records so they can be evaluated.

Here is another quote from a master, Ram Charan , to illustrate how monitoring strategic planning is critical.

“ 70% of strategies fail due to ineffectiveness. They rarely fail due to lack of intelligence or vision.”

That is, at the time of executing the plan, it is crucial to carry out strategic monitoring and evaluation of the planning systematically and constantly.

After all, if 70% of planning activities fail in execution, only strategic planning control and evaluation – with metrics – will allow errors to be detected and adjustments made.

The metrics a company uses to measure also indicate the quality of the year or period the company is in.

If necessary, from what is evaluated, it is possible to correct the current path, make investments, hire staff, seek technological tools, build partnerships, among many other solutions.

Monitoring is part of the strategic planning system primarily to keep track of what is happening.

And this is usually done through an analysis of regular operational and financial reports on a company’s activities.

The results of a strategic planning follow-up are:

• Incentive for continuous improvement;
• Provision of data on the impact of activities;
• Information for decision making.

The monitoring of strategic planning should be carried out based on the same indicators used when preparing strategic planning.

This also allows for process review as the company realizes that activities, internal and external relationships, customer approaches, etc. need to be modified.

Is it clear to you how important strategic planning and the control of action plans and activities are?

Examples of strategic planning indicators

You have seen that there is no way to monitor strategic planning without the use of indicators.

There are actually three types of indicators to consider in a company:

• Strategic Indicators:  They point to the future, the path the company is expected to follow, and are linked to the mission and vision of the business. They will be reached in the long term, between 3 and 5 years. After an analysis of internal and external scenarios and company differentials, with the help of SWOT analysis, strategic indicators are usually defined.
• Tactical Indicators:  are related to the actions of each area of the company. They make up an action plan that is effective in a shorter period than the strategic objectives, but should contribute to it. If tactical indicators are being met, there is a good chance that strategic objectives will also be met successfully.
• Operational Indicators:  short term. They are directly linked to the day-to-day operations in a company and the progress of the processes. Operational indicators are assigned to each employee to achieve the desired performance level that will make it possible to achieve tactical and strategic goals.

How do you define strategic planning indicators, anyway?

We have seen in the paragraphs above that strategic indicators have the following characteristics:

• Point to the future
• Achieved in the long term
• Linked to a company’s mission and vision
• Based on competitive differences

So, for example, it would make no sense to define strategic indicators like the following:

• Improve the efficiency of our production line by 15% next year.
• Increase sales by 10% by the end of June
• Hire new talent to fill 6 positions on the board by year’s end

These are typical examples of tactical indicators.

To get examples of strategic planning indicators, one must think of changes more linked to the company’s DNA, its mission to society.

Here is a short list of examples of strategic planning indicators:

• Launch 3 new product lines each year over the next 4 years to gain 35% more Share in Market X.
• Create a corporate university that meets our needs within a maximum of 2 years and institute university study support plans to enable our employees to have 85% of the workforce with a college degree and 50% with a postgraduate degree. 5 years.
• Deactivate business units with less than 20% profitability and use the proceeds from the sale of these assets to start an international expansion project by opening 1 unit in countries X, Y and Z and 3 units in country W within 4 years.

Challenges of following strategic planning

Now that it’s clear to you how to evaluate a strategic plan, let’s look at the challenges inherent in doing it.

If we consider that strategic planning is the consolidation of ideas, it is in the implementation of these ideas that the organization will obtain its results, as Charan pointed out.

That’s why it needs to be constantly reevaluated and rethought as corporate progresses.

The biggest challenge of strategic management is related to the ability to move the organization and keep it connected with what was proposed by the strategic plan, with the adaptability that this process requires.

Like every management function, this presupposes a permanent dynamic of planning, execution, monitoring, evaluation, adjustments and readjustments.

And if you want to know how to evaluate a strategic plan even more quickly and assertively, check out STRATWs One strategic planning software.

It enables a friendly view of your strategy map, making it easy to track indicators and goals and creating action plans for each one.

It makes it much easier to understand how to evaluate a strategic plan and monitor internal activities.

Revolutionize the management of your company with STRATWs One

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What Is an Implementation Plan? (Template & Example Included)

What Is Project Implementation?

Project implementation, or project execution, is the process of completing tasks to deliver a project successfully. These tasks are initially described in the project plan, a comprehensive document that covers all areas of project management. However, a secondary action plan, known as an implementation plan, should be created to help team members and project managers better execute and track the project .

What Is an Implementation Plan?

An implementation plan is a document that describes the necessary steps for the execution of a project. Implementation plans break down the project implementation process by defining the timeline, the teams and the resources that’ll be needed.

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Implementation Plan Template

Use this free Implementation Plan Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

Implementation Plan vs. Project Plan

A project plan is a comprehensive project management document that should describe everything about your project including the project schedule, project budget, scope management plan, risk management plan, stakeholder management plan and other important components. An implementation plan, on the other hand, is a simplified version of your project plan that includes only the information that’s needed by the team members who will actually participate in the project execution phase, such as their roles, responsibilities, daily tasks and deadlines.

Project management software like ProjectManager greatly simplifies the implementation planning process. Schedule and execute your implementation plan with our robust online Gantt charts. Assign work, link dependencies and track progress in real time with one chart. Plus, if your team wants to work with something other than a Gantt chart, our software offers four other project views for managing work: task lists, kanban boards, calendars and sheets. Try it for free today.

Key Steps In Project Implementation

Here are some of the key steps that you must oversee as a project manager during the project execution phase . Your project implementation plan should have the necessary components to help you achieve these steps.

1. Communicate Goals and Objectives

Once you’ve outlined the project goals and objectives, the next step is to ensure that the team understands them. For the project to succeed, there must be buy-in from the project team. A meeting is a good way to communicate this, though having project documents that they can refer to is also viable.

2. Define Team Roles and Responsibilities

The project manager will define the roles and responsibilities and communicate them to the project team . They should understand what they’re expected to do and who they can reach out to with questions about their work, all of which leads to a smooth-running project.

3. Establish the Success Criteria for Deliverables

The project deliverables need to meet quality standards, and to do this there must be a success criteria for handing off these deliverables. You want to have something in place to determine if the deliverable is what it’s supposed to be. The measurement is called a success criteria and it applies to any deliverable, whether it’s tangible or intangible.

4. Schedule Work on a Project Timeline

All projects require a schedule , which at its most basic is a start date and an end date for your project. In between those two points, you’ll have phases and tasks, which also have start and finish dates. To manage these deadlines, use a project timeline to visually map everything in one place.

Free Implementation Plan Template

Use this implementation plan template for Excel to define your strategy, scope, resource plan, timeline and more. It’s the ideal way to begin your implementation process. Download your template today.

5. Monitor Cost, Time and Performance

To make sure that you’re keeping to your schedule and budget, you need to keep a close eye on the project during the execution phase. Some of the things you should monitor are your costs, time and performance. Costs refer to your budget , time refers to your schedule and performance impacts both as well as quality. By keeping track of these metrics, you can make adjustments to stay on schedule and on budget.

6. Report to Project Stakeholders

While the project manager is monitoring the project, the stakeholders, who have a vested interest in the project, are also going to want to stay informed. To manage their expectations and show them that the project is hitting all its milestones, you’ll want to have project reports , such as project status reports. These can then be presented to the stakeholders regularly to keep them updated.

What Are the Key Components of an Implementation Plan?

There’s no standard one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to creating your implementation plan. However, we’ve created an implementation plan outline for your projects. Here are its components.

• Project goals & objectives: The project goal is the ultimate goal of your project, while the objectives are the key milestones or achievements that must be completed to reach it.
• Success criteria: The project manager must reach an agreement with stakeholders to define the project success criteria.
• Project deliverables: Project deliverables are tangible or intangible outputs from project tasks.
• Scope statement: The scope statement briefly describes your project scope, which can be simply defined as the project work to be performed.
• Resource plan: Create a simple resource plan that outlines the human resources, equipment and materials needed for your project.
• Risk analysis: Use a risk assessment tool like a SWOT analysis or risk register. There are different tools with different levels of detail for your risk analysis.
• Implementation timeline: Any implementation plan needs a clear project timeline to be executed properly. You should use an advanced tool such as a Gantt chart to create one.
• Implementation plan milestones: You need to identify key milestones of your implementation plan so that you can easily keep track of its progress.
• Team roles & responsibilities: The implementation plan won’t execute itself. You’ll need to assign roles and responsibilities to your team members.
• Implementation plan metrics: You’ll need KPIs, OKRs or any other performance metrics you can use to control the progress of your implementation plan.

How to Write an Implementation Plan

Follow these steps to create an implementation plan for your project or business. You can also consider using project management software like ProjectManager to help you with the implementation process.

1. Review Your Project Plan

Start by identifying what you’ll need for the execution of your implementation plan:

• What teams need to be involved to achieve the strategic goals?
• How long will it take to make the strategic goals happen?
• What resources should be allocated ?

By interviewing stakeholders, key partners, customers and team members, you can determine the most crucial assignments needed and prioritize them accordingly. It’s also at this stage that you should list out all the goals you’re looking to achieve to cross-embed the strategic plan with the implementation plan. Everything must tie back to that strategic plan in order for your implementation plan to work.

2. Map Out Assumptions and Risks

This acts as an extension to the research and discovery phase, but it’s also important to point out assumptions and risks in your implementation plan. This can include anything that might affect the execution of the implementation plan, such as paid time off or holidays you didn’t factor into your timeline , budget constraints, losing personnel, market instability or even tools that require repair before your implementation can commence.

3. Identify Task Owners

Each activity in your implementation plan must include a primary task owner or champion to be the owner of it. For tasks to be properly assigned, this champion will need to do the delegating. This means that they ensure that all systems are working as per usual, keep track of their teams’ productivity and more. Project planning software is practically essential for this aspect.

4. Define Project Tasks

Next, you need to finalize all the little activities to round out your plan. Start by asking yourself the following questions:

• What are the steps or milestones that make up the plan?
• What are the activities needed to complete each step?
• Who needs to be involved in the plan?
• What are the stakeholder requirements?
• What resources should be allocated?
• Are there any milestones we need to list?
• What are the risks involved based on the assumptions we notated?
• Are there any dependencies for any of the tasks?

Once all activities are outlined, all resources are listed and all stakeholders have approved (but no actions have been taken just yet), you can consider your implementation plan complete and ready for execution.

Implementation Plan Example

Implementation plans are used by companies across industries on a daily basis. Here’s a simple project implementation plan example we’ve created using ProjectManager to help you better understand how implementation plans work. Let’s imagine a software development team is creating a new app.

• Project goal: Create a new app
• Project objectives: All the project deliverables that must be achieved to reach that ultimate goal.
• Success criteria: The development team needs to communicate with the project stakeholders and agree upon success criteria.
• Scope statement: Here’s where the development team will document all the work needed to develop the app. That work is broken down into tasks, which are known as user stories in product and software development. Here, the team must also note all the exceptions, which means everything that won’t be done.
• Resource plan: In this case, the resources are all the professionals involved in the software development process, as well as any equipment needed by the team.
• Risk analysis: Using a risk register, the product manager can list all the potential risks that might affect the app development process.
• Timeline, milestones and metrics: Here’s an image of an implementation plan timeline we created using ProjectManager’s Gantt chart view. The diamond symbols represent the implementation plan milestones.
• Team roles & responsibilities: Similarly, we used a Gantt chart to assign implementation plan tasks to team members according to their roles and responsibilities.

Benefits of an Implementation Plan for the Project Implementation Process

The implementation plan plays a large role in the success of your overall strategic plan. But more than that, communicating both your strategic plan and the implementation of it therein to your team members helps them feel as if they have a sense of ownership within the company’s long-term direction.

Increased Cooperation

An implementation plan that’s well communicated also helps to increase cooperation across all teams through all the steps of the implementation process. It’s easy to work in a silo—you know exactly what your daily process is and how to execute it. But reaching across the aisle and making sure your team is aligned on the project goals that you’re also trying to meet? That’s another story entirely. With an implementation plan in place, it helps to bridge the divide just a little easier.

Additionally, with an implementation plan that’s thoroughly researched and well-defined, you can ensure buy-in from stakeholders and key partners involved in the project. And no matter which milestone you’re at, you can continue to get that buy-in time and time again with proper documentation.

At the end of the day, the biggest benefit of an implementation plan is that it makes it that much easier for the company to meet its long-term goals. When everyone across all teams knows exactly what you want to accomplish and how to do it, it’s easy to make it happen.

Implementation Plan FAQ

There’s more to know about implementation plans. It’s a big subject and we’ve tried to be thorough as possible, but if you have any further questions, hopefully we’ve answered them below.

What Is the Difference Between an Action Plan and an Implementation Plan?

The main difference between an action plan and an implementation plan is that an action plan focuses exclusively on describing work packages and tasks, while the implementation plan is more holistic and addresses other variables that affect the implementation process such as risks, resources and team roles & responsibilities.

What Is an Implementation Plan in Business?

A business implementation plan is the set of steps that a company follows to execute its strategic plan and achieve all the business goals that are described there.

What Is an Implementation Plan in Project Management?

Implementation plans have many uses in project management. They’re a planning tool that allows project managers to control smaller projects within their project plan. For example, they might need an implementation plan to execute risk mitigation actions, change requests or produce specific deliverables.

How to Make an Implementation Plan With ProjectManager

Creating and managing an implementation plan is a huge responsibility and one that requires diligence, patience and great organizational skills.

When it comes to a project implementation plan, there are many ways to make one that’s best suited for your team. With ProjectManager , you get access to both agile and waterfall planning so you can plan in sprints for large or small projects, track issues and collaborate easily. Try kanban boards for managing backlogs or for making workflows in departments.

Switching up the activities after a milestone meeting with stakeholders? You can easily update your implementation plan with our software features. Add new tasks, set due dates, and track how far along your team is on their current activities.

Implementation plans are the backbone of an organization’s strategic overall plan. With ProjectManager, give your organization the project management software they need to gain insight into all resources needed, view activities on their lists and collaborate with ease. Sign up for our free 30-day trial today.

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Strategic plan essentials: monitoring & adaptation.

Basics of Monitoring, Evaluating and Deviating from the Strategic Plan

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, Ph.D., Authenticity Consulting, LLC . Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation .

(The reader might best be served to first read the information on the topic of Strategic Planning . This library topic explains the basics of strategic planning, the basic elements in the process, how to prepare for planning, conduct planning, write and communicate the document, evaluating the strategic planning process.)

Sections of This Topic Include

• Great Value from Evaluating the Strategic Planning Activity and Results
• Responsibilities for Monitoring
• Key Questions While Monitoring Implementation of the Plan
• Frequently of Monitoring
• Reporting Status of Implementation

Deviating from Plan

Changing the plan, a note about celebration.

Also, consider Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Evaluating the Strategic Plan

In addition to the information on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Evaluating the Strategic Plan. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also, see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “Next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

• Library’s Business Planning Blog
• Library’s Leadership Blog
• Library’s Project Management Blog
• Library’s Strategic Planning Blog

Great Value from Monitoring and Evaluation

As stated several times throughout this library topic (and in materials linked from it), too many strategic plans end up collecting dust on a shelf. Monitoring and evaluating the planning activities and status of implementation of the plan is — for many organizations — as important as identifying strategic issues and goals. One advantage of monitoring and evaluation is to ensure that the organization is following the direction established during strategic planning.

The above advantage is obvious. Adults tend to learn best when they’re actually doing something with new information and materials and then they’re continuing to reflect on their experiences. You can learn a great deal about your organization and how to manage it by continuing to monitor the implementation of strategic plans.

Note that plans are guidelines. They aren’t rules. It’s OK to deviate from a plan. But planners should understand the reason for the deviations and update the plan to reflect the new direction.

Responsibilities for Monitoring and Evaluation

The strategic plan document should specify who is responsible for the overall implementation of the plan, and also who is responsible for achieving each goal and objective.

The document should also specify who is responsible to monitor the implementation of the plan and making decisions based on the results. For example, the board might expect the chief executive to regularly report to the full board about the status of implementation, including progress toward each of the overall strategic goals. In turn, the chief executive might expect regular status reports from middle managers regarding the status toward their achieving the goals and objectives assigned to them.

Key Questions While Monitoring and Evaluating the Status of Implementation of the Plan

1. Are goals and objectives being achieved or not? If they are, then acknowledge, reward, and communicate the progress. If not, then consider the following questions.

2. Will the goals be achieved according to the timelines specified in the plan? If not, then why?

3. Should the deadlines for completion be changed (be careful about making these changes — know why efforts are behind schedule before times are changed)?

4. Do personnel have adequate resources (money, equipment, facilities, training, etc.) to achieve the goals?

5. Are the goals and objectives still realistic?

6. Should priorities be changed to put more focus on achieving the goals?

7. Should the goals be changed (be careful about making these changes — know why efforts are not achieving the goals before changing the goals)?

8. What can be learned from our monitoring and evaluation in order to improve future planning activities and also improve future monitoring and evaluation efforts?

Frequency of Monitoring and Evaluation

The frequency of reviews depends on the nature of the organization and the environment in which it’s operating. Organizations experiencing rapid change from inside and/or outside the organization may want to monitor the implementation of the plan at least on a monthly basis.

Boards of directors should see the status of implementation at least on a quarterly basis.

Chief executives should see the status at least on a monthly basis.

Reporting Results of Monitoring and Evaluation

Always write down the status reports. In the reports, describe: 1. Answers to the above key questions while monitoring implementation.

2. Trends regarding the progress (or lack thereof) toward goals, including which goals and objectives

3. Recommendations about the status

4. Any actions needed by management

It’s OK to deviate from the plan. The plan is only a guideline, not a strict roadmap that must be followed.

Usually, the organization ends up changing its direction somewhat as it proceeds through the coming years. Changes in the plan usually result from changes in the organization’s external environment and/or client needs resulting in different organizational goals, changes in the availability of resources to carry out the original plan, etc.

The most important aspect of deviating from the plan is knowing why you’re deviating from the plan, i.e., having a solid understanding of what’s going on and why.

Be sure some mechanism is identified for changing the plan, if necessary. For example, regarding changes, write down:

1. What is causing changes to be made.

2. Why the changes should be made (the “why” is often different than “what is causing” the changes).

3. The changes to be made, including goals, objectives, responsibilities, and timelines.

Manage the various versions of the plan (including by putting a new date on each new version of the plan).

Always keep old copies of the plan.

Always discuss and write down what can be learned from recent planning activities to make the next strategic planning activity more efficient.

I’ve been involved with many strategic planning activities. Rarely, when a plan is completed, do organizations really acknowledge the success they have achieved? Instead, planners are often so focused on “progress” and problem-solving, that they’re too eager to move on to the next version of the plan.

Celebration is as important as accomplishing objectives — maybe more. Without a sense of closure, acknowledgment, and fulfillment from a job well done, the next planning cycle becomes a grind.

Return to the topic of Strategic Planning .

For the Category of Strategic Planning:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
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How to Use Key Performance Indicators for Strategy Implementation

Key performance indicators (KPIs) have become commonplace in large and medium-sized companies worldwide. However, despite the widespread use of KPIs, many companies still have not managed to get a high benefit from KPIs. Frequently, KPIs are just seen as a tool for measuring performance on an operational level. This approach misses the benefits KPIs can offer for strategic planning and strategy implementation.

The role of key performance indicators in strategic planning

Key performance indicators can be an essential success factor for strategy implementation. In the strategic planning process, KPIs can be directly linked to the achievement of strategic objectives (see figure).

A company’s strategy is the way in which it endeavors to realize its vision in the mid- to long-term. In order to reach the envisioned state, the strategy needs to be translated into action via strategic objectives. They can be further broken down into operational objectives. The achievement of both strategic and operational objectives needs to be regularly monitored in order to see, if the corporate strategy is on track.

This is where KPIs come in. They provide evidence on the degree to which strategic and operational objectives have been achieved. In this way, KPIs serve as an early-warning system for strategic and operational problems. If deviation between the measured performance and the targeted performance is at a significant level, it is time to reconsider, analyze the causes, and take action.

While this may sound straightforward, implementing KPIs in practice entails a number of challenges, and quite often, KPIs are not used in the most effective way.

Five common mistakes in using KPIs

1. kpis are not aligned with strategic objectives.

The crucial word in ‘key performance indicators’ is ‘key’. You can collect data for numerous performance indicators. However, in order to get the data that you need for making the right strategic decisions, you first need to decide, which performance indicators are key.

The criterion for branding a performance indicator as key is, how much it is aligned with a strategic objective. Let us assume you are a start-up company with the strategic objective of increasing the number of customers within the next year to 1,000. Then, a KPI called ‘Number of newly acquired customers’ would be aligned with this strategic objective. A KPI named ‘Level of financial reserves’ would not be aligned with this objective. It might even be opposed to the objective, as achieving it may require investments in marketing campaigns that could undermine the financial reserve.

2. Selection of KPIs is limited to those easily measurable

It is very tempting to limit yourself to KPIs that are easy to measure, like, for example, capital expenditure. However, depending on your strategic objectives, this may be insufficient. As Albert Einstein once said: “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

If you are in the service business, ‘Customer satisfaction’ is very likely an important KPI. However, it is not really countable like capital expenditure. Nevertheless, it is possible to get an indication of the level of customer satisfaction, for example via a customer satisfaction survey.

It gets even more difficult, if you have a strategic objective of sustaining an innovation-friendly corporate culture. Although this is basically impossible to measure directly, you may find indicators for it, like, e.g., the number of new ideas for product features submitted by employees in a month.

3. Selection of KPIs gives too much weight to the past

There is a distinction between backward-oriented KPIs and forward-oriented KPIs. Both are important. However, if you have only backward-oriented KPIs, you create a strategic problem for your company. It is like only looking in the rear-view mirror while you are driving. Backward-looking KPIs are those that are focused on past results; sometimes they are also called key results indicators (KRIs). This could be, for example, turnover. It is important to know the turnover for the last quarter, but you have no chance of changing the result. A forward-looking KPI has influence on a future result and offers, thus, the opportunity to influence it through your decisions. This could be, for example, ‘Customer orientation’, which may help drive sales and turnover.

4. KPIs are used as instruments for controlling employees

The risk of some KPIs is that they can be used for controlling and even punishing employees. Take, for example, a KPI like ‘Number of sales per sales representative’. Although it may be interesting to know the data down to an individual sales rep level, you may provoke behavior that is counterproductive. If employees notice that their honestly produced data will be used against them, e.g., for reducing their bonus, it may stimulate counterproductive behavior, e.g. sales reps sell at loss-making discounts, in order to increase their number of sales.

5. No distinction between strategic and operational KPIs

There is a difference between strategic and operational KPIs, which is often neglected. Strategic KPIs are relevant for longer-term performance. Thus, gathering data for them is not as frequently required as for operational KPIs. For some operational KPIs, especially in production processes, data need to be captured and monitored almost in real-time, while for strategic KPIs a monthly or quarterly data gathering and monitoring frequency would be sufficient.

Three recommendations for using KPIs

Based on the insights above, I would like to give three recommendations for getting the best out of KPIs.

1. Closely align strategic KPIs with strategic objectives.

Keep strategic KPIs relevant to your strategy implementation and your regular strategy review, by making sure, they are relevant and closely linked to a specific strategic objective.

2. Integrate KPIs in a strategic management framework.

You can increase the effectiveness of KPIs by integrating them in a strategic management framework. One of the most popular frameworks is Balanced Scorecard. Despite some challenges in its practical implementation, I would still recommend to use it.

3. Apply stringent criteria for selecting your KPIs.

KPIs are like torchlights used to shine into different corners of your business. Due to limited resources, you cannot shine into every corner. Thus, you should make a stringent selection of KPIs based on criteria like relevance to your strategic objectives, balance between forward-looking and backward-looking KPIs, and comprehensibility of KPIs.

KPIs can make the difference between successful strategy implementation and failure to detect and adapt to strategic challenges early enough. The key is to implement strategic and operational KPIs in the right way, which means that they should be aligned with the corporate strategy and relevant to the purpose.

Free Implementation Plan Templates

By Kate Eby | January 16, 2024

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We gathered seven free implementation plan templates, complete with customizable sample copy. These templates serve as invaluable tools for professionals, ensuring that each step of the implementation process is thoughtfully planned and executed.

Included on this page, you’ll find a  project implementation plan template , a  software implementation plan template that includes a Gantt chart, a  business strategy implementation plan template , and an  implementation plan presentation template for presenting to stakeholders, among others. You’ll also find details on the  elements of an effective implementation plan and helpful instructions for  how to create an implementation plan template .

Excel Simple Implementation Plan Template

Download the Sample Simple Implementation Plan Template for Excel 

Download the Blank Simple Implementation Plan Template for Excel  

Use this simple implementation plan template available with or without sample copy to streamline your implementation-execution process. Easily organize tasks into distinct phases, ensuring clarity and focus. By assigning responsibilities, setting priorities, and monitoring task status with start and end dates, teams can achieve enhanced accountability. By completing this basic template, you can mitigate potential oversights and keep your implementation plan on course. 

For insights on aligning your project steps with overarching goals, view this  collection of free project timeline templates .

Project Implementation Plan Template for Excel

Download the Sample Project Implementation Plan Template for Excel  

Download the Blank Project Implementation Plan Template for Excel  

This project implementation plan has more features than the simple template. It serves as a comprehensive tool for meticulously planning and visualizing the trajectory of your implementation project. Download a blank version or one with sample data to help you complete the template for your project. By segmenting tasks into phases ( Initiation and Development, etc. ), it provides methodical progression structure. The Gantt chart offers an intuitive visual snapshot of the entire project-implementation timeline. Adopting this template will not only enhance organizational efficiency but also provide a clear roadmap for the project's successful execution.

Software Implementation Plan Template

Download a Sample Software Implementation Plan Template for

Excel | Google Sheets

Download a Blank Software Implementation Plan Template for 

Excel | Google Sheets  

Steer your software deployment with precision using our comprehensive software implementation plan template, complete with an illustrative Gantt chart timeline. This module-by-module template — available with or without sample text — facilitates meticulous planning. Complete the  Work Breakdown Structure  (WBS) column for task-specific numeric identification. Use the  Responsibility Column to allocate individual tasks to specific team members and how long each might take in the  Estimated Duration in Hours column. Add when you expect the task to be complete in the  Target Completion Date  column. A distinct  Burndown  vertical bar chart showcases the volume of tasks accomplished and those pending for each module, providing a clear visual indicator to assess if the team is on track to meet the implementation milestones on schedule.

For more implementation plan resources and solutions, see this  article on how to create a successful implementation plan .

Microsoft Word Business Strategy Implementation Plan Template

Download the Sample Business Strategy Implementation Plan Template for Microsoft Word  

Download the Blank Business Strategy Implementation Plan Template for Microsoft Word    

Harness the power of this business strategy implementation plan template to streamline your project's path from vision to execution. This template — available with or without example text — methodically breaks down your initiative into vital sections. You’ll find an introductory overview, task delineation, and schedule outline to security considerations and performance metrics. With built-in sections for documentation, references, and management approvals, it ensures a comprehensive yet concise representation of your strategy.

Excel New Process Implementation Plan Template

Download the New Process Implementation Plan Template for Excel

Elevate your process rollout with this new process implementation plan template. This all-encompassing template provides an interactive platform, wherein task progression automatically refreshes the Gantt chart as you make updates. It also provides intuitive widgets that spotlight task progression, financial tracking, and upcoming deliverables. Together these features furnish stakeholders and teams with a consolidated view of critical performance indicators.

PowerPoint Implementation Plan Presentation Template

Download the Implementation Plan Presentation Template for PowerPoint  

Use this template to easily present your implementation plan to team members and key stakeholders. This engaging visual tool lets you delineate tasks within an adjustable bar chart, catering to the timeframes essential to your plan. Incorporate pivotal milestone markers for critical accomplishments, and utilize the integrated  Progress Overview section to swiftly evaluate how well your implementation strategy is working.

Check out this article on free implementation plan templates in PowerPoint format for more resources.

Elements of an Effective Implementation Plan

The elements of an effective implementation plan include clear objectives, outlined steps with timelines, and task assignments. It also has continuous monitoring and feedback mechanisms.   

Here's a list of the elements for an effective implementation plan and what they include:   

• Objectives:  Clearly defined goals and outcomes the plan seeks to achieve. This section gives direction to the entire process. 
• Tasks/Actions: Specific steps or tasks required to achieve the objectives. Each action should be clearly articulated and avoid ambiguity. 
• Responsibilities:  Assignments for each task to a person or team to provide accountability and clarity on who does what. 
• Timelines:  Specific deadlines or milestones for each task or action.. 
• Resources:  Identification and allocation of resources (such as finances, manpower, or materials) needed for each task. Completing this section ensures the project doesn't stall due to lack of necessary inputs. 
• Stakeholders: List of individuals or groups who have an interest in the implementation. Keeping stakeholders informed can aid in garnering support and addressing concerns. 
• Risk Management: Identification of potential risks or challenges, along with strategies to mitigate them. Learn more about  risk management planning .
• Communication Plan:  A strategy for how information will be disseminated among team members and stakeholders. This  guide to creating a communication plan can help you get started.  
• Monitoring and Feedback Mechanisms:  Methods to regularly track progress and gather feedback, so you can make necessary adjustments and improvements in real time. 
• Contingency Plan:  Backup strategies or actions to take if primary tasks do not proceed as planned. These details help ensure the plan remains flexible and adaptable. 
• Evaluation Metrics:  Criteria to measure the success or performance of the implementation. Use this data to determine if the plan is meeting the objectives. 
• Documentation:  Maintain records of all actions, decisions, and changes. These documents aid in transparency and future reference, and they ensure that all involved parties are on the same page.

How to Create an Implementation Plan

When creating an implementation plan, first define the objective. Then list all tasks, set dates, assign roles, and track progress. You’ll also need to identify milestones and review and make adjustments as necessary. 

Here are the steps to create an implementation plan:    

• Define the Objective Clearly state what you hope to achieve with this implementation. This could be the launch of a new product, such as the rollout of a new electronic vehicle (EV) charging stations. 
• Perform Stakeholder Analysis Identify all parties involved in the implementation. This includes the project team, end-users, management, and any external stakeholders. 
• Execute a Feasibility Study Thoroughly evaluate the project's potential by analyzing its economic, technical, and operational aspects. This activity involves identifying potential challenges, resource requirements, and risks to ensure that the project is well-founded and worth pursuing. 
• Design and Develop Your Plan Translate your project concept into a detailed plan. This plan will encompass a comprehensive project outline, including specific tasks, responsibilities, timelines, and resource allocation. 
• Establish Timeline and Milestones Estimate how long each task will take and set up a timeline for the entire project. Highlight key milestones on the timeline, so it’s easy to see when the project reaches a notable achievement. 

Use a Plan Template to Create the Implementation Plan Now that you have all the details necessary, use a simple implementation plan template to document it. Using a template can streamline and guide the process of executing your projects, ensuring organized and efficient project management.  

Enter Task Details For each  Action  in the simple implementation plan template’s seven phases, provide a description, and add the  Party Responsible, Priority, Status, Start Date, End Date , and any relevant  Notes to the corresponding fields.   

• Establish a Communication Plan Decide how you will keep everyone informed about the project's progress, changes, or updates. Options could include scheduling regular meetings, sending email updates, or using project management software.
• Deploy Pilot Testing Launch a scaled-down version of your project to a limited audience or in a controlled environment. You'll gather valuable feedback from pilot users, which will inform your adjustments and refinements. 
• Execute Full-Scale Rollout Execute your project on a broader scale, following the finalized project plan and incorporating insights gained from the pilot test.
• Review Performance and Optimize Continuously monitor project performance against established metrics and objectives, and make changes as necessary. 
• Create Documentation Plan Document all aspects of the implementation plan, ensuring you establish a reference point and a record of decisions, justifications, and changes. 
• Review and Evaluate Once the implementation is completed, review the entire process. What went well? What could be improved? This retrospective analysis can inform future implementation plans.

Easily Create and Monitor an Implementation Plan in Real Time with Smartsheet

From simple task management and project planning to complex resource and portfolio management, Smartsheet helps you improve collaboration and increase work velocity -- empowering you to get more done. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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Creating a Clear Path for Improved Business Performance: A Guide to Business Plan Monitoring

By henry sheykin, introduction.

A business plan is a written document that outlines the strategic vision of a business organization. It is a vital tool for setting goals, monitoring and achieving desired outcomes, and evaluating operational performance. A business plan is a roadmap for achieving success and ensuring long-term sustainability.

The benefits of having a business plan are numerous. It can be used to guide and measure performance, track financial objectives, identify risks, identify opportunities for growth, and provide a framework for informed decision-making. Having an effective business plan can help businesses achieve their goals, monitor performance, and improve efficiency.

Monitoring Performance with Your Business Plan

A business plan is a vital component of ensuring the success of your business. It expresses the goals you want to achieve, and the actionable steps you plan to take to achieve them. This document will form the framework of how you run your operations, and can also be used as a tool to monitor and improve performance.

Breakdown Each Goal

The first step in monitoring your performance is to break down each of your business plan goals. This will help you develop a plan of action and establish benchmarks that you can use to measure progress. For example, if your goal is to increase website traffic, you can divide that goal into small, achievable tasks and devise a timeline for accomplishing them. Breaking down your main goal into smaller steps can help you stay on track and measure your progress.

Monitor Progress

Once you've broken down your goals into smaller steps, it's important to track your progress to ensure you are on track to reach your goal. Use analytics software or another tracking tool to regularly monitor your progress. This will help you identify areas of success and potential opportunities for improvement. With this information, you can adjust your strategies and processes as needed.

Adjust Processes as Needed

It's essential to continuously evaluate your strategies and processes to make sure they are effective. If you find yourself lagging behind your goal, you may need to adjust the processes you are using in order to achieve it. This could involve making changes to your operations, such as refocusing your marketing efforts or streamlining your production process. By monitoring your progress and making necessary adjustments, you can ensure that your business plan goals are within reach.

Utilize Performance Data

Your business plan is a powerful tool for analyzing and tracking performance but only if the data is accurate. Before you can begin to hone in on the key performance indicators of your business operations, you must check the accuracy of the data you are utilizing. This can be done with manual checks or automated processes.

Once you are confident in the accuracy of your performance data, you can organize it in a way that makes sense. Depending on the tracking system you have in place, this could mean categorizing by customer, product, or service. Alternatively, you could track trends by year or month. Whichever method you choose, ensure the data is organized in a way that makes sense to you and can easily be used to compare performance.

Analytics software is a great tool for monitoring performance. It helps you identify patterns in your data and can quickly show you where improvements need to be made. With analytics software you are able to track key performance trends such as customer and employee satisfaction, average sales numbers, and so forth. This powerful tool allows you to make decisions based on data-driven insights and can provide you with the information required to take your business to the next level.

Make sure data is accurate

• Check accuracy manually or with automated processes

Organize data

• Choose a method that suits tracking system
• Ensure data is organized in a meaningful way

Utilize analytics software

• Track key performance trends
• Make data-driven decisions
• Provide information to take business to the next level

Establish a Performance Improvement Plan

A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is an essential tool for understanding how well your business is performing and what changes should be made in order to improve success. This plan should be used in conjunction with your business plan to help achieve goals and maximize efficiency.

Set Objectives for Improvement

The first step in creating a Performance Improvement Plan is to identify what objectives need to be achieved in order to improve current performance. These objectives should be based on the mission and vision statements from your business plan and can include goals such as increasing sales, reducing costs, or improving customer service. Once objectives have been identified, you can set specific and measurable targets for each.

Determine What Resources Are Needed

Once objectives have been identified, you need to determine what resources are required in order to achieve them. This may include additional staff, materials, technology upgrades, or any other resources that are essential to success. It is important to consider human, financial and physical resources when developing a Performance Improvement Plan.

Create an Action Plan

With objectives determined and necessary resources identified, it is time to create the action plan. This plan should detail the specific steps to be taken in order to achieve each objective, as well as deadlines for completing each task. Additionally, the plan should identify who is responsible for each task and how progress will be monitored.

• Set objectives for improvement
• Determine what resources are needed
• Create an action plan

Analyzing Performance

Your business plan can help you track progress towards your goals and assess whether or not your performance is on track. By regularly evaluating the results of your efforts, you can identify areas of concern and develop strategies to improve your performance. Here are some tips on how to effectively analyze your performance:

Evaluate Results

The first step in analyzing your performance is to evaluate the results of your efforts. This involves taking an honest look at your current performance, as well as how you’ve been doing compared to your goals. By monitoring changes in your performance over time, you can get a better sense of whether your strategies are having the desired effect or not.

Identify Problem Areas

Once you’ve evaluated your performance, you should take some time to identify any areas that may need improvement. This could involve taking a closer look at specific tasks or processes that have not been performing as well as you had hoped. By focusing your efforts on problem areas, you can improve your overall performance and reach your goals more easily.

Develop Solutions

Once you’ve identified problem areas, the next step is to develop solutions that can help you improve your performance. This could involve making minor tweaks to existing processes, or completely revamping how things are done. You should also consider implementing any new technologies that could help you streamline processes and save time. Once you’ve implemented your solutions, it’s important to regularly monitor their efficacy to ensure that your performance continues to improve.

Implement Performance Improvement Plan

Successful businesses require careful planning and monitoring. Your business plan can provide you with the guidance you need to continuously monitor progress and adapt when needed. Taking the time to periodically review your business plan and check the progress towards achieving goals can help you maintain a successful and healthy business.

Having a business plan in place gives you the data you need to track performance. With performance reports, you can measure the success of your efforts and evaluate how much progress you have made towards goals. Take the time to review your performance reports and make sure you are consistently meeting or exceeding expectations.

Take Corrective Action When Necessary

When performance falls short of expectations, it’s important to take corrective action quickly. Examining your business plan and performance reports can give you the data you need to identify why the performance was not up to par. Make necessary changes and continue to monitor progress until it has improved back to expected levels.

Reward Success

Make sure to reward personnel who have performed up to or beyond expectations. Rewarding success can help motivate teams and individuals to put in the extra effort needed to achieve success. Consider offering rewards that are in line with your business plan and performance objectives.

• Monetary rewards, such as bonuses
• Paid time off
• Gift cards or tickets
• Public recognition or awards
• Non-tangible rewards, such as letters of appreciation

Using your business plan to monitor and improve performance is an essential part of successful business management. Establishing clear goals and objectives, monitoring progress and making necessary corrections, and rewarding success can help you ensure the best performance and outcomes for your small business.

Business plans are great tools to help you measure, monitor, and improve your business’s performance. Through forecasting, they can give you insight into how profits and losses may be affected by decisions and events that happen through the fiscal year. Many elements of a well-developed business plan will help you quantitatively evaluate how your business is currently performing, as well as how your performance might change in the future. With a comprehensive set of metrics and benchmarks at your disposal, you can monitor your business’s performance and take proactive steps towards achieving desired outcomes.

A properly developed business plan can provide you with the information you need to make informed decisions about your business’s goals and strategies. The regular review and updating of your business plan helps ensure that your business remains competitive and profitable. On a macro level, these reviews can help you stay abreast of long-term trends in your industry, and plan around potential changes so that you can remain ahead of the game.

On the ground level, performance monitoring and improvement can ensure that your business is improving on an individual basis. By setting up clearly defined objectives, you can remind yourself of what needs to be done in order to keep on track with the goals set forth in the business plan. Once these objectives are achieved, you can measure the success rate and make adjustments for the upcoming year.

In conclusion, the use of a business plan provides detailed and comprehensive insight into the overall performance of your business. As a result, regular review and updating of the plan will help you track progress, set objectives, and make the necessary adjustments to ensure the long-term success of your organization.

Benefits of Using Business Plan to Monitor and Improve Performance

• Gives you insight into how your business is currently performing.
• Allows you to quantitatively evaluate how your business might change in the future.
• Provides detailed and comprehensive insight into the overall performance of your business.
• Helps you stay abreast of long-term trends in your industry.
• Enables you to measure the success rate of your individual objectives.
• Helps you track progress and make the necessary adjustments for long-term success.

Final Reminder to Review and Update Business Plan Regularly

It should go without saying that businesses should review and update their business plans on a regular basis. This will help you stay on track with your goals, address any issues, and adjust plans to meet changing market trends. Don’t let your business become stagnant – review and update your plan often to ensure the long-term success of your organization.

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How to create an effective implementation plan

An implementation plan is a formal document outlining step-by-step instructions and specific tasks required of team members to successfully achieve project goals or objectives. It’s a crucial component of project management , serving as a helpful roadmap for completing projects that support larger strategic initiatives. 

Once organizational strategies have been determined, the individual actions and step-by-step process of achieving these strategic objectives necessitate introducing an implementation plan.  

According to KBV Research, the global Project Management Software Market is anticipated to reach $17.75 billion by 2030 . However, additional research shows that up to 80% of IT projects fail to meet their objectives and experience considerable delays or exceed planned costs.

This article explores the vital role of an implementation plan in project management, covering its definition, benefits, challenges, and essential components. It also guides readers in creating their own plans, offering key advice for successful project outcomes.

What is an implementation plan?

An implementation plan is a formal document detailing the individual steps and tangible actions project teams must take when pursuing a shared goal or objective.

The plan is a process in project management and supports an organization’s wider strategic busi n ess priorities , setting out the specific requirements and responsibilities for orchestrating successful project execution.

The plan provides project teams with a holistic view, giving them insights into a range of factors, i.e., the project’s value proposition, budgetary requirements, timeframes, potential risks, and time-to-completion. 

It should encompass the end-to-end project lifecycle, enabling teams to determine the scope (the extent of what the project covers) and scale (the size or proportion of the project) while ensuring all actions are aligned with overarching strategic prerogatives.

11 Essential components of an implementation plan

Implementation plans will undoubtedly differ depending on the project’s scale, scope, perceived time-to-value driving organizational objectives, etc. 

The foundation of any effective implementation plan, however, includes meeting some essential criteria, which include :

1. Outline project objectives

Before the project launch, an implementation plan should identify the project’s end goal to create a consensus on project parameters. Project leaders can refer to SMART criteria to define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives to make up key project milestones. 

Defining the project’s ultimate aim better enables teams to ensure project activities align with the organization’s wider strategic direction. To keep things on track, create a checklist that monitors the completion rate of key project goals, milestones, and other strategy-dependent factors.

2. Create a scope statement

A scope statement outlines the project’s actions and deliverables, identifies the project boundaries, and sets standards for meeting acceptance criteria. 

An implementation plan should produce a structured document for stakeholder alignment. This will give them a critical reference throughout the project timeline and clearly communicate what is within and outside the project trajectory to clarify its parameters. 

Scope statements help provide a clear understanding of what is expected–helping to prevent misunderstandings and ensure alignment between teams and stakeholders.

3. Launch a thorough risk analysis

Identifying potential risks and uncertainties raises awareness of any unforeseen challenges that may affect the project’s success. 

Implement risk mitigation strategies such as a SWOT analysis that gives teams a robust framework for honing in on any Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that may arise throughout project execution. 

Implementation plans should aim to include contingency plans that provide project teams with solutions for combatting project obstacles, i.e., missed deadlines or budget limitations, and regularly revisit and update risk management efforts as the project progresses.

4. Success criteria

Success criteria outline ideal project outcomes, identifying the milestones shaping what success means for your project. 

Start by connecting these criteria to your project’s goals that turn abstract objectives into tangible accomplishments. Involve stakeholders in determining viewpoints, giving teams a well-rounded understanding of what exactly project success looks like. 

Collaboratively refine these criteria, incorporating different data points to establish a comprehensive evaluation framework. Regularly reassessing and adapting the requirements as your project unfolds allows your team to navigate changing dynamics and enables a more targeted path to project success.

5. Outline of project deliverables

Project deliverables are the tangible outcomes that define project success. For example, in an implementation plan for an IT project, teams establish project deliverables through key steps. The team first figures out exactly what they want the system to do and writes it down in a detailed plan (Functional Specifications Document). 

Then, they start building the system by writing the code and creating a guide on how to test it (Test Case Documentation). After testing to make sure everything works and tracking any issues, they release the final product (Live System) along with guides for users (User Manuals). 

Each of these steps outlines concrete project deliverables, making it clear and organized for everyone involved.

6. Team roles and responsibilities

In crafting an implementation plan, defining team roles and responsibilities is pivotal. Start by envisioning the project landscape, identifying the key players and their distinct contributions. 

Foster open communication channels to ensure a shared understanding of each team member’s role, promoting collaboration. Use clear communication tools and regular check-ins to reinforce accountability and streamline workflow. 

This approach to team roles and responsibilities ensures a cohesive and efficient working environment, where each member contributes strategically to the project’s success.

7. Project resource plan

Develop a resource plan outlining the required personnel, equipment, and materials. Address resource constraints and explore alternatives. Regularly monitor and adjust the resource plan to accommodate changing project needs. 

8. Implementation timeline

Create a detailed timeline outlining key milestones and activities. Use project management software to visualize dependencies and critical paths. Regularly update and communicate the timeline to keep all stakeholders informed.

9. Implementation plan milestones

Establish significant milestones to mark key achievements throughout the implementation process. Celebrate these milestones to boost team morale and maintain momentum. Ensure milestones are well-defined and aligned with project objectives.

10. Implementation plan metrics

Identify and establish key metrics to measure the success of the implementation plan. Regularly track and analyze these metrics to gauge progress and identify areas for improvement. Adjust the plan as needed based on metric insights.

What are the benefits of an implementation plan?

Implementing a robust implementation plan in project management can be a game-changer, offering a range of benefits. A clear roadmap for streamlined processes and enhanced resource efficiency brings plentiful advantages.

Let’s explore further: 

Clarity of purpose

Implementation plans provide a clear roadmap, offering a tangible structure for project teams to follow. This clarity of purpose aligns everyone involved with the project’s overarching goals and objectives.

Efficient resource allocation

A well-crafted implementation plan helps efficiently allocate resources, be it human, financial, or technological. This optimization ensures that resources are utilized judiciously, preventing unnecessary bottlenecks.

Risk mitigation

One of the primary advantages of an implementation plan is its ability to identify potential risks and challenges early. This foresight enables teams to develop effective risk mitigation strategies, minimizing the impact of unforeseen obstacles.

Enhanced communication

Implementation plans establish a foundation for effective communication. Team members, stakeholders, and management are kept informed about project milestones, progress, and potential hurdles, fostering a collaborative work environment.

Measurable progress

Breaking down the project into milestones with defined deadlines allows for measuring progress. This keeps the project on track and provides stakeholders with a tangible sense of achievement.

What are the challenges of an implementation plan?

While the plan provides structure and guidance, adaptability and responsiveness to evolving circumstances are equally critical for navigating the dynamic landscape of project execution.

Finding balance in the implementation process is important for realizing the full potential of a well-crafted plan. This will mean identifying and understanding several challenges that may arise during project implementation. 

Resistance to change

Team members often resist implementing a new plan because they have become accustomed to existing processes. Overcoming this resistance requires effective change management strategies and clear communication about the benefits of the new plan.

Resource constraints

Despite meticulous planning, resource constraints may arise, leading to potential delays. This challenge requires ongoing monitoring and flexibility to adjust the plan as needed.

Balancing detail and flexibility

Striking the right balance between a detailed plan and the flexibility to adapt is challenging. Too much rigidity can stifle creativity and problem-solving, while excessive flexibility may lead to a lack of accountability.

Communication overload

While effective communication is a benefit, an overload of information can lead to confusion. Finding the right cadence and channels for communication is essential to prevent information fatigue.

How to create an implementation plan

The implementation plan drives a project forward in project management, fusing strategic blueprints and plans into concrete results. 

Project leaders must follow a structured approach encompassing several key steps to navigate this crucial stage successfully.

Define project goals

A clear articulation of project goals is at the heart of any successful implementation plan. Often aligned with broader organizational objectives, these goals act as the guiding lights that inform subsequent decisions and actions. Defining these goals with precision not only provides a sense of direction, but also facilitates the establishment of measurable success criteria.

Conduct research

A thorough understanding of the project’s landscape is essential for effective implementation. Research involves delving into industry best practices, analyzing market trends, and evaluating similar projects. This information enriches decision-making and enables teams to expect challenges and devise adaptive strategies.

Define project outcomes and deliverables

Building on the foundation of project goals, the next step involves clearly defining the outcomes and deliverables expected from the implementation. These tangible markers serve as benchmarks for success and guide the team’s efforts toward producing measurable and impactful results.

Identify potential risks and challenges

In any project, uncertainties and obstacles are inevitable. Identifying potential risks and challenges allows project managers to develop risk mitigation strategies. This proactive approach empowers teams to navigate unforeseen hurdles with agility, ensuring the project stays on course.

Set project milestones and deadlines

Breaking down the implementation process into manageable milestones is essential for tracking progress and maintaining momentum. Establishing deadlines for each milestone creates a sense of urgency and accountability, fostering a structured and time-bound approach to project execution.

Assign team roles and responsibilities

Successful implementation hinges on the collaboration and coordination of a well-structured team. Assigning clear roles and responsibilities ensures that each team member understands their contribution to the project. This clarity minimizes confusion, optimizes workflow, and enhances overall efficiency.

Determine resources needed

Resource allocation is a critical aspect of implementation planning. This step involves identifying and securing the human, financial, and technological resources required for successful project execution. Adequate resource planning prevents bottlenecks and delays, ensuring a smoother implementation process.

Acquire management and stakeholder buy-In

Securing the support and buy-in of key stakeholders and upper management is fundamental to the success of any project. Communicating the value proposition, addressing concerns, and aligning expectations fosters a collaborative environment that enhances the likelihood of success.

Ensuring swift project management in the digital transformation era

Implementation plans are indispensable roadmaps in project management, gaining heightened significance in our technology-driven era. 

Beyond basic guidance, they are pivotal in optimizing resource usage, addressing risks, and facilitating seamless communication. Their importance lies in their ability to provide a detailed and well-coordinated approach, guiding businesses through the intricacies of digital transformation with precision. 

Implementation plans emerge as essential tools, ensuring projects align with objectives and successfully navigate the challenges posed by technological advancements. 

As organizations strive to stay ahead in this dynamic environment, the strategic nature of these plans becomes increasingly evident, offering a structured path for effective project execution amidst the complexities of technological evolution.

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• Strategic Plan Step 6: Monitor and Review

The final step in any planning process is to monitor and evaluate progress.  The same way as you check the signposts along a road when completing a journey, it is similarly important to check that development is on track.

The management committee should use reports against its annual operational plans to review progress towards meeting the strategic aims and objectives.  Therefore, they must ensure that whoever is doing the work is keeping appropriate records so that progress can be assessed.  This will involve, at the implementation stage of your plan, being clear what systems and structures are required.  The things you decide to measure will give an indication of how well you’re doing, hence, the name indicators or performance measures.

Before completing your plan, you need to agree how and when it will be monitored and reviewed and what information the Management Committee needs to receive in order to review progress.

When reviewing progress towards achieving the strategic aims and objectives, the Management Committee should:

• ensure that activities are kept within the parameters of the agreed strategic aims and objectives
• ensure that activities are consistent with organisation’s vision, mission and values
• if the organisation is a charity, use the information collected to show the public benefit the charity is having
• keep under review internal and external changes which may require adjustments to the organisation’s strategy or affect their ability to achieve their objectives

More on monitoring and evaluation .

For further information on strategic planning and the other stages in the process, click on the links below:

• What is strategic planning?
• Step 1:  Who should be involved?
• Step 2: Where are we now?
• Step 3:  Where are we going?
• Step 4:  How will we get there?
• Step 5:  Writing your plan

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Develop and Implement a Business Plan

Added on   2022-11-17

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What is Innovation Strategy? Stages, Types & Examples

Picture this — you have a new startup or large business operating in a highly competitive market. A constant shift in trends makes it hard to keep up with your competitors and offer products people want. How will your organization keep up with those changes, thrive in the market, and set the pace for the industry with what you offer?

In the business world, the answer usually lies in your innovation strategy . It isn’t only about generating great ideas — it’s also about creating a strategy to put your ideas into place to drive growth and attract customers.

In this guide, we’ll walk through creating an innovation strategy. We’ll go through the process — from idea generation to executing your plan . We’ll also cover the types of innovation you can invest in and a few examples of companies innovating in competitive markets.

What is innovation strategy?

What are the stages of innovation strategy, what are the types of innovation strategy, what are some examples of successful innovation strategies, imd’s driving strategic innovation program — empowering businesses for innovation success.

An innovation strategy is a detailed roadmap with a series of strips that helps your organization reach its future goals. This roadmap isn’t just a guide for business success — it’s a guide that helps you keep up in your industry by thinking of new and innovative ways to tackle problems.

These innovations can be creating new products to solve future problems, optimizing business processes to be more efficient, or thinking of entirely new ways to disrupt your industry.

Ultimately, your innovation strategy will help you align your business with your customer’s needs and create products and services to give your company a competitive advantage.

The innovation process doesn’t happen in a vacuum — it requires a clear process that takes a new idea and brings it to market.

1. Idea generation and ideation

Idea generation is the foundation of an innovation system. It’s the process that helps companies develop ideas to compete in the market and explore new opportunities without taking too much risk.

Many companies innovate by taking advantage of new technologies for insights — learning from data to see what problems customers have that you can solve. Innovators can use this information to explore new ideas and brainstorm ways to bring those ideas to life.

The vital part of this process is customer feedback. A great idea needs a customer base available to see success — and not every idea will have people around willing to pay money to access it. New ideas need customer validation to determine if they are viable.

2. Idea evaluation and selection

Idea evaluation and selection is assessing new ideas to see if they are feasible. During this process, you’ll look at costs, time to market, potential profit, and other business metrics to see if it’s worth pursuing an idea.

If it looks like a product you’re considering has a chance to succeed, then the next step is to compare it with what’s currently on the market. Is your new product something new that doesn’t exist yet, or does it improve on existing products? Will this help your company stand out?Use this information to find the unique value proposition and determine if the idea is worth pursuing.

3. Implementation and execution

The implementation and execution phase is where you take your new idea and turn it into a concrete plan to make it a reality. But this stage is more than building a product — it’s also about creating a successful business strategy and finding help to create your idea.

The first step is product development. Which vendors can supply the materials for your product or help you manufacture it? Which members of your team will be the best fit for development?

Once you find the right people, implementation becomes a matter of executing a plan. It involves project management, resource management, process management, and continuous improvement. 

4. Monitoring and evaluation

You’re breaking new ground when innovating in an industry, so you may not get everything right. Monitoring and evaluation will help you handle those problems and adapt your innovation efforts.

Your goal when monitoring a new project is to assess your performance. Is what you’re doing helping you achieve your goals and keeping you on track for release?

A key part of doing this is metrics. These numbers will tell you how well you are doing. Track your time to release, product progress, defects, and eventual return on investment. Reassess your strategy and make changes if your metrics show you aren’t meeting your goals.

There isn’t one type of innovation in business. Let’s look at four of the main ways you can create new and innovative ideas.

• Product innovation : Product innovation is the process of building new products or upgrading existing ones to meet customer needs in a new way. It helps companies offer better products and stay competitive in evolving markets. This process happens when you pay attention to product markets. You see the problems customers have and their issues with the current offerings. Use that information to develop novel ways to solve those problems and offer a better customer experience.
• Process innovation : Process innovation is changing how you do things inside an organization. You aim to apply new initiatives and technology to optimize efficiency and your ability to compete in the market. Take the inclusion of a new IT system, for instance. New technological innovation can improve your employees’ ability to collaborate and get more done — allowing them to serve customers better in your core business.
• Business model innovation : Business model innovation is about making big changes to how a business runs. It isn’t just a few changes in business processes or a new product. Your goal is to create new business models to capture value in the market. One of the common ways this happens is finding new sources of revenue. An excellent example of this is service businesses adding subscriptions to their revenue. Take an HVAC company. Instead of relying on incoming calls to get business, HVAC companies offer customers a maintenance plan — allowing companies to get a new source of predictable revenue.
• Disruptive innovation : Disruptive innovation is about shaking things up. You aren’t launching products that are a minor upgrade of what exists — you’re making game-changing innovation initiatives that disrupt existing business models. Radical innovation often comes from startups, such as rideshare companies taking on the taxi industry. You’re rewriting some of the rules to take on the established industries to provide a better service and give people more options.

Now that you’ve seen what types of innovations there are, let’s look at a few innovation strategy examples.

Amazon was one of the first companies to use the internet to sell products. It started as an online bookstore, but as time passed, it changed its focus to become a one-stop marketplace for every product you can imagine.

Since then, Amazon has continued to use technology to innovate in the online market. It now offers subscription services to offer more customer value, video streaming, audiobooks, eBooks, and countless other value-added services for its customers.

Apple’s innovation projects are a blend of user-centric design and quality. Apple doesn’t often create brand-new product categories. Instead, it waits to see how technology trends play out and creates innovative approaches to those products.

One of the best examples of this is the iPhone. Apple didn’t create the first smartphone. Blackberry was one of the first to market and was popular for a while.

But smartphones didn’t start making their way into most homes until Apple unveiled the iPhone — their easy-to-use smartphone offering that every consumer can use.

Startups and entrepreneurs

Innovation is at the heart of the startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Let’s look at how a few companies changed the game with their new innovations.

• Uber: Took on the taxi industry by allowing regular people to use their cars to offer rideshare services to customers using mobile apps.
• Airbnb: Competed against the established hotel industry to give people more lodging options and allow homeowners to rent parts of their homes.
• Netflix: Used a subscription model and on-demand streaming approach instead of a monthly fee for live TV.
• Stripe: Changed the payment industry by allowing companies to integrate payment processing into their websites easily.

Innovation strategy is an essential part of creating a roadmap for long-term success. It helps you define new product ideas, validate them in the market, and execute the process of bringing them to life. Without the right strategy, you take more risk of building products that don’t work or won’t meet your customers’ needs. IMD offers business school programs for entrepreneurs and professionals who want to learn how to drive innovation in their businesses.

Learn more about what we offer and how our program for driving strategic innovation can help you accomplish more in business and build something great.

Subscribe for more great innovation content 💌

Subscribe now for exclusive content from imd.

Are you curious how certain new businesses can completely reshape industries and leave established companies struggling to keep up? In the ever-changing business world, staying ahead of the competition requires constant innovation. While there have been many ideas and strategies over time, few have been as impactful and enduring as disruptive innovation. This article will […]

Picture this — you have a new startup or large business operating in a highly competitive market. A constant shift in trends makes it hard to keep up with your competitors and offer products people want. How will your organization keep up with those changes, thrive in the market, and set the pace for the […]

For companies willing to embrace innovation during uncertain times, the rewards can be transformative, both during a crisis and in its aftermath. In this article, we demystify the concept of business innovation, offering actionable steps and tangible examples to help ignite a culture of innovation within your organization. We delve into the many benefits of […]

7 Organizational Structure Types (With Examples)

Updated: May 29, 2024, 5:39pm

Table of Contents

What is an organizational structure, 4 common types of organizational structures, 3 alternative organizational structures, how to choose the best organizational structure, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Every company needs an organizational structure—whether they realize it or not. The organizational structure is how the company delegates roles, responsibilities, job functions, accountability and decision-making authority. The organizational structure often shows the “chain of command” and how information moves within the company. Having an organizational structure that aligns with your company’s goals and objectives is crucial. This article describes the various types of organizational structures, the benefits of creating one for your business and specific elements that should be included.

Employees want to understand their job responsibilities, whom they report to, what decisions they can and should make and how they interact with other people and teams within the company. An organizational structure creates this framework. Organizational structures can be centralized or decentralized, hierarchical or circular, flat or vertical.

Centralized vs. Decentralized

Many companies use the traditional model of a centralized organizational structure. With centralized leadership, there is a transparent chain of command and each role has well-defined responsibilities.

Conversely, with a decentralized organizational structure, teams have more autonomy to make decisions and there may be cross-collaboration between groups. Decentralized leadership can help companies remain agile and adapt to changing needs.

Hierarchical vs. Circular

A hierarchical organization structure is the pyramid-shaped organization chart many people are used to seeing. There is one role at the top of the pyramid and the chain of command moves down, with each level decreasing in responsibilities and authority.

On the other hand, a circular organization chart looks like concentric circles with company leadership in the center circle. Instead of information flowing down to the next “level,” information flows out to the next ring of management.

Vertical vs. Flat

A vertical organizational chart has a clear chain of command with a small group of leaders at the top—or in the center, in the case of a circular structure—and each subsequent tier has less authority and responsibility. As discussed below, functional, product-based, market-based and geographical organizational structures are vertical structures.

With a flat organization structure, a person may report to more than one person and there may be cross-department responsibilities and decision-making authority. The matrix organizational structure described below is an example of a flat structure.

Benefits of Creating an Organizational Structure

There are many benefits to creating an organizational structure that aligns with the company’s operations, goals and objectives. Clearly disseminating this information to employees:

• Provides accountability
• Clarifies expectations
• Documents criteria for promotion
• Designates decision-making authority
• Creates efficiency
• Fosters collaboration

Essential Elements of Clear Organizational Structure

Regardless of the special type of organizational structure you choose, it should have the following components:

• Chain of command
• Roles and responsibilities
• Scope of control
• Decision-making authority
• Departments or teams within the organization

Functional/Role-Based Structure

A functional—or role-based—structure is one of the most common organizational structures. This structure has centralized leadership and the vertical, hierarchical structure has clearly defined roles, job functions, chains of command and decision-making authority. A functional structure facilitates specialization, scalability and accountability. It also establishes clear expectations and has a well-defined chain of command. However, this structure runs the risk of being too confining and it can impede employee growth. It also has the potential for a lack of cross-department communication and collaboration.

Product- or Market-Based Structure

Along with the functional structure, the product- or market-based structure is hierarchical, vertical and centralized. However, instead of being structured around typical roles and job functions, it is structured around the company’s products or markets. This kind of structure can benefit companies that have several product lines or markets, but it can be challenging to scale. It can also foster inefficiency if product or market teams have similar functions, and without good communication across teams, companies run the risk of incompatibility among various product/market teams.

Geographical Structure

The geographical structure is a good option for companies with a broad geographic footprint in an industry where it is essential to be close to their customers and suppliers. The geographical structure enables the company to create bespoke organizational structures that align with the location’s culture, language and professional systems. From a broad perspective, it appears very similar to the product-based structure above.

Process-Based Structure

Similar to the functional structure, the process-based structure is structured in a way that follows a product’s or service’s life cycle. For instance, the structure can be broken down into R&D, product creation, order fulfillment, billing and customer services. This structure can foster efficiency, teamwork and specialization, but it can also create barriers between the teams if communication isn’t prioritized.

Matrix Structure

With a matrix organizational structure, there are multiple reporting obligations. For instance, a marketing specialist may have reporting obligations within the marketing and product teams. A matrix structure offers flexibility, enables shared resources and fosters collaboration within the company. However, the organizational structure can be complex, so it can cause confusion about accountability and communication, especially among new employees.

Circular Structure

Similar to the functional and product-based structure, a circular structure is also centralized and hierarchical, but instead of responsibility and decision-making authority flowing down vertically, responsibility and decision-making authority flow out from the center. A circular structure can promote communication and collaboration but can also be confusing, especially for new employees, because there is no clear chain of command.

Organic Structure

Unlike vertical structures, this structure facilitates communication between and among all staff. It is the most complex, but it can also be the most productive. Although it can be challenging to know who has ultimate decision-making authority, it can also foster a positive company culture because employees don’t feel like they have “superiors.” This structure can also be more cost-efficient because it reduces the need for middle managers.

There is no one “right” organizational structure. When deciding which structure will work best for your company, consider the following:

• Current roles and teams within the company. How are job functions currently organized? Does it foster communication and productivity? Does it impede or encourage employee growth?
• Your strategic plan. What are your company’s goals for the short-term and long-term?
• Feedback from employees, leadership and other stakeholders. What do those within your company say about how the company is structured? What feedback do you have from other stakeholders, such as customers and suppliers?
• Alignment. What structure will best support your strategic plans and address any feedback received?

What is the most common organizational structure?

A functional organizational structure is one of the most common organizational structures. If you are still determining what kind of structure to use, this organizational structure can be an excellent place to start.

What is the difference between an organizational structure and an organizational chart?

An organizational chart is a graphic that depicts the organizational structure. The chart may include job titles or it can be personalized to include names and photos.

What are the four types of organizational structures?

A functional—or role-based—structure is one of the most common organizational structures. The second type—the product- or market-based structure—is also hierarchical, vertical and centralized. Similar to these is the third structure—the process-based structure—which is structured in a way that follows a product’s or service’s life cycle. Lastly, the geographical structure is suitable for businesses with a broad geographic footprint.

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Business intelligence Implementation: A Step-by-Step Guide

07 jun 2024.

• Data Analytics

Implementing a BI solution allows organizations to leverage their data assets effectively. It is key to transforming scattered business data to support strategic, tactical, and operational decision-making. Traditionally, decision-makers in large organizations often relied on their experience to make crucial business decisions. However, today, the successful implementation of BI helps organizations collect and process business data to leverage data the right way and maximize the efficiency of data assets. The global BI market size is projected to grow from $31.98 billion in 2024 to $63.76 billion by 2032 [1] , highlighting the significant growth and adoption expected in the coming years.

In this blog post, we will discuss how to implement business intelligence, its challenges, and solutions to help you improve overall business operational efficiency and drive more revenue.

Table of Contents:

Business Intelligence Implementation Steps

Common bi implementation challenges and their solutions, how can rishabh software help you optimize your business operations with bi expertise, frequently asked questions.

BI implementation is a multi-stage process that requires thorough preparation to ensure a comprehensive understanding of processes and results across departments and C-suite executives. The following key steps ensure a smooth and successful BI implementation, from assessing your business requirements to deploying and maintaining your BI solution.

1) Define Needs and Goals

Business intelligence implementation starts with clearly understanding the organization’s overarching business objectives, goals, risks, and expectations and how implementing BI can contribute to achieving them. The first step towards implementation is to assess your current data infrastructure, including:

• Data sources
• Reporting practices
• Existing data silos or limitations.

Work closely with department heads and stakeholders to clearly define what you want to achieve with BI and where you would use BI insights. This could involve improving operational efficiency, gaining customer insights, or boosting sales. You can identify your specific BI needs through various techniques such as interviews, workshops, questionnaires, and other methods.

2) Gather Requirements

The next  BI implementation steps involve defining functional and non-functional requirements for the BI solution from all the stakeholders. The requirements can be further classified into mandatory and optional features. BI consultants play a critical role in this stage by interviewing stakeholders to collect and prioritize their needs, goals, and vision for a successful BI project implementation.

3) Choose the Right BI Tools and Technologies

Now that you have a precise understanding of your BI needs, the next step requires you to evaluate various BI tools and technologies based on factors such as:

• Scalability – Ensure the tools can accommodate your current data volume and anticipated future growth.
• Functionality – Prioritize tools that offer features relevant to your organization’s specific needs (e.g., data visualization, reporting, predictive analytics).
• Integration – Choose a tool that seamlessly integrates with your existing systems and data sources.
• User-friendliness – Choose tools with an intuitive interface for users with varying technical skills.

Identify necessary components to build a scalable BI ecosystem, including hardware resources, data storage solutions, and analytical tools to cater to your organization’s evolving requirements.

4) Develop a BI Strategy and Plan

Before diving into the technical aspects, ensuring that your business intelligence implementation strategy aligns with your organization’s overall business objectives, priorities, and strategic direction is essential. It is equally important to convince stakeholders of the value proposition of implementing BI with a robust strategy plan. Without a clear plan, employees may use inaccurate data, get conflicting instructions, and make assumptions about what things mean.

You must, therefore, create a detailed roadmap to achieve exceptional outcomes, including timelines, milestones, resource allocation, and other processes. While making the strategy, answer these three questions in detail,

• What is our current situation?
• What is our objective?
• What resources do we require?

The business intelligence implementation plan is a blueprint that provides guidelines on what would be needed to attain the goal, including scope, time frame, cost, and resources, among others. Project planning involves defining the work scope, identifying the project stakeholders, and establishing clear communication channels for efficient collaboration.

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5) Identify KPIs and Metrics

Identify key measurable performance indicators to track the efficiency and status of workflows. Monitoring popular KPIs such as user adoption rate, Data quality score, and report usage metrics helps your organization track progress toward its goals and objectives. It also serves as a foundation for data-driven decision-making.

6) Implement and Customize the BI Solution

The step involves developing and tailoring the BI solution. It includes selecting the appropriate BI tools and configuring platforms for the organization’s specific data sources and infrastructure. This includes data preparation, setting up data storage, data integration, data management, customizing the BI platform, creating UI and dashboards for different departments, and performing quality assurance and optimization. The stage also involves integrating the BI solution into existing systems by automating the process with the help of data integration tools and establishing methods for extracting, transforming, and loading (ETL) data from various sources into the BI solutions.

7) Run a Pilot Project

Before deploying the BI system company-wide, testing it on a small scale, such as for one department or focus group, is recommended. This helps identify and mitigate risks, refine the implementation strategy, and help demonstrate the feasibility, functionality, and potential benefits of the BI solution once implemented organization-wide.

8) Gather Stakeholders’ Feedback

You should initiate regular meetings or discussions with BI stakeholders to evaluate the current progress of the project and propose timely changes according to the suggestions. You can also launch a trial version to collect collective feedback from the end users and convert bottlenecks into opportunities for a successful BI strategy.

9) Deploy and Launch the BI System

The final step is to launch and deploy the BI system company-wide. This involves deploying the BI solution in several iterations, monitoring performance, and troubleshooting any issues that arise. The BI solution should be scalable to meet the organization’s growth needs.

10) Monitor, Evaluate, and Continuously Improve

Business intelligence implementation is an ongoing journey, not a one-time event. Your organization must be prepared to adapt and optimize your BI solution based on the following:

• Evolving business needs: BI implementation must aim to provide actionable insight to meet your growing business needs. As your business evolves, update your BI system to ensure it delivers the correct information and supports the organization’s strategic goals and data requirements.
• Technological advancements: Stay up-to-date on emerging BI technologies and incorporate innovations; organizations can adopt innovative technologies to enhance the system’s capabilities. This may include integrating ML algorithms for predictive analytics or leveraging cloud-based platforms for scalability and flexibility.
• User feedback: Continuously refine the system to meet changing user needs and preferences based on user input and feedback to ensure maximum value. This allows an organization to ensure that it remains user-friendly.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to implementing BI solutions that guarantee success. Organizations often face various challenges during this process, depending on factors like data complexity, existing data infrastructure, organization size, and others. Let’s explore some common challenges encountered during business intelligence implementation and ways to overcome them:

Data Quality and Integration Issues

Organizations deal with inconsistent, incomplete, or inaccurate data from multiple sources, restricting the effectiveness of BI solutions.

Overcome this challenge by implementing the following:

• Robust data governance policies
• Data cleansing processes
• Master data management strategies

Set up a centralized data warehouse using Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services, Oracle Exadata, or a data lake like Amazon S3 Data Lake or Azure Data Lake Storage that ensures data quality, enables practical data analysis, and helps maintain consistency across the organization.

User Adoption and Change Management

Employee adoption is essential for BI success. Therefore, a lack of user adoption can undermine the success of a BI implementation. Addressing this challenge requires effective change management strategies and comprehensive user training that can communicate the benefits of the BI system.

Involve end-users early in the process and provide them with comprehensive training programs. Explain the tangible benefits of BI implementation and how it will improve the overall business operations. Ensure user-friendly interfaces and intuitive reporting tools.

Performance and Scalability

As businesses evolve, data volumes grow, and user demands increase. BI solutions must be scalable to handle the growing data loads without facing performance bottlenecks and scalability issues.

Businesses should implement a robust hardware infrastructure, optimize data models, and consider cloud-based or distributed architectures that provide seamless scalability and performance.

Security and Data Privacy

Safeguarding sensitive enterprise data from breaches while ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations when integrating diverse data sources presents a significant challenge.

Implement robust security measures, such as

• Access controls
• Data encryption
• Auditing mechanisms
• Establish policies and procedures for data privacy regulations

Additionally, staying aware of emerging cybersecurity threats and performing regular security audits helps keep your organization’s valuable data assets safe and secure.

Defining Key Performance Indicators and Metrics

Identifying the right KPIs and metrics is critical for delivering actionable insights and fostering a culture driving informed data-driven decision-making. Without identifying clear goals, the whole project would lead to wasted resources and time.

Organizations should collaborate with stakeholders, analyze business objectives, and define clear and measurable KPIs aligned with desired goals.

Vendor Selection and Management

Selecting a vendor that aligns with the organization’s requirements, budget, and long-term goals is crucial because it can impact the success of the BI project. Moreover, effectively managing vendor relationships throughout the implementation helps mitigate risks and control costs, whereas ineffective vendor management can often lead to project delays and cost overruns.

Organizations should define clear requirements, SLAs, and effective communication channels to witness seamless vendor management processes. You should also conduct thorough vendor evaluations to achieve better end results.

Accelerate your business growth and get a comprehensive view of your operations and performance with our result-driven BI implementation services. Our business intelligence services allow you to consolidate multi-source data into a single source of truth. With our advanced enterprise-level approach, you can leverage our expertise and industry-specific BI services to achieve meaningful and data-driven results.

As a leading Business Intelligence consulting company , our complete suite of BI and analytics services, such as data warehousing, reporting and data visualization, BI integration, and BI support and maintenance services, assist businesses with a comprehensive view of their operations to identify gaps and opportunities. Our BI experts are well-versed in simplifying your BI journey by creating a precise and detailed strategy for BI implementation, outlining data sources, and overcoming potential issues.

Whether you need modernization of your existing BI solution, integration, effective data management, impactful data visualization, or fact-based data interaction, we’re your one-stop strategic partner to fulfill all your business requirements.

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Q:  What are the benefits of BI implementation?

A: Here are some key benefits of BI implementation that will help enhance the overall organization’s performance.

• Fast & Accurate Reporting
• Better Forecasting
• Enhanced Collaboration
• Competitive Advantage
• Better Return-On-Investment
• Improved Decision-Making
• Valuable Insights
• Reduced Risks
• Increased Productivity
• Enhanced Customer Service
• Performance Management

Check out our blog on the various benefits of business intelligence to learn more.

Q: What is the cost of implementing business intelligence?

A:  The business intelligence implementation cost varies based on:

• Data factors: Number and type of data sources, volume, and quality
• Analysis needs: Real-time processing, analytics, and machine learning requirements
• Reporting: Complexity of custom reports, dashboards, and self-service options
• Security: Data protection and regulatory compliance
• Software: Licensing and customization costs

Q: What are the best practices for implementing a business intelligence strategy?

A: Here are some best practices for successful BI implementation:

• Define goals & KPIs: Align BI with business objectives and measure success.
• Prioritize data quality: Ensure clean, accurate data for reliable insights.
• Focus on user adoption: Design user-friendly tools and provide training.
• Choose the right tech: Select scalable BI tools that integrate well with your systems.
• Continuously monitor & improve: Track performance and adapt based on user feedback and evolving needs.

1. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/business-intelligence-bi-market-103742

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How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy in 9 Easy Steps [Free Template]

Creating your social media marketing strategy doesn’t need to be painful. Create an effective plan for your business in 9 simple steps.

A social media marketing strategy is a summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve on social media. It guides your actions and lets you know whether you’re succeeding or failing.

The more specific your plan is, the more effective it will be. Keep it concise. Don’t make it so lofty and broad that it’s unattainable or impossible to measure.

In this post, we’ll walk you through a nine-step plan to create a winning social media strategy of your own. We’ve even got expert insights from Amanda Wood, Hootsuite’s Senior Manager of Social Marketing.

How to create a social media strategy:

Bonus: Get a free social media strategy template   to quickly and easily plan your own strategy. Also use it to track results and present the plan to your boss, teammates, and clients.

What is a social media marketing strategy?

A social media strategy is a document outlining your social media goals, the tactics you will use to achieve them and the metrics you will track to measure your progress.

Your social media marketing strategy should also list all of your existing and planned social media accounts along with goals specific to each platform you’re active on. These goals should align with your business’s larger digital marketing strategy.

Finally, a good social media plan should define the roles and responsibilities within your team and outline your reporting cadence.

Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win.

Creating your own social media marketing strategy (video guide)

No time to read the whole article? Let Amanda, Hootsuite’s own Senior Manager of Social Media Marketing, guide you through our free social media marketing strategy template in less than 10 minutes:

How to create a social media marketing strategy in 9 steps

Step 1. choose goals that align to business objectives, set s.m.a.r.t. goals.

The first step to creating a winning social media strategy is to establish clear objectives and goals. Without goals, you have no way to measure success and return on investment (ROI) .

Each of your social media marketing goals should be SMART : s pecific, m easurable, a ttainable, r elevant and t ime-bound.

Psst: Need help getting started? We’ve got social strategy guides for small businesses , financial services , government , higher education , healthcare , real estate , law firms , and non-profits .

Oh, and if you need examples of smart social media goals , we’ve got you covered there too.

Once you’ve decided on your goals, track them in a social media strategy doc — grab our free template if you don’t have one already.

Track meaningful metrics

Vanity metrics like number of followers and likes are easy to track, but it’s hard to prove their real value. Instead, focus on things like engagement, click-through, and conversion rates.

For inspiration, take a look at these 19 essential social media metrics .

You may want to track different goals for different social media networks, or even different uses for each network.

For example, if you use LinkedIn to drive traffic to your website, you would measure click-throughs. If Instagram is for brand awareness, you might track the number of Instagram Story views. And if you advertise on Facebook, cost-per-click (CPC) is a common success metric.

Social media goals should align with your overall marketing objectives. This makes it easier to show the value of your work and secure buy-in from your boss.

Start developing a successful social media marketing plan by writing down at least three goals for social media.

“ It’s easy to get overwhelmed by deciding what to post and which metrics to track, but you need to focus on what you want to get out of social media to begin with,” says Amanda Wood, Hootsuite’s Senior Manager of Social Marketing. “Don’t just start posting and tracking everything: match your goals to your business, and your metrics to your goals.”

Step 2. Learn everything you can about your audience

Get to know your fans, followers, and customers as real people with real wants and needs, and you will know how to target and engage them on social media.

When it comes to your ideal customer, you should know things like:

• Average income
• Typical job title or industry

Here’s a simple guide and template for creating audience/buyer personas .

Don’t forget to document this information in your strategy doc!

Social media analytics can also provide a ton of valuable information about who your followers are, where they live, and how they interact with your brand on social media. These insights allow you to refine your strategy and better target your audience.

Jugnoo, an Uber-like service for auto-rickshaws in India, used Facebook Analytics to learn that 90% of their users who referred other customers were between 18- and 34-years-old, and 65% of that group was using Android. They used that information to target their ads, resulting in a 40% lower cost per referral.

Check out our guide to using social media analytics and the tools you need to track them .

Step 3. Get to know your competition

Odds are your competitors are already using social media, and that means you can learn from what they’re doing.

Conduct a competitive analysis

A competitive analysis allows you to understand who the competition is and what they’re doing well (and not so well). You’ll get a good sense of what’s expected in your industry, which will help you set social media targets of your own.

It will also help you spot opportunities and weaknesses you can document in your social strategy doc.

Maybe one of your competitors is dominant on Facebook, for example, but has put little effort into X (Twitter) or Instagram. You might want to focus on the social media platforms where your audience is underserved, rather than trying to win fans away from a dominant player.

Use social media listening

Social listening is another way to keep an eye on your competitors.

Do searches of the competition’s company name, account handles, and other relevant keywords on social media. Find out what they’re sharing and what other people are saying about them. If they’re using influencer marketing, how much engagement do those campaigns earn them?

Pro tip : Use Hootsuite Streams to monitor relevant keywords, hashtags and accounts in real-time.

Try Hootsuite for free. You can cancel anytime.

As you track, you may notice shifts in how your competitors and industry leaders are using social media. You may come across new, exciting trends. You might even spot specific social content or a campaign that really hits the mark—or totally bombs.

Use this kind of intel to optimize and inform your own social media marketing strategy.

Just don’t go overboard on the spy tactics, Amanda advises. “ Make sure you aren’t ALWAYS comparing yourself to the competition — it can be a distraction. I’d say checking in on a monthly basis is healthy. Otherwise, focus on your own strategy and results.”

Step 4. Do a social media audit

If you’re already using social media, take stock of your efforts so far. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What’s working, and what’s not?
• Who is engaging with you?
• What are your most valuable partnerships?
• Which networks does your target audience use?
• How does your social media presence compare to the competition?

Once you collect that information, you’ll be ready to start thinking about ways to improve.

We’ve created an easy-to-follow social media audit guide and template to walk you through each step of this process.

Your audit should give you a clear picture of what purpose each of your social accounts serves. If the purpose of an account isn’t clear, think about whether it’s worth keeping.

To help you decide, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is my audience here?
• If so, how are they using this platform?
• Can I use this account to help achieve my goals?

Asking these tough questions will keep your social media strategy focused.

Look for impostor accounts

During the audit, you may discover fake accounts using your business name or the names of your products.

These imposters can be harmful to your brand—never mind that they’re capturing followers that should be yours.

You may want to get your accounts verified too to ensure your fans know they are dealing with the real you.

Here’s how to get verified on:

• X (Twitter)

Step 5. Set up accounts and improve profiles

Decide which networks to use.

As you decide which social networks to use, you will also need to define your strategy for each.

Benefit Cosmetics’ social media manager, Angela Purcaro, told eMarketer : “For our makeup tutorials … we’re all about Snapchat and Instagram Stories. [X], on the other hand, is designated for customer service.”

Hootsuite’s own social team even designates different purposes for formats within networks. On Instagram, for example, they use the feed to post high-quality educational infographics and product announcements and Stories to cover live events or quick social media updates.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite)

Pro tip : Write out a mission statement for each network. A one-sentence declaration to keep you focused on a specific goal.

Example: “We will use X for customer support to keep email and call volumes down.”

Or: “We will use LinkedIn for promoting and sharing our company culture to help with recruitment and employee advocacy.”

One more: “We will use Instagram to highlight new products and repost quality content from influencers.”

If you can’t create a solid mission statement for a particular social media channel, you may want to ask yourself if it’s worth it.

Note : While larger businesses can and do tackle every platform, small businesses may not be able to — and that’s ok! Prioritize social platforms that will have the most impact on your business and make sure your marketing team has the resources to handle content for those networks. If you need help focusing your efforts, check out our 18-minute social media plan .

Set up your profiles

Once you’ve decided which networks to focus on, it’s time to create your profiles. Or improve existing ones so they align with your strategy.

• Make sure you fill out all profile fields
• Include keywords people would use to search for your business
• Use consistent branding (logos, images, etc.) across networks so your profiles are easily recognizable

Pro tip : Use high-quality images that follow the recommended dimensions for each network. Check out our always-up-to-date social media image size cheat sheet for quick reference.

We’ve also got step-by-step guides for each network to walk you through the process:

• Create a Facebook business page
• Create an Instagram business account
• Create a TikTok account
• Create a X (Twitter) business account
• Create a Snapchat account
• Create a LinkedIn Company Page
• Create a Pinterest business account
• Create a YouTube channel

Don’t let this list overwhelm you. Remember, it’s better to use fewer channels well than to stretch yourself thin trying to maintain a presence on every network.

Optimize your profiles (and content) for search

Never heard of social SEO ? It’s time to learn.

44% of Gen Z consumers use social platforms to research their purchase decisions, which means it’s extra critical that your channels are optimized for social search.

That means making sure your profile names are clear and descriptive, you’re including relevant hashtags and keywords in your bio and on every post, and you’re using features like alt text and captions to include your target keywords as naturally as possible.

Step 6. Find inspiration

While it’s important that your brand be unique, you can still draw inspiration from other businesses that are great on social.

“ I consider it my job to stay active on social: to know what’s trending, which campaigns are winning, what’s new with the platforms, who’s going above and beyond,” says Amanda. “This might be the most fun step for you, or the hardest one, but it’s just as crucial as the rest of them.”

Social media success stories

You can usually find these on the business section of the social network’s website. ( Here’s Facebook’s , for example.)

Case studies can offer valuable insights that you can apply to your own social media plan.

Award-winning accounts and campaigns

You could also check out the winners of The Facebook Awards or The Shorty Awards for examples of brands that are at the top of their social media game.

For learning and a laugh, check out Fridge-Worthy, Hootsuite’s bi-weekly awards show highlighting brands doing smart and clever things on social media.

Your favorite brands on social media

Who do you enjoy following on social media? What do they do that compels people to engage and share their content?

National Geographic, for example, is one of the best on Instagram, combining stunning visuals with compelling captions.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo)

Then there’s Shopify. The ecommerce brand uses Facebook to sell themselves by showcasing customer stories and case studies.

And Lush Cosmetics is a great example of superior customer service on X. They use their 280 characters to answer questions and solve problems in an extremely charming and on-brand way.

Source: lushcosmetics on X

Notice that each of these accounts has a consistent voice, tone, and style. That’s key to letting people know what to expect from your feed. That is, why should they follow you? What’s in it for them?

Consistency also helps keep your content on-brand even if you have multiple people on your social media team.

For more on this, read our guide on establishing a compelling brand voice on social media .

Ask your followers

Consumers can also offer social media inspiration.

What are your target customers talking about online? What can you learn about their wants and needs?

If you have existing social channels, you could also ask your followers what they want from you. Just make sure that you follow through and deliver what they ask for.

Step 7. Create a social media content calendar

Sharing great content is essential, of course, but it’s equally important to have a plan in place for when you’ll share content to get the maximum impact.

Your social media content calendar also needs to account for the time you spend interacting with the audience (although you need to allow for some spontaneous engagement as well).

Set your posting schedule

Your social media content calendar lists the dates and times at which you will publish types of content on each channel. It’s the perfect place to plan all of your social media activities—from images, link sharing, and re-shares of user-generated content to blog posts and videos. It includes both your day-to-day posting and content for social media campaigns.

Your calendar also ensures your posts are spaced out appropriately and published at the best times to post .

Pro tip: You can plan your whole content calendar and get recommended best times to post on every network based on your past engagement rate, impressions, or link click data in Hootsuite.

Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature

Determine the right content mix

Make sure your content strategy and calendar reflect the mission statement you’ve assigned to each social profile, so that everything you post is working to support your business goals.

(We know, it’s tempting to jump on every meme, but there should always be a strategy behind your social media marketing efforts!)

You might decide that:

• 50% of content will drive traffic back to your website
• 25% of content will be curated from other sources
• 20% of content will support lead-generation goals (newsletter sign-ups, ebook downloads, etc.)
• 5% of content will be about your company culture

Placing these different post types in your content calendar will ensure you maintain the right mix.

If you’re starting from scratch and you’re not sure what types of content to post, try the 80-20 rule :

• 80% of your posts should inform, educate, or entertain your audience
• 20% can directly promote your brand.

You could also try the social media content marketing rule of thirds :

• One-third of your content promotes your business, converts readers, and generates profit.
• One-third of your content shares ideas and stories from thought leaders in your industry or like-minded businesses.
• One-third of your content is personal interactions with your audience

Whatever you decide on, be sure to document it in your strategy doc.

Don’t post too much or too little

If you’re starting a social media marketing strategy from scratch, you may not have figured out how often to post to each network for maximum engagement yet.

Post too frequently and you risk annoying your audience. But, if you post too little, you risk looking like you’re not worth following.

Start with these posting frequency recommendations:

• Instagram (feed): 3-7 times per week
• TikTok: 3-5 times per week
• Facebook: 1-2 times per day
• X (Twitter): 1-5 times per day
• LinkedIn: 1-5 times per day

Pro tip : Once you have your social media content calendar planned out, use a scheduling tool to prepare messages in advance rather than updating constantly throughout the day.

We might be biased, but we think Hootsuite is the best social media management tool. You can schedule social media posts to every network and the intuitive calendar view gives you a full picture of all your social activity each week.

Try It Free

Step 8. Create compelling content

Remember those mission statements you created for each channel in Step 5? Well, it’s time to go a bit deeper, a.k.a. provide some examples of the type of content you’ll post to fulfill your mission on each network.

If you’re not sure what to post, here’s a long list of social media content ideas to get you started. Or (to make it even easier) you can use an AI tool like OwlyWriter to generate on-brand content in a flash.

The idea here is to:

• Keep your content aligned with the purpose of each network;
• Show other stakeholders (if applicable) what kind of content they can expect to see on each network.

This last point especially will help you avoid any tension when your colleagues want to know why you haven’t posted their case study/whitepaper/blog post to TikTok yet. It’s not in the strategy, Linda!

Ideally, you will generate content types that are both suited to the network and the purpose you’ve set out for that network.

For example, you wouldn’t want to waste time posting brand awareness tweets if you’ve designated X/Twitter for primarily customer support. And you wouldn’t want to post super polished corporate video ads to TikTok, as users expect to see short, unpolished videos on that platform.

It might take some testing over time to figure out which type of content works best on which type of network, so prepare to update this section frequently.

We won’t lie: content creation isn’t as easy as everyone not on the social team seems to think. But if you’re struggling, Amanda suggests going back to basics.

The first question to ask is: is there cohesion between your content types? Is your content providing value? Do you have a good mix of entertaining, or educational content? What does it offer that makes a person stop and spend time? Creating a few different content pillars or categories that encompass different aspects of storytelling for your brand, and what you can offer your audience is a good start.

This brings us to Step 9.

Step 9. Track performance and make adjustments

Your social media marketing strategy is a hugely important document for your business, and you can’t assume you’ll get it exactly right on the first try.

As you start to implement your plan and track your results, you may find that some strategies don’t work as well as you’d anticipated, while others are working even better than expected.

That’s why it’s important to document your progress along the way.

Look at performance metrics

In addition to the analytics within each social network (see Step 2), you can use UTM parameters to track social visitors as they move through your website, so you can see exactly which social posts drive the most traffic to your website.

Benchmark your results

You’ve got your numbers, but how do they stack up to the competition in your industry? Industry benchmarks are a great way to evaluate your performance against other businesses in your category.

If you’ve got Hootsuite Analytics , you can use our built-in social media benchmarking tool to compare the performance of your social accounts against the average of brands in your industry with just a couple of clicks.

You can set up custom timeframes, switch between networks — Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and TikTok — and look up benchmarks for metrics like followers, audience growth rate, engagement rate, clicks, shares, and much more.

You’ll also find resources to improve your performance  right in the summary section:

Re-evaluate, test, and do it all again

Once this data starts coming in, use it to re-evaluate your strategy regularly. You can also use this information to test different posts, social marketing campaigns, and strategies against one another. Constant testing allows you to understand what works and what doesn’t, so you can refine your social media marketing strategy in real time.

You’ll want to check the performance of all your channels at least once a week and get to know the basics of social media reporting so you can track your growth over time.

Pro tip: If you use Hootsuite, you can review the performance of all your posts on every network in one place. Once you get the hang of checking your analytics, you may even want to customize different reports to show specific metrics over a variety of different time periods.

Surveys can also be a great way to find out how well your social media strategy is working. Ask your followers, email list, and website visitors whether you’re meeting their needs and expectations, and what they’d like to see more of. Then make sure to deliver on what they tell you.

Finalizing your social media strategy

Spoiler alert: nothing is final.

Social media moves fast. New networks emerge, others go through demographic shifts.

Your business will go through periods of change as well.

All of this means that your social media marketing strategy should be a living document that you review and adjust as needed. Refer to it often to stay on track, but don’t be afraid to make changes so that it better reflects new goals, tools, or plans.

When you update your social strategy, make sure to watch our 5-step video on how to updating your social media strategy for 2024:

Social media strategy template

Ready to start documenting? Grab your free social media strategy template below!

What’s next? When you’re ready to put your plan into action, we’re here to help…

Save time managing your social media marketing strategy with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can easily:

• Plan, create, and schedule posts to every network
• Track relevant keywords, topics, and accounts
• Stay on top of engagement with a universal inbox
• Get easy-to-understand performance reports and improve your strategy as needed

Try Hootsuite for Free

With files from Shannon Tien .

Do it better with Hootsuite , the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.

Become a better social marketer.

Get expert social media advice delivered straight to your inbox.

Christina Newberry is an award-winning writer and editor whose greatest passions include food, travel, urban gardening, and the Oxford comma—not necessarily in that order.

Amanda Wood is a senior social marketing professional who combines analytical and creative thinking to build brands.

As head of social at Hootsuite, Amanda oversees the global social strategy encompassing organic and paid social on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn, a social engagement and listening strategy, and an employee advocacy program.

As the leader of a high-performing social team, she has extensive experience collaborating with creatives to bring campaigns to life on social and drive business results.

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Project Planning: How to Write a Project Plan in 6 Simple Steps

Harry Foster

Published on Jun 07, 2024, updated on Jun 11, 2024

A project plan outlines the objectives, implementation strategies, execution procedures, budget, deliverables, and other relevant materials for a project. It includes elements such as key milestone schedules, Gantt charts, communication plans, work breakdown structures, and the resources needed to complete the project.

A well-crafted project business plan can help prevent budget overruns, reduce workflow disruptions, and minimize project delays. This article will guide you through creating a comprehensive project plan using six steps, incorporating the use of the Boardmix online whiteboard.

1. Write an Executive Summary

The first step is to write an executive summary. This summary should be at the beginning of the project plan and provide a brief overview of its main points, reaffirming its purpose, highlighting key elements, and describing the project's outcomes.

The executive summary should include:

-Project objectives and goals

-Chosen project methodology/framework

-Final deliverables and acceptance criteria

-Key scope risks and mitigation strategies

-Milestones summary

-Project timeline and risk overview

-Resource and cost budget

Tools like the Boardmix online whiteboard can help create these components more efficiently. For example, the project plan template on Boardmix can list major tasks and work items, clarifying each phase's goals and issues. For detailed project management, use the weekly project management template to break down tasks by week, employing the important & urgent quadrant rule for better time management. Gantt charts can make you a time management expert by visually mapping out your project plan.

Keep the executive summary simple and easy to understand, especially for stakeholders. It serves as a quick reference for project managers to recall key objectives, scope, expectations, and constraints.

2. Define the Project Scope

The second step is to define the project scope, setting boundaries for the project's start and end dates, deliverable expectations, approval processes, and criteria for what warrants approval. The scope should also outline potential risks and mitigation strategies, along with who is responsible for tracking these risks. This step helps prevent scope creep.

To further safeguard against project issues, analyze and report on each phase using Boardmix’s project phase analysis and design report templates.

3. Plan Project Resources

This step involves defining the resources available for the project, including team members, time, budget, and technology. Accurate resource assessment is crucial, and using Boardmix’s project kanban template simplifies resource management. This kanban template organizes resources into a to-do, in-progress, and completed sections. Additionally, you can allocate resources to individuals and set timelines, keeping the project’s latest progress synced.

For instance, having a highly skilled team increases project success probability by 30%. Conversely, efficiency and quality suffer if the workload exceeds available resources, necessitating schedule adjustments or budget increases. Ensure timely communication of resource changes to the project team.

4. Develop a Project Schedule

Including a timeline in your project plan significantly increases its success rate. This part of the plan sets expectations for execution and delivery timelines, prompting the team to complete tasks on schedule. Adding a timeline is essential for project planning.

Utilize Boardmix’s Gantt chart template to visualize each project phase's progress and schedule, making the project timeline clear at a glance.

5. Create a Project Budget

Before starting any project, project managers must address these questions: How long will the project take? What resources and technologies are needed? What is the project’s budget? What is the project workload? These questions fall under project budget management. Regardless of the industry—engineering, IT, construction, or agriculture—considering time, cost, scope, and risk before project execution is crucial to predict profitability.

6. Monitor the Project

Project risk management is one of the three major project challenges. Without a risk management plan, teams may struggle with unexpected changes. The Boardmix online whiteboard is flexible enough to assist with planning, monitoring, reporting, and resource management, covering the entire project lifecycle.

Boardmix’s template community offers ready-made templates like Production project management templates, including change management forms and risk management tables. These templates track project change history, change information, and root cause analysis, helping teams address various issues during changes. The template set also includes project task lists and status reports, with downloadable if needed.

These six steps outline how to create a project plan. A project plan is central to defining, organizing, prioritizing, and allocating activities and resources throughout the project lifecycle. It plays a crucial role in guiding project implementation.

Creating a project plan can be challenging, but using the Boardmix online whiteboard can make the process much more efficient. It helps teams develop better project plans initially and enhances team management and collaboration. The Boardmix community offers a wealth of project management templates, including project timelines, plans, and cases related to software development and operations, used by major companies, aiding teams in completing project tasks effectively.

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