Action Plans: 7 Frequently Asked Questions
Write your
Action Plan so that it is achievable,
measurable, and effective. When writing your next action plan to achieve
a particular goal or outcome, use the following guidelines to reach your
objective faster.
Action Plan -
Chapter 2, Management Structure
Action Plans: 7 Frequently Asked Questions
Keep it simple and focus on what
you want to achieve. Once you know this, write the Action Plan
to reflect where you want to go. Remember, to make this useful,
create goals, tasks, and measurements that are easy to
implement, assess and update.
1. What is your Goal?
Identify what is your
primary goal and write around this. One
suggestion is to use a white board and mind-map the tasks you need to
perform and use these are a reference point when creating the tasks.
Another tip is to create a pyramid with goal number 1 at the top, then
the second and work your way down.
2. When Do Actions Need To Be Performed?
Once you know what needs to be achieved,
list all the actions you need to perform to get there.
Say you want to increase Sales by twenty
percent. Or you want to apply for a new university. Create an Excel file
and enter each and every task you need to do to realize this goal. Leave
nothing out as they all need to be performed, regardless of how minor
they seem to be. It’s often the small things that trip us up,
right?
3. Why Is This a Priority?
Let’s say you have fifty tasks you need to
compete for the Sales project. At first it seems over-whelming. The list
runs to several pages when printed out! To make it more manageable,
assign High, Medium and Low to each task.
Use an Excel spreadsheet to create your Action Plan template so you can
filter the results and see your progress. As you execute the Action
Plan, update the template by changing the status column. You can also
use this for Project Management activities, such as Progress Reports.
4. Where Are Action Steps Most Needed?
Now that you know what needs to be done,
which is most important, the next step is to describe how to do each
step. This means you need to write the ‘action
steps’ so that others who are not familiar with the project,
can read the document and perform the tasks.
5. What is the Correct Sequence?
Check that that sequence of each step is
correct. This is to ensure that the tasks are performed in the correct
sequence and that the user does not get confused when trying to perform
the task. Where possible, collapse or merge tasks into the same
activity. However only do this when it benefits the document and makes
the plan more effective.
6. Who Should Monitor Results?
Once you have published the action plan,
see where it can be improved by gathering feedback and observing how
others use the plan.
Don’t expect your plan to be perfect the first
time. Make the corrections, update the document history, and
publish the revised version.
7. Where Can I Improve My Action Plan?
To make your Action Plan more useful, use
simple terms, positive language and keep each step focused on one
activity. See the
Business Process Tutorial for examples
of how to write action steps.
Conclusion
You can make your Action Plans more useful
when they are tied to specific goals. Where most projects fall into
difficulties is when the tasks cannot be performed by the right person
within the timeframes.
Next week, I will show you how to test you
Action Plan so they achieve the right results when implemented.
About the Author: Ivan
Walsh is a Business Plan Consultant who has worked for IBM, Intel and
NEC in the US, Europe and China. Get his
Action Plan Templates and
Free Business
Writing Tips here.
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