Operations Planning: Delivering Innovation
Strategic planning establishes the vision for the company but operations planning is responsible for ensuring that the goals are achieved. Each team (or department, etc.) is responsible for establishing what activities and strategies are needed to achieve the goals within their respective areas. Operations planning takes the goals established in the strategic plan and takes it to the next level; where the customers are served.
Article Content
The differences between strategic and operations planning are well explained elsewhere so only a brief overview is provided below. Understanding these differences can help the teams understand the connection between these two models, as well as the interdependency that exists when guiding planning initiatives and efforts.
| Strategic Plan | Operations Plan |
| Mission, Vision | Objectives |
| SWOT | Activities/ Strategies |
| Goals | Measurement |
| KPI’s | Resources |
| Schedule | |
| Reporting & Tracking |
The project management methodology can be used to support the development (and implementation) of your department’s operations planning.
The model provided below is built on the five project management process groups:
- Initiation
- Planning
- Execution
- Monitoring & Controlling,
- Closing
Download the project management playbook (2019) for free. Provides a high level overview of project management best practices and core knowledge areas.
Opeations Planning Framework
Each process group builds upon the former and informs the latter process group.
The components within each process group will vary depending on the industry (and vary with project complexity), but certain common standards are witnessed across all industries.
The following sections provide a generic framework for supporting your company’s operations planning project.
The components within each process group will vary depending on the industry (and vary with project complexity), but certain common standards are witnessed across all industries.
Project Schedule GANTT for Operations Planning
The following sections provide a generic framework for supporting your company’s operations planning project.
| Phase | Component |
| INITIATION | Status update |
| Review strategic plan | |
| Confirm priorities, goals, metrics | |
| PLANNING | Stakeholder engagement, confirm roles |
| Readiness & Gap assessment | |
| EXECUTION | Document Operations Plan |
| Develop Training Module | |
| MONITORING & CONTROLLING | Facilitate Training to Support Strategies |
| Facilitate sub training to Support Use of Tools & Models | |
| Implement Strategies, Evaluate, & Report | |
| CLOSEOUT | Lessons Learned |
| Closeout | |
| Initiate Next Stage |
Project Management includes ten knowledge groups (PMBOK) to help build momentum, sustain alignment, and support performance throughout the project lifecycle. These knowledge groups include the following:
These competencies also help strengthen the identification and evaluation of goals, performance, and implementation of the operations plan. Building these into the operations planning process represents a significant step towards role modeling the competencies and skills needed to be successful during the plan’s implementation.
Project Plan Components
A formal structure to operations planning involves a proactive process of identifying, evaluating, and confirming the elements that will be needed to be successful .
- Charter
- RACI Matrix/ Comm Plan
- Schedule
- Resource Plan
- Budget
- Reporting Dashboards
Failing to follow a structured process may seem efficient at the beginning but history has shown that a lot of details are left out of the planning process, and document, as a result.
Understanding the environment, customers, stakeholders, and product/service constraints is crucial if the plan is to produce sustainable and effective results
The project owner, team, and stakeholders must be identified early in the project cycle is to remain informed and on track. This means defining the scope and requirements for the project as early as possible and confirm resource are available throughout the lifecycle of the project.
Stakeholder Engagement & Planning Tools
The following list of tools represent significant assets to guiding the project goals, strategies, and efforts. Use them wisely and your operations planning outputs will benefit. This includes tying the operations plan to preexisting strategic plans.
- Surveys
- Documentation
- Data Records
- Previous Ops/Strat Plans
- Working Groups/ Committee
- Meetings
- Milestone Reviews & Stage Gates
Using meetings, milestones, and stage gate reviews to monitor progress to date; and using project data and stakeholder feedback to maintain engagement, alignment, and optimum performance key performance indicators (KPI’s) are met.
Pace the planning, evaluation, coordination, and task execution process with the availability of resources, level of team engagement, and quality of the project’s performance. Projects continue to need to remain on budget and schedule but without a focus on quality (includes process, outputs, and inputs) the results may prove ineffective.
Operations Planning Tools
The inputs, processes, and outputs of the operations planning process each serve a purpose. To improve corporate performance, employee capacity to innovate, and customer satisfaction. Use the following interactive planning tool to document your preliminary operations plan. Print this document and use it to create an agenda and guide the operations vision and strategic roadmap with your team. Circulate it for feedback, update it, and then implement it!
Check out the interactive article, Knowledge Management in Sharepoint!
Travis Barker, MPA GCPM
Innovate Vancouver
Consulting@innovatevancouver.org
Innovate Vancouver is a business development & consulting service and technology startup located in Vancouver, BC. Contact Innovate Vancouver to help with your new project. Innovate Vancouver also gives back to the community through business consulting services. Contact us for more details.