“Core” Sequence of Planning
Information

(includes typical outline of planning document)

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation and
Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation.

One of the major functions of management is planning. There
are numerous types of plans, for example, business plans, strategic
plans, project plans, program plans — and on and on and on. (The
library topic “Planning” describes many of these types
of plans in business and management.) Most planning processes
typically use the same “core” sequence of planning activities.
The complexity and duplication of this “core” sequence
depends very much on the nature and needs of the organization.

Basic Sequence of Planning Information
Sequence in a Large Organization
Sequence in a Small Organization
Typical Outline of Planning Document

Also consider
Related Library Topics

“Core”
Sequence of Planning Information

At the core of most planning processes is the same
basic sequence of planning information, including:

What goals are to be achieved (Goals are usually major accomplishments,
results, outcomes, or “end states” to be achieved.
It’s ideal if goals can be worded such that it’s obvious whether
they’ve been reached or not.)
Who’s responsible to reach the goal
How they will reach the goal (that is, what strategies, or
methods, they will use)
When they will reach the goal

The complexity of the sequence depends very much on the nature
and needs of the organization.

Sequence for
a Large Organization

The strategic planning document for a large, multi-national
organization can be many pages long, with numerous overall goals,
associated strategies/methods to reach the goals, associated objectives/milestones
along the way while implementing the methods, and listings of
who’s responsible to achieve each objective and by when.

In the various divisions in that large company, the above sequence
might be repeated again, but on a somewhat smaller scale. In departments
in the division, the above sequence might be repeated again, but
on a somewhat smaller scale, etc.

The following sequence might be typical to each of top levels
of this type of large organization.

Each overall goal that should have be reached when the plan
is implemented (for levels other than the very top level of the
organization, each overall goal is usually directly associated
with overall goals of the next-higher-up level of the organization)
Who is primarily responsible to reach each overall goal
Overall methods/strategies to be used to reach each overall goal
Who is primarily responsible to implement each method/strategy
Specific objectives/milestones to be achieved along way to
each overall goal
Who is primarily responsible to achieve each objective
Specific methods/tactics to be used to achieve each objective
Who is primarily responsible to implement each method/tactic
For each objective, a date when the objective should be reached
For each objective, a section to provide status on the progress
toward reaching that objective
For each objective, a section to provide comments about status.

Sequence in
a Small Organization

A small organization might use the following sequence.

Each overall goal that should have be reached when the plan
is implemented
Who is primarily responsible to reach each overall goal
Overall methods/strategies to be used to reach each overall
goal
Specific objectives/milestones to be achieved along way to
each overall goal
For each objective, a date when the objective should be reached
For each objective, a section to provide status on the progress
toward reaching that objective
For each objective, a section to provide comments about status.

Typical Outline
of Planning Document

Executive Summary

One- to two-page section that highlights important points
from the plan (this summary is not a listing of the plan’s
contents — that’s a Table of Contents)
Purpose of the plan
Results the plan is intended to achieve when completed
Who has primary responsibility for ensuring the plan is completed
Key roles of others in the organization, for example, for
authorization, reviews, etc.
When the plan will be started and completed
Might include who has copies of the plan
Might include who can be contacted with questions, etc.
Might include descriptions of who was involved in the planning
and what planning process was used
Might include very brief wording about structure of
plan and how to use it

Introduction

This section usually includes more information about key
topics than was included in the Executive Summary, including
who has primary responsibility for implementation of the plan,
when the plan will start and stop, who can be contacted for information
about the plan, how to use the plan, etc.

Description of the Organization (description of the larger
context of the plan)

Overall mission of organization, or description of major
function that this plan contributes to

Goals, Objectives, Responsibilities and Timelines

(As noted above, the extent of this section depends on the
nature and needs of the organization. This section is often best
depicted in the form of a table.)

Procedure to Monitor Implementation of the Plan

Description of when the plan will be reviewed
Who will review the plan
Description of what will be considered during review of the
plan

Appendices

Description of the planning process that was used
Listing of who was involved
Any supplemental information, such as budgets, etc.
Authorization lists of who can have copies of the plan and
who has copies now, etc.
Recommendations to improve the planning process in the future

For the Category of Planning and Project Management:

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.

“Core” Sequence of Planning Information