Integrated Planning and Implementation:
It is possible!
Traditional planning techniques concentrate on
understanding the drivers and opportunities for the business, leading to actions
to enhance or take advantage of them. Whilst valuable in themselves, those
techniques provide little assistance in translating the strategy into what
really needs to happen in the organisation to execute the strategy – in terms
of processes and projects, and the capabilities needed to undertake them.
We have developed an approach to this which allows us to
analyse an organisation or situation in such a way that the ultimate goals of
the organisation are linked through to the way the organisation interacts with
its customers.
All aspects of the approach are iterative – a “first
cut” can be done at a high level, for example, with more detailed analysis
following only as that is sensible (not just to tick the boxes). We also don’t
always start at the top and work down, often starting in the middle (or at the
bottom) and working up, as we seek clarity in terms of goals and interaction
model to more clearly determine exactly what does need to be in place, rather
than what has been done historically.
Key aspects of the approach are as follows:
Organisation Goals
These must be clearly established first, since all
activities are focused on achieving them. They typically come from the principal
stakeholder or funder who is providing the drive and vision for what they want
the future to look like.
The goals include not only the outcomes expected from the
organisation, but also the values which are to be applied in achieving the
outcomes, since those values can significantly effect the approach taken.
Where the goals, outcomes and values are clear then the
analysis is straight forward.
Business and
Stakeholder Interaction Model
This involves clearly understanding
what the business model and particularly how the organisation
interacts with its customers, suppliers and other relevant parties. This
includes what products or services are delivered and how,
or in some not for profit situations, how the organisation intervenes with
customers (or the population) to achieve the goals.
Traditional strategic analysis is a key contributor to
development or clarification of this model.
Processes
In a functioning organisation, there are three groups of
processes:
-
those which add value to the customer or enhance the
customer interaction activities
-
planning and management processes
-
support processes such as HR, financial and statistical
reporting, and information systems.
The processes within each area are identified and analysed
(often both in terms of the current state and the desired future state, but this
depends on the nature of the investigation) in terms of the following key
attributes:
-
Who?
-
Does what?
-
With what?
-
How?
-
To what standards?
-
Where?
Where it is important, each of the attributes can also be
also analysed in terms of their inherent flexibility ie the extent to which
changes in goals and customer interaction model can be accommodated.
Capabilities
Analysis of the existing or required processes then leads
us to a synthesis of the capabilities needed in the organisation to be able to
carry out those processes: organisation structure, location and functions;
personnel skills, experience, and training, tools, information, methodologies
and systems; and required service levels.
Plans can then be developed to put those capabilities in
place, or to enhance existing capabilities.
Projects
Some capabilities can be purchased or imported. Many,
particularly those involving information systems, require projects to develop the
capabilities.
Existing and proposed projects are thus subjected to
similar analysis as the processes to ensure there is a genuine linkage between
the capabilities being developed and the capabilities needed to support the
processes within the desired customer interaction model. Additionally, it is
important to ensure projects are managed as an investment, not operationally.
(Versions of this material have been published in various
forms and is copyright to Gofer Services Ltd and The Simpl Group Ltd)
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