Need Help Writing an "Action Plan"

[naaman]

I have presented a problem with the processes we use at work to my boss, along with a solution that I think will solve the problem, and will cost $0 to implement. Of course, when I presented it to the "committee," they all started adding on their ideas (which would require capital dollars... or some dollars from some part of the budget, anyway...).

My boss liked the idea and wants me to write an action plan for it. This is above my pay-grade, so I'm not really sure where to start. In the power point that I put together, I included all the details and necessary changes in the order they would need to be implemented, so I am not sure what else to do.

I do not know how long it takes to get the different parts of this corporate machine moving, so when I plug in dates for the various steps of the project, I have no idea whether they are realistic.

Does anyone have a shortcut or a format that they use for writing action plans? Should it be a power point? An email? A memo? My boss liked my initiative, but I'm left kinda scratching my head here.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Speedmaster]

I have presented a problem with the processes we use at work to my boss, along with a solution that I think will solve the problem, and will cost $0 to implement. Of course, when I presented it to the "committee," they all started adding on their ideas (which would require capital dollars... or some dollars from some part of the budget, anyway...).

My boss liked the idea and wants me to write an action plan for it. This is above my pay-grade, so I'm not really sure where to start. In the power point that I put together, I included all the details and necessary changes in the order they would need to be implemented, so I am not sure what else to do.

I do not know how long it takes to get the different parts of this corporate machine moving, so when I plug in dates for the various steps of the project, I have no idea whether they are realistic.

Does anyone have a shortcut or a format that they use for writing action plans? Should it be a power point? An email? A memo? My boss liked my initiative, but I'm left kinda scratching my head here.

Any help is appreciated.

Do the action plan in two parts. First, write a one-pager with bullets. Define the mission (i.e. what is the action you are contemplating and why) and then give broad yet specific action items. The detail is in your second document. This one again starts with an overview (mission, who, what when where and why) and then goes into the specific actions with more explanation behind. One is a quick reference document (high level, maybe even tacked up on a board, monitor, etc.) the other is a more like a tech manual (the how-to, and explanation why).

For example. Page one...paragraph one...define what it is you want to do. Paragraph two starts with saying that the following actions are what are needed to complete/successfully finish what you are doing. Final paragraph should outline how you will monitor and report the results.

 

[dquarasr2]

My boss liked the idea and wants me to write an action plan for it. This is above my pay-grade, so I'm not really sure where to start. In the power point that I put together, I included all the details and necessary changes in the order they would need to be implemented, so I am not sure what else to do.

I do not know how long it takes to get the different parts of this corporate machine moving, so when I plug in dates for the various steps of the project, I have no idea whether they are realistic.

Any help is appreciated.

First, don’t over think it.

Translate the changes required into actual actionable steps that will be taken to effect the changes. Every action step should include a verb.

“Analyze . . . ”
“Create procedures document for . . . “
“Obtain approval . . . “

Then assign whom should do each individual task. Try to think of every individual step, but don’t go too far so that it becomes unmanageable. For instance, you can say “Analyze the current process” but you can also break that down further into “List each current action step”; “Review with department heads to ensure the steps are correct”; “Create document with each current action step”; “Email to department heads for final review”. As you can see, you can go too far with this. But in the back of your mind you’d need to think of the discrete steps so when you estimate the effort required (how many hours sitting down and working on it) and the duration (how many days or weeks would it require to expend that effort), you have a good idea of what it takes to do the step you are describing.

Then there’s this: for each step you list, you’d want input from the people you anticipate assigning to the task. That way you get a more accurate estimate.

And this: you’ll need to obtain commitment from the people you will be assigning the work to, so you can then have confidence that it will actually be worked on. And you’ll need to know how much time per week the people assigned can actually work on it. It does no good to say something will take a week if the person you assign it to can only devote 4 hours per week on it. Forty hours of work, being worked on exclusively will get done in a week. Forty hours of work applying only four hours per week takes 10 weeks to finish.

Lastly, think of task dependencies, like, a particular task can’t start until another predecessor task is finished. For instance, you can’t approve a document before you’ve written it.

One last thing: document your assumptions. If you don’t know something for sure, make it an assumption, like “these estimates were not developed by the persons that are anticipated to do the work”, or “this plan does not take into account people’s vacation schedules”.

In summary:
List the tasks to a manageable level of detail.
Put them in logical and dependency order.
Estimate effort for each task.
List the people that should be assigned to each task.
Obtain commitment from each of the persons assigned, and their availability.
Estimate duration of each task.
Document your assumptions.

You can use Excel for this. There are other tools like Microsoft Project, but casual users will pull their hair out. You have to know how it works before you can leverage the power of that tool.

Don’t know if this helps or if it’s overkill.

Doug, PMP

 

[naaman]

Oh, man. Thanks, guys.

It seems that some of what the plan requires, I have already intuitively done (talked to people whom the plan would affect, received feedback from frontline and lower and upper management, etc). Seems like I just have to sit down and grind out the details.

They love power points around here, so maybe I'll work it up as a PP presentation.

 

[docjohn]

providing a cost savings to "the company" without increasing the income of those involved can sometimes lead to a certain amount of apathy to the ideas...food for thought.

 

[naaman]

Great point. Although the purpose was to normalize standards across the department by adjusting (fixing) what I see as a problem. So rather than saving the company money, I'm trying to solve a problem without costing any money. Of course, my boss wants to spend money to implement my plan... but that's his call.