The main goals of developing a business plan. The essence, principles and methods of developing plans Control questions and tasks

As already noted, a business plan for creating a business is a plan for creating an enterprise, a description of the proposed business, a documentary justification of the profitability of the project being created.

The main purpose of developing a business plan for creating a business is planning economic activity the created enterprise for the nearest and distant periods in accordance with the needs of the market and the possibilities of obtaining the necessary resources. The business plan should reflect the justification for the costs and profitability of the business being created.

However, this goal is not the only one. Along with the main, defining goal of drawing up a business plan, the following, no less important goals are distinguished:

Reduce the risk of starting a new business;

Attract the interest of potential investors (sponsors, creditors);

Understand the degree of reality of achieving the intended results;

Show potential investors the feasibility of creating a new enterprise;

The business plan as a whole is considered a tool for obtaining financing (loans, investments). He informs the investor about the state of affairs of the entrepreneur;

The business plan helps to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed business, to assess the risks;

It is important to consider the business plan as the planning process itself and as a tool for internal management;

The goals of creating a business plan are also divided into internal and external goals.

Internal goals - testing their own knowledge, understanding of the market environment, as well as gaining experience. It is very important for the investor to understand the strategic goals, characteristics, competitive environment, strengths and weaknesses of a particular investment project, its possible effectiveness under given conditions.

The internal goals of drawing up a business plan are:

1) Development of a strategy for creating a new enterprise.

Strategic in-house planning is carried out through the implementation of a number of stages:

Setting the strategic goals of the enterprise;

Determination of a set of alternative directions for the development of the enterprise to achieve the set goals;

Determination of the resources required for the implementation of each of the alternative directions of enterprise development;

Evaluation and comparison of the effectiveness of options for the development of the enterprise;

Selection of the most effective option from the entire set of alternative directions for the development of the enterprise;

Assessment of the need for additional funding for the implementation of the selected option;

All essential information resulting from strategic planning is reflected in the business plan.

2) Providing the ability to control the implementation of the strategy developed.

As a basis for comparison, a business plan allows you to identify deviations from a given course of action, determine the causes of these deviations and plan actions to eliminate them.

Thus, a business plan is effective tool for enterprise management. Having drawn up a business plan, you can predict the situation for the future with higher accuracy.

External the purpose of drawing up a business plan is to attract financing from external sources in the form of investments or borrowed funds, to attract attention from investors and the bank, to convince them of a sufficient level of efficiency of the investment project and a high level of enterprise management.

Every investor will want to evaluate the profitability of investing in the proposed investment project and assess the ratio of the possible return on the project and the riskiness of investments, and The best way for this - to study and analyze the business plan of the investment project.

A business plan is essentially - business card investment project. It gives the investor an answer to the question of whether it is worth investing in this investment project and under what conditions it will be most effective at an acceptable level of risk for the investor.

In accordance with the goals, there are four main tasks of the business plan:

Task 1. To study the capacity and prospects of the future sales market.

Task 2. Estimate the costs required to manufacture and market a product or service and measure it against the prices at which you can sell your products to determine potential profitability.

Task 3. Find the "pitfalls" that await a new business in the first years of its existence.

Task 4. Determine those indicators by which it will be possible to regularly determine - whether the business is on the rise or roll to collapse.

The creation of new projects involves preliminary economic justification business feasibility, subsequent planning necessary costs to achieve the expected outcomes. Business planning allows economists-managers not only to substantiate the need to develop a particular investment project, but also makes it possible to implement it in the current market conditions.

Business plans are primarily intended to facilitate the entry of highly competitive types of goods and services into the market. Consequently, any business project must have an appropriate business plan to justify the optimal performance of the production and sale of goods and services.

A business plan has four main functions:

The first is related to the possibility of using it to develop a business strategy.

This feature is especially needed when setting up a new business. A business plan is a document that allows you to determine the course of action and manage the business. Therefore, it can be presented as an integral element of strategic planning and as a guide for execution and control.

The second function is planning. It allows you to assess the development opportunities of the chosen direction of activity.

The third function allows you to attract cash... The business plan is the main document when submitting a loan application to the bank. A business plan is an effective tool for attracting investments, since it allows not only to assess the profitability of a future investment project, but also allows an investor to determine the size of investments, sources of return on funds and the payback period of a future business project.

The fourth function allows you to attract potential partners to the implementation of the plans of the enterprise who wish to invest in production equity or the technology they have. The solution to the issue of providing capital, resources and technology is possible only if there is a business plan that reflects the course of development of the enterprise for a certain period of time.

A business plan is a document that describes aspects of a future commercial enterprise, analyzes the problems that it may face, and also sets out ways to solve them. The business plan, ultimately, must determine the possible cost of the project and projected income. Every entrepreneur should know how much it will cost new project and will this business bring income, and if so, when and what is the degree of risk? The answers to these questions of rational management in complex market relations are provided by a correctly drawn up business plan.

Drawing up a business plan is the first step of every aspiring entrepreneur in the field of innovation, economic, commercial or investment activities.

A business plan is needed for those who will invest in an investment project. The main purpose of a business plan is to prove to the investor that the business idea outlined in it is promising and profitable. And for banks, the main thing is to understand where the company will get the necessary funds from to repay the loan in full and on time. For the enterprise itself, a business plan is, from a professional point of view, a way to understand the prospects of a future business and assess the volume of investments.

A business plan is drawn up in order to effectively plan a business and is one of the main management tools for a created enterprise, which determines the profitability of its activities.

For a ship that has no course

no wind will be fair.

Ancient Roman philosopher

and statesman Seneca

How to start developing a strategic plan?

What sections must be present in strategic plan?

What methods should be used to check the correctness of the strategic development plan?

How to analyze the external and internal context of the organization?

How to formulate a mission and develop strategies for the development of the organization?

How to develop a business plan for the development of an organization?

How to ensure the implementation of the strategic development plan?

How to ensure the relationship between strategies, business development plans and budgets of the organization?

A company that does not have strategic development goals and specific plans to achieve them is doomed to follow current events with very vague prospects for the future. But the development of a correct strategic development plan requires high competencies and skills from management, since it involves not so much the calculation of indicators of economic activity as a forecast of business dynamics, taking into account the risks and opportunities associated with both the external and internal context of the organization.

You can often come across the opinion that strategic planning necessary big companies, which have already declared themselves as leaders in their market segment and are confidently looking into the future.

But, firstly, any company has a specific goal for its activities and at least an approximate business plan. And these are already the elements of strategic planning.

Secondly, even novice entrepreneurs estimate the size of the market in which they are going to work, competitive environment and their opportunities to enter this market. That is, they are engaged in strategic analysis, which is also one of the components of strategic planning.

In other words, most small and medium-sized companies in fact also use strategic planning, but, unlike large players in the market, they do this unsystematically and not in full.

And in large companies it happens that the strategic development plans developed with great expenditure of time and effort remain only plans. Many external and internal factors, the most common of them are the lack of integrity in the planning methodology and the violation of the relationship between strategies, business development plans and company budgets.

We offer a methodology for developing the most effective strategic development plan and recommendations that will help to avoid possible risks erroneous forecasts, we will tell you about the sequence of the formation of a strategic development plan, we will reveal the relationship of the context, goals and resources of the company, which should be reflected in the strategic development plan.

Of course, the strategic plans for the development of large, medium and small companies will differ due to the difference in the scale of economic activity, the specifics of the business, complexity organizational structure and business processes.

But in any case, a well-developed strategic development plan is formed on the basis of successively implemented stages:

Analysis of the external and internal context of the organization

The performance of any company is influenced by many different factors. Without understanding the degree of their impact, it is impossible to work out the correct strategic direction for the company's development.

The company itself also affects the external environment (context) - the market for products, suppliers, buyers, partners, regulatory authorities, etc.

Note!

How successfully the company's strategy will be implemented depends largely on its ability to organize the internal environment (context), which includes business processes, organization resources, personnel, structure and production technologies, as well as corporate culture and principles.

The totality of factors of the internal context of a company by and large determines its competitiveness.

Therefore, before developing a mission and strategy, it is necessary to conduct strategic analysis the external and internal context of the company, the result of which should be an assessment of the risks and opportunities of a particular company in the market environment surrounding it.

The 3 most common methods of strategic analysis:

SWOT analysis;

construction of matrixes "Probability / Impact";

formation of a register of risks and opportunities.

The purpose of the SWOT analysis (Strength - strength, Weak - weakness, Opportunity - opportunities and Threat - threats) is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the company, to establish their links with external opportunities and threats.

Based on the results of the analysis, the company's strategies are developed, aimed at seizing opportunities and eliminating threats to development.

Probability / Impact matrices are built separately to position the capabilities of the company's external environment and to position threats to the company's external environment.

In each matrix, opportunities and threats are distributed according to the likelihood of their occurrence and the strength of the impact on the company.

Matrices help control external factors and develop business development strategies.

The formation of a register of risks and opportunities involves a more detailed analysis in comparison with the two previous methods. First, the risks and opportunities of both the external and internal contexts of the company are identified. Further, the identified risks and opportunities are assessed in terms of the likelihood of their occurrence and the degree of impact on the company's business. Then a matrix of risks and opportunities is formed, which reflects the cumulative degree of influence of the assessed risks and opportunities (“High”, “Medium”, “Low”). The final stage- drawing up a register of risks and opportunities. It records all the risks and opportunities that are significant for the company, ways to minimize and implement them (in fact, these are the company's strategies), as well as the responsible (owners) of each of the risks and opportunities.

Output

When choosing a development strategy for a company, you should focus on your own strengths(high quality products, service maintenance buyers, positive business reputation) to take advantage of business expansion opportunities (increase sales, launch a new type of product, provide additional services buyers).

At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen its weaknesses (depreciation of funds, insufficient qualifications of personnel, dependence on loans) in order to minimize the risk of implementation external threats(rising prices for raw materials, strengthening competitive struggle on the market, decrease in consumer demand).

Development of the mission and development strategies of the organization

To understand in which direction to move, develop, a company should first of all determine its mission, that is, the main purpose of its existence.

The mission of the organization necessarily reflects the field of activity and its final goal... Based on the adopted mission, the development strategies of the company are developed, which will ensure the fulfillment of the mission.

Development strategies, firstly, should cover all aspects of the company's mission, and secondly, they should not deviate from its meaning.

Compliance with the first condition is necessary for the successful implementation of the company's mission, the second - in order not to divert the resources and efforts of the company to solve problems that do not serve the fulfillment of the company's mission.

When developing strategies for the development of a company, it is necessary to carefully check their relationship with the approved mission.

Since the development strategies within the company are global in nature and their implementation requires the efforts of all divisions of the company, it is necessary to translate them into the strategies of individual divisions so that managers and personnel of each division clearly know their goals and objectives for implementation. overall strategy companies.

In addition, dividing the company's strategy into divisional strategies ensures that the correct targets execution of the strategy. Agree, if a company has one target for all, which is the result of the work of several departments, it’s impossible to understand which of them did not complete its part of the work and who is to blame for not reaching the overall target.

An example of such a broadcast for the Volga company is as follows (Fig. 2).

We formulate the strategic development goals of the company

However, the formation of a strategic development plan for the company is not limited to the development of a mission and strategies. In addition to the direction of action itself (i.e. strategy), it is also necessary to develop criteria for success (targets) and ways to achieve them (business development plans). Only in this case, you can be sure that the company has a clear program for fulfilling its mission, supported by action plans and the calculation of the resources necessary for their implementation.

Strategic goals (or key targets) should be specific and measurable, so that at the end of any period it is clear how the strategy has been implemented and what the dynamics of its implementation are.

For example, if such a target indicator of the strategy, as an increase in sales volumes, can be expressed as a percentage increase to the volume of the previous period or in a specific amount. And if the goal is the implementation of an activity, then the estimated completion date of this activity should be indicated as an indicator of its achievement.

Strategic goals are set, as a rule, for a year and subsequently adjusted according to the actual results of the company.

To visualize the indicators of the implementation of development strategies, use a map of strategic goals, which indicates:

general company strategies;

divisional strategies;

key areas of strategy implementation;

target for each of the strategies;

the owner of the target (the unit responsible for implementing the strategy).

An example of a strategic goal map is in table. 1.

We develop a business plan for the development of the organization

One of the most important sections strategic development enterprises - a business plan of the company's activities for the forecast period.

4 key functions business plan:

Transforms strategic development goals into indicators of the company's financial and economic activities for the forecast period.

Serves as a source of verification of the feasibility of the developed strategies (by comparing the forecast indicators to the resource potential of the company).

It is the basis for the development of budgets for the company as a whole and its divisions for the year.

Acts as a guideline for adjusting the company's development strategies for subsequent periods.

Typically, business plans are made for a period of three to five years, there are options for up to ten years.

The main criteria for choosing a strategic planning period are the current market situation and the position of the company. For example, if the market situation is sufficiently stable and the company is successfully operating on it already long time, she can afford to predict the results on long term based on the "strategy of success".

If the market is in a fever and the company does not feel stable enough, it is forced to work according to a "survival strategy", in which long-term forecasting is impractical due to the uncertainty of the further development of the situation. In this case, a business plan is drawn up for a period of one to three years.

The business plan of the Volga company for a three-year period - in table. 2.

As evidenced by the data in the business plan, the company's strategies and targets are realistic and achievable. The Volga company conducts profitable business, its operating income is fairly balanced and allows it to maintain a given rate of return while increasing sales.

Due to the growth of net profit, the company can also solve the problem of high dependence on external financing by investing the obtained profit in replenishment of working capital for doing business.

Ensuring the relationship between strategies, business development plans and budgets of the organization

Ideally, a company, when developing a strategic development plan, must ensure the relationship between strategies, business development plans and budgets of the company and divisions. This relationship guarantees successful implementation strategic plan, because the target indicators of the company's strategies will be tied to the parameters of the business development plan, on the basis of which all the company's budgets are planned. Consequently, the implementation of budgetary tasks will lead to the achievement of the company's strategic goals. Visually, this relationship is shown in Fig. 3.

Using the example of the strategic development plan of the Volga company that we are considering, let us trace whether there is a relationship between the above plans.

In the final part of the strategic plan for the development of the enterprise, include a description of risk management methods, since in long-term planning, the level of uncertainty increases simultaneously with an increase in the planning horizon.

While it is quite possible to achieve a high level of data accuracy and to ensure the interconnection of all planning elements when making a forecast for the year, a significant number of assumptions and assumptions have to be made when developing a strategic plan for five years. Therefore, all interested parties (owners, management, management) will not be superfluous to understand, when agreeing on a strategic plan, what risks may hinder its implementation and what the company can do to minimize their occurrence.

Output

A complete strategic plan for the development of the enterprise includes the following sections:

• The results of the analysis of the external and internal context of the organization at the time of the development of the plan.
• Description current activities and long-term development objectives of the organization.
• Description of the company's mission and development strategies.
• Functional strategies divisions of the company.
• Description of projects for the development of the company.
• Business plans for the implementation of development projects.
• Description of risk management methods for the implementation of the strategic plan.

The development of a strategic development plan is the basis for choosing the long-term goals of the enterprise and ways to achieve them. Strategic planning helps to effectively allocate and use the company's resources to achieve the main goals and objectives for the implementation of the chosen mission.

Please note: it is necessary to systematically monitor the approved plan so that it does not lose its relevance, and to revise the company's strategies, since the market situation and internal processes of the company can change significantly under the influence of factors that did not manifest themselves at the time of the development of the strategic plan. It is better to identify the inefficiency of the chosen path in time than to persist in wasting the time and resources of the company to achieve the goal that has lost its relevance.

Essentially, strategic planning is continuous process, during which the company must find the shortest and most effective path to success.

The development of a strategic plan includes the following steps:

• - setting goals long-term development enterprises and their downsizing to a set of tasks;
• - substantiation of the concept of long-term development of the enterprise, ensuring the achievement of the set goal;
• - determination of long-term forecasts for the development of the enterprise under various options for changing the external environment and the possibilities of changing the internal potential;
• - substantiation of the directions and indicators of the strategic plan for the development of the enterprise, including business plans for an investment or entrepreneurial project.

Let's take a closer look at each of these stages.

1st stage- the formation of goals for the long-term development of the enterprise is very important, since when justifying the goal, the long-term results of the enterprise are anticipated, the most general guidelines and mission of the enterprise's development are formed.

Basic rules for justifying the goal:

• - must be specific and understandable (measurability of the goal);
• - must be achievable in the foreseeable future (realistic goal);
• - can be disaggregated into a set of tasks that ensure the achievement of the goal, ie, be able to build a "tree of goals" (comparability of goals and objectives);
• - should formalize the mission (main functional purpose) of the enterprise in the long term (specificity of the goal).

The goal is formulated by top management and predetermines the concentration of efforts on its implementation. The importance of defining goals stems from the fact that they:

• - are the foundation for planning, management, organization, coordination and control;
• - determine the prospects of doing business;
• - serve as a guide in the formation of the company's image.

There are eight key areas within which an enterprise sets goals:

• 1. Market position (share and competitiveness).
• 2. The innovativeness of the production processes and the sale of products and services.
• 3. The profitability of the enterprise.
• 4. Resource intensity of products and services and the possibility of additional attraction of resources.
• 5. Mobility of management: organizational structures, forms and methods of interaction, motivation, etc.
• 6. The qualification structure of the personnel and the possibility of its change.
• 7. Social consequences of changes and their impact on the level of enterprise development.
• 8. Ability to quantify the goal. The formulated goal is disaggregated through a set of tasks, then the tasks are detailed to measures that are concretized into target standards and indicators that determine the ideal future state of the enterprise. An example of target disaggregation is shown in Fig. 4.

Rice. 4. An example of building a "tree of goals"

• 2nd stage. Substantiation of the concept of long-term development. The concept as a system of views on the prospects of the enterprise is based on future opportunities and risks, and is also based on resource potential the future (technology, equipment, personnel, etc.). The implementation of this goal involves taking into account three basic conditions in substantiating the concept:
  • - the stability of economic relations both within the enterprise and in the external environment;
  • - the efficiency of the enterprise at all stages of its development;
  • - innovativeness of strategic directions.

These conditions for defining the concept of enterprise development are based on three main approaches:

• - minimization of the costs of production and sale of products and services and the formation on this basis competitive advantages- a very vulnerable strategy, especially for enterprises;
• - a high level of specialization and, on this basis, an increase in the quality characteristics of products and services; basic service or products with the subsequent diversification of related and additional services that provide a "synergy" effect due to the complexity and mutual support of the production system, promotion and sale of products and services;
• - focusing on only one market segment with the study of its needs and specialization for their maximum satisfaction.

Based on this, four groups of basic conceptual strategies are distinguished:

• - strategy concentrated growth- includes plans to strengthen positions in the market; search for new markets for existing goods and services; upgrading a product or service to market it;
• - growth strategy by increasing the number of structures (integrated growth), including horizontal mergers of enterprises of one market segment, production or sales (creation of a network of enterprises of the same profile); vertical mergers along the production-distribution-sale chain, carried out under different organizational and legal conditions; conglomerative mergers of enterprises from different spheres of the economy in order to diversify the types of activities);
• - diversified growth strategy through the production of new goods and services;
• - reduction strategy - includes a liquidation plan when the company is unable to maintain existing business therefore it sells all or part of its business.

In addition, enterprise strategies are categorized by levels:

• - corporate - presupposes strengthening of positions in the market, formation of corporate interests and goals, culture;
• - business (business strategy) - is developed by types and areas of activity based on the corporate strategy;
• - functional - managerial, i.e. substantiation of approaches to ensure effective management on the implementation of business strategies;
• - operating room - includes the strategy of logistics, commerce, production, sales, ensuring the implementation of the business business strategy.
• 3rd stage. Development of forecasts for the long-term development of the enterprise (at least three options). Forecasting the development of an enterprise takes into account changes in the external environment, which implies:
  • - determination of the potential of the market and its conjuncture;
  • - changes in quality needs for products and services;
  • - growth of incomes of the population and directions of its use (as a growth factor);

change in the internal environment:

• - growth in production and sales of products and services;
• - qualitative and quantitative changes in the resource potential;
• - competitiveness and sustainability of the enterprise.

Forecasting can be carried out according to trend models, according to target standards, using economic and mathematical, simulation and network modeling.

The practical tasks of modeling are:

• - analysis and forecasting of the economic situation inside and outside the enterprise;
• - analysis and forecasting of sales markets and material and technical support;
• - preparation of planning decisions regarding the subsequent activities of the enterprise.

Each of the methods gives its own version of the forecast, which are subsequently compared, analyzed, evaluated from the point of view of the possibility of the development of the enterprise under different options, the degree of controllability of the forecast indicators is determined. There should be at least three forecast options: minimum, maximum and most probable.

It is advisable to develop forecasts for periods exceeding the periods of the long-term (strategic) plan.

4th stage. The development of a long-term plan involves the assessment and selection of the most effective and realistic version of the forecast, its specification. In the long term, goals and strategies are expressed in targets and targets (in an enlarged form, sometimes in limiting values).

The range of long-term (strategic) plans includes:

• 1. Company-wide consolidated strategic plan:
  • - a company-wide business portfolio, which determines the prospects for the types of business, areas of activity of the enterprise;
  • - strategies and key indicators of enterprise development, taking into account the goals and forecast calculations;
  • - a plan for strategic transformations (changing the types and objects of activity; creating a network of enterprises, etc.).
• 2. Plans by type of business:
  • - business portfolios by type of business and areas of activity;
  • - the main indicators of the development of types of business;
  • - plans for new products and technologies.
• 3. Strategic plans for the development of functional areas of the enterprise:
  • - commercial activities;
  • - production development;
  • - development of material and technical supply;
  • - development of complex functional areas of activity (marketing, personnel, etc.).
• 4. Plan for improving the organizational structure and legal form enterprises:
  • - a plan for the reorganization of the enterprise as legal entity(taking into account changes in tasks to be solved, volumes and structure of economic activity);
  • - reengineering (redesign) of the organizational structure of the enterprise:
  • 5. Plans for improving the management system (leadership):
  • - placement and reserve of leading personnel;
  • - personnel development;
  • - improving the organizational structure of management;
  • - improvement of the personnel incentive system;
  • - development information system management.

This approximate list of strategic (long-term) plans at each enterprise is specified taking into account the purpose and strategy of the enterprise's development, as well as taking into account the completeness and reliability of information characterizing the future conditions of its activities.

The draft strategic plan is brought up for discussion general meeting shareholders or other management bodies, where it is considered as the general direction in the activities of the enterprise. It is advisable to involve ordinary employees in the discussion to participate in the development of the most promising areas of activity. The strategic plan, approved by the supreme governing body, becomes prescriptive and is implemented in stages, mainly through the inclusion of strategic indicators in the current plans and ensuring their implementation.

Current planning is a short-term strategy that implements a long-term (strategic) plan. The current plan is being developed by:

• o in the development of the strategic plan;
• o as a rule, at all levels of government;
• o for a shorter period of time compared to the strategic plan;
• o to determine the results of the implementation of the strategy in a shorter period of time.

In the system of plans (strategic and current), the implementation of the strategy means:

• o definition of indicators current plans the work of the enterprise, taking into account their strategic values;
• o formation of procedures for the implementation of planned indicators with the definition of specific resources for them, justification of a set of tasks for each division of the enterprise;
• o planning of actions and development of timetables and schedules;
• o control over the progress of implementation of strategic and current plans.

Thus, the implementation of strategic (long-term) plans presupposes their interconnection with the current ones and the formation of a planning system at an enterprise with different time horizons.

Test questions and tasks

• 1. What tasks does strategic planning at the enterprise solve?
• 2. What are the main planning methods used in the development of an enterprise development strategy?
• 3. Name the types of strategies and their characteristics.
• 4. Describe the steps in developing a strategic plan.
• 5. How is the implementation of the tasks of the strategic plan organized?

All processes, concepts or objects begin somewhere. This moment of beginning happened a few days or years ago, and everything looked different - not the way it is now. Looking, for example, at the car, we understand that at the very beginning it was not like this: first an idea appeared, then this idea was conveyed to other people, which caused a discussion; designers joined the work, the assembly process was launched, and much more.

The above is a minor example. But he perfectly explains the essence - everything has a beginning.

Project management is no exception. As a complex chain of tasks and processes, it also starts somewhere. This first step is project plan.

In this article we will talk about the plan and the planning process, as well as clarify the points related to the question "How to create such a plan." We have highlighted 7 steps.

What is a project plan?

You may have noticed that apart from plan mentioned and The planning process... What's the difference between them? Everything is very simple.

Planning is a process, a discussion. During it, the scope of work, goals and the ways necessary to achieve them are clarified.

A plan is an official document containing all planning decisions, the approved volume, and costs. Its main functions are overseeing, facilitating communication between participants and scheduling.

When creating a project plan, the manager should already have key knowledge and skills. This increases the chances of its successful implementation. In addition, the prepared plan will help to anticipate and avoid unnecessary mistakes and wrong decisions, as well as help save time and reduce costs.

Project plan objectives

A well-prepared plan should answer the following questions.

Why?

The reasons why funds are allocated for the project should be clarified; what problem needs to be solved.

The question concerns the work that needs to be done to achieve the result and ultimate goals.

The question of the people involved, their roles and responsibilities; how they should be organized.

When?

This is about the schedule / duration of the project.

How to make a project plan?

Before starting to compile, the manager must be aware of the large number of questions that will arise throughout the project, and the answers to them. Each question can be highlighted separately. But it is still better to define common characteristic patterns and patterns. So, what does a manager need to do to draw up a project plan?

1. Communicate

The first step to success is communicating with the team about goals, participants, objectives, etc. The manager must know who is responsible for what task, about the timing, and also just about everything that happens in the project.

It is worth adding that communication is not only the first step. It is worth communicating throughout the project - this is the key to success.

2. Identify the participants and goals

Identifying all the participants in a project is sometimes difficult: there can be a lot of them. Moreover, they directly or indirectly, to a greater or lesser extent, can influence the project. That is why it is important to identify all those who directly influence the preparation of the plan and to take their wishes seriously.

Who can be a project participant:

• Customer- a person who directly finances and approves the work;
• Project manager- a person involved in planning with the subsequent creation, execution and control of the project;
• The project team that creates the final product. Team members participate in many important processes including development, quality assurance, design work, etc. They usually don't approve the project;
• End user;
• Other... This list can include a wide variety of people: risk analysts, procurement specialists, etc.

What can be done at this stage? Interview key stakeholders. This will help you understand what requirements are being set and what goals are worth achieving. Most effective way goal achievement is a SMART goal setting technique.

Conducting interviews also allows the manager to understand what problem the project is solving and why it is being funded at all.

This is our why question.

3. Determine the entire scope of work

Undoubtedly the most important part of any planning. Everything key points are highlighted and discussed here: rationale, product description, eligibility criteria, objectives and results, limitations, assumptions, valuation and some others. All project participants must come to full understanding and agreement at this stage. As soon as the discussion ends, everything important is recorded in a document, which records a description of the content and scope of the project.

This stage also reduces the risks of misunderstandings that can lead to the scale of the project.

This is our what question.

4. Define roles and responsibilities

One of the most important tasks of a manager is the distribution of tasks among team members. They need to know their roles and responsibilities. And, of course, one should not forget that teams are formed units with a certain number of participants.

This is our who question.

5. Schedule the project

This point is a direct continuation of the previous one. Once the roles and responsibilities have been assigned, the next step is to set the duration of work for each resource with start / end dates.

This is our when question.

At the same stage, the manager sets the key events, the critical path - in general, deals with the work schedule.

What tool to choose for working with a project?

6. Visualize the project plan with a Gantt chart

Note that some people refer to graphics as referring to the entire project. This is not entirely true. The visualized graph is just a part of the planning and the plan itself. The entire project is a more complex structure.

Use GanttPRO, an online tool for. With its help, the manager can:

• Create and distribute tasks;
• Set their duration with start and end dates.
• Establish dependencies between tasks. The manager keeps track of all events and knows when the completed task gives rise to the next one;
• Track the progress of individual events and the project as a whole;
• Determine the resources required to complete tasks;
• Set the cost of resources;
• Interact with team members and view all the changes they have made;
• Track key events;
• Visualize the critical path - the shortest amount of time required to complete a project.

GanttPRO Gantt charts make it easy to manage planning processes and draw up a project.

7. Manage your risks

All stages of a project can be at risk. Therefore, managing them is one of the most important points in planning.

An experienced manager is able not only to assess and anticipate such situations, but also to create a plan with ways to solve them. The team, in turn, must also know how to respond to any change.

What risks can arise?

• Optimistic expectations about time and costs;
• Poorly marked requirements and wishes;
• Poorly defined roles and responsibilities;
• Changes in requirements;
• New requirements;
• Budget cuts;
• Bad communication.

Let's summarize

There are no identical projects. One can be perfectly implemented without risks and rescheduling. Another may fail even if it has the same participants, costs, schedule, and goals. Risks and changes in the project are inevitable. But nevertheless, a well-planned scope of work, a schedule, assessed risks and excellent teamwork will help to facilitate the planning itself and draw up a plan. Then even difficult projects can be enjoyable.

Do you have experience in project planning?

Today there is a boom in setting and achieving goals. Is it good or bad? Do you need to strive for something or is it better to go with the flow of life, enjoying the opportunity not to strain? It's useless to argue. Goal setting and life planning – instruments that help to make the process of life-creation conscious and manageable. Whether to use this tool or not is our personal choice.

Targets set the direction of movement. But in order for the pursuit of the goal not to substitute for the true values ​​and desires, the goal must grow from roots. This means that goal setting should be consistent with what you expect from yourself and your life in the long run. Then you will not need to look for motivation, will and character,.

And the movement towards the goal, and even the result that you get when the goal has already been achieved - this is not the main point. Target- this is tool, which the when used correctly makes expectations of life that each of us has, reality.

When expectations from life and reality match, we are happy.... While aimless living each subsequent day not only turns life into a routine, but also increases the gap between our hidden and explicit desires and real life achievements, giving rise to envy, anger, inner misery.

It took me years to realize this. I followed the most usual path: first, cultivating the idea of ​​the imperfection of the environment and my own environment, then trying to change something, then falling into despair from hopelessness. I learned to skillfully set goals and achieve them. These were very "small" victories over myself, but they clearly formed in my mind a direct relationship between goal-setting and the result. The need for global changes came to me with the birth of my second son. I do not know exactly what then became the trigger that launched the desire for systematic, controlled changes, but I am grateful to that difficult period of my life, which set a new vector of development. Since then, goal setting and planning have become an indispensable and integral part of my conscious life.

It's easier to move forward with a plan. I very often compare plans with maps of the area, because a plan, like a map, helps you stay on track.

Without a plan, a "repetition" of already known proven behavioral patterns automatically works, and then no new results can be talked about due to the constant broadcast of old actions.

A simple example. Behind a month of gym work and a month of healthy eating. But there are no results. Not yet! There is no work plan for the year, where weight loss is correctly predicted.

What do most of us do in this case?

Is planning new program achieving a result?

No! Most give up this (at first and quickest glance) futile occupation and return to the old already known model of behavior. Although it is obvious that acting in the old way, you will definitely not achieve the new desired results: if you return to a sedentary-recumbent lifestyle and buns, you will not see a good figure! And it is also obvious that new goals projecting a different result, and new plans setting the order of new actions, working together, can lead to what you want!

Just like the goal, planning is a tool for programming movement towards outlined results.

How to make your development plan?

Planning begins with an awareness of life's expectations. Again, first understanding your own, and only then goals and plans. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing interest in the results without achieving them or, having achieved, disappointed.

Therefore, before starting planning first step- an understanding of the results to achieve which the main forces will be directed.

For a self-help plan, write down what you want out of life 25 years from now. Which of these achievements will you come to in 10, 5 years?

This work, seemingly simple at first glance, helps to understand what is really important and what (what accomplishments) we expect from ourselves.

Second step- awareness that any results are the result of regular work to achieve them. This process is described in detail.

Third step- strategy for achieving the result. This is a generalized plan for moving from current (today's) personal results to the desired ones. To better understand the essence of the issue, there is a special material "", for practicing the practical skills of the project "".

Fourth step- self-development plan for a year, month, week. The work plan for subsequent periods of time is part of the previous ones. For example, a work plan for a year is part of a five-year plan, a work plan for a month is part of an annual plan, and a weekly plan is a monthly one. These plans, tied to time (week, month, year), reflect specific deeds (actions), which together will lead to the desired result. For a better understanding and practical development skills in the project "" material "".

For planning to become, rather than a one-off sketch, it is important that daily activities are subordinated to the achievement of greater desired life results. To do this, in accordance with priorities, a strategic long-term plan is being built, reflecting the major stages of movement towards goals, according to our life expectations. It is concretized by the tactics of daily affairs, which together, step by step, will consistently lead to global results.

All of the above can be illustrated by an understandable example.

You dream of building your own home. So far, this is a dream, on the basis of which you set a goal that in four years you will build a two-story house according to a finished project at your summer cottage.

• first year - external communications and foundation;
• second year - walls and roof;
• third year - windows, doors, internal communications;
• fourth year - interior decoration.

Each major period (year) in the strategic plan is only a direction of work. And then, in the operational plan (for a year, month, week), the nearest direction is detailed through real actions. For example, when planning to pour the foundation in the first year, you need to: mark the location of the foundation on the site, dig a pit, pour the foundation in stages. Thus, the direction to make the foundation is overgrown with real deeds, performing them one after another, you will eventually get the result of the first year of work - the foundation for the house. The results of each stage over the course of four years will add up to the solution of the goal - a finished house in a summer cottage.

The plan for self-development is like the plan for your new construction site - building yourself. Nothing comes from nowhere. Any changes take time and work on yourself, will and character. And goals and plans will help crystallize the vector of movement and facilitate, like a map, the path in unfamiliar terrain.

Elena Vetstein.

P.S. For those who want a deeper immersion in the topic of planning and life results management, copyright programs and materials have been created. Here you can choose a training model that suits you for managing yourself and your life results.

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