Action Plan

Action Plan is a plan outlining actions and specific steps that must be performed to achieve the desired objective. The Action Plan is used for example in strategic management for the fulfillment of the strategic objectives. It is not only for strategic management - it can be used to meet any objectives such as plan corporate event. Its purpose and content is very similar to the project plan.

It says who, what and when must be done.

What must the action plan include?

Since the Action plan has no standardized form it may vary case-by-case. To fulfill its purpose, it must contain all the essential elements that are important for the distribution of the labor and tasks and for the achievement the desired objective.

• A list of steps (activities) that need to be done to achieve the objectives
• Assigning responsibility for specific activities (to the specific people)
• Time horizon and major milestones
• Dates fulfillment, deadlines of specific activities
• Budget of the action plan
• Assigning additional resources to individual activities (such as other people, materials, utilities, subcontractors etc)
• Other conditions, limitations and risks necessary to meet goals
• Description of objectives and a description how the achievement will be measured

The scope and form of the action plan is chosen case-by-case: the scope and the time frame of the action or the project. It may be a simple list or a multipage document, which will be periodically reviewed.