What is strategic planning?

Strategic planning is a process in which an organization’s leaders define their vision for the future and
identify their organization's goals and objectives. The process includes establishing the sequence in
which those goals should be realized so that the organization can reach its stated vision.

The product of strategic planning is a strategic plan.

The following four aspects of strategy development are worth attention:

1. The mission. Strategic planning starts with a mission that offers a company a sense of purpose and
direction. The organization's mission statement describes who it is, what it does and where it wants to
go. Missions are typically broad but actionable. For example, a business in the education industry might
seek to be a leader in online virtual educational tools and services.
2. The goals. Strategic planning involves selecting goals. Most planning uses SMART Goals - specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound -- or other objectively measurable goals. Measurable
goals are important because they enable business leaders to determine how well the business is
performing against goals and the overall mission. Goal setting for the fictitious educational business
might include releasing the first version of a virtual classroom platform within two years or increasing
sales of an existing tool by 30% in the next year.
3. Alignment with short-term goals. Strategic planning relates directly to short-term, tactical business
planning and can help business leaders with everyday decision-making that better aligns with business
strategy. For the fictitious educational business, leaders might choose to make strategic investments in
communication and collaboration technologies, such as virtual classroom software and services but
decline opportunities to establish physical classroom facilities.

4. Evaluation and revision. Strategic planning helps business leaders periodically evaluate progress
against the plan and make changes or adjustments in response to changing conditions. For example, a
business may seek a global presence, but legal and regulatory restrictions could emerge that affect its
ability to operate in certain geographic regions. As result, business leaders might have to revise the
strategic plan to redefine objectives or change progress metrics.

What are the steps in the strategic planning process?

Identify. A strategic planning cycle starts with the determination of a business's current strategic
position. This is where stakeholders use the existing strategic plan -- including the mission statement
and long-term strategic goals -- to perform assessments of the business and its environment. These
assessments can include a needs Assessments or a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats) analysis to understand the state of the business and the path ahead.
Prioritize. Next, strategic planners set objectives and initiatives that line up with the company mission
and goals and will move the business toward achieving its goals. There may be many potential goals, so
planning prioritizes the most important, relevant and urgent ones. Goals may include a consideration of
resource requirements -- such as budgets and equipment -- and they often involve a timeline and
business metrics or KPIs for measuring progress.
Develop. This is the main thrust of strategic planning in which stakeholders collaborate to formulate the
steps or tactics necessary to attain a stated strategic objective. This may involve creating numerous
short-term tactical business plans that fit into the overarching strategy. Stakeholders involved in plan
development use various tools such as a strategy map to help visualize and tweak the plan. Developing
the plan may involve cost and opportunity tradeoffs that reflect business priorities. Developers may
reject some initiatives if they don't support the long-term strategy.
Implement. Once the strategic plan is developed, it's time to put it in motion. This requires clear
communication across the organization to set responsibilities, make investments, adjust policies and
processes, and establish measurement and reporting. Implementation typically includes strategic
management with regular strategic reviews to ensure that plans stay on track.
Update. A strategic plan is periodically reviewed and revised to adjust priorities and reevaluate goals as
business conditions change and new opportunities emerge. Quick reviews of metrics can happen
quarterly, and adjustments to the strategic plan can occur annually. Stakeholders may use balanced
scorecard and other tools to assess performance against goals.

How often should strategic planning be done?

There are no uniform requirements to dictate the frequency of a strategic planning cycle. However,
there are common approaches.
Quarterly reviews. Once a quarter is usually a convenient time frame to revisit assumptions made in the
planning process and gauge progress by checking metrics against the plan.
Annual reviews. A yearly review lets business leaders assess metrics for the previous four quarters and
make informed adjustments to the plan.

Types of strategic plans

Strategic planning activities typically focus on three areas: business, corporate or functional. They break
out as follows:
Business. A business-centric strategic plan focuses on the competitive aspects of the organization --
creating competitive damages and opportunities for growth. These plans adopt a mission evaluating the
external business environment, setting goals, and allocating financial, human and technological
resources to meet those goals. This is the typical strategic plan and the main focus of this article.
Corporate. A corporate-centric plan defines how the company works. It focuses on organizing and
aligning the structure of the business, its policies and processes and its senior leadership to meet
desired goals. For example, the management of a research and development skunkworks might be
structured to function dynamically and on an ad hoc basis. It would look different from the management
team in finance or HR.
Functional. Function-centric strategic plans fit within corporate-level strategies and provide a granular
examination of specific departments or segments such as marketing, HR, finance and development.
Functional plans focus on policy and process -- such as security and compliances -- while setting budgets
and resource allocations.

prescriptive approach focuses on how strategies should be created.

descriptive approach focuses on how strategies should be implemented and typically relies on general
guidelines or principles.

What is a business case?

A business case provides justification for undertaking a project, programme or portfolio.
It evaluates the benefit, cost and risk of alternative options and provides a rationale for the preferred
solution.

Five elements of a business case

A common way of thinking about a business case is using these five elements:
Strategic context: The compelling case for change.
Economic analysis: Return on investment based on investment appraisal of options.
Commercial approach: Derived from the sourcing strategy and procurement strategy.
Financial case: Affordability to the organization in the time frame.
Management approach: Roles, governance structure, life cycle choice, etc.

What is evaluation?
• • Evaluation is a process in which the evidence for assurance is gathered and analyzed against
criteria for functionality and assurance. The results can be a measure of trust that indicates how well a
system meets particular criteria.

What is a system request?

System Requests are commonly used in organizations to manage the intake and prioritization of changes
to software systems, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively and that the most valuable
enhancements are implemented.
• A system request is a document or system used to initiate the systems development life cycle process.
• It may be called something different in different organizations, such as a system proposal document or
system initiation document.

What does a system request include?

A system request typically includes information about:
• The project sponsor (a specific person)
• The business need for the system (the business-related needs of the system)
• The business requirements for the system (the requirements that the system must meet to be
successful)
• The business value of the system (how the system will pay for itself)
• Any special issues or constraints that may be relevant to the system
What is feasibility analysis?
• • Feasibility analysis is a process used to determine the viability of a particular project.

Feasibility analysis typically consists of three dimensions:

1. Technical feasibility: Can we build the system? This looks at an organization's technical readiness to
take on a project, including factors such as familiarity with the business application and technology,
project size, and integration requirements.
2. Economic feasibility: Should we build the system? This involves analyzing the financial implications of
a project, including the costs of developing and implementing the system, as well as any potential
benefits.
3. Organizational feasibility: Will people use the system? This assesses whether a project will be
accepted and used by the target audience.

What Is Technical Feasibility?

What is technical feasibility, can be described as the formal process of assessing whether it is technically
possible to manufacture a product or service.

What Is The Purpose Of A Technical Feasibility Study?

A technical feasibility study helps find the answers to the following questions:
• • Is it possible to develop the product with the available technology in the company?
• • Is the organization equipped with the necessary technology for project completion?
• • Are there technically strong employees who can deliver the product on time and within
budget using the available technology?
• • Is there scope in the company's budget to add more technical resources?
• • Is the available technology the right choice to help the product team save time and complete
development within budget?
• • Does the client require specific technology, or is the client open to developing the product,
irrespective of the technology?

How To Conduct A Technical Feasibility Study?

Follow these steps to help you plan a technical feasibility study for your business project:
1. Conduct an initial analysis

The initial analysis (also known as preliminary analysis) helps decide whether the project is worth
undertaking from an economic and time perspective. A project is required to give financial returns and
conclude within a reasonable timeframe to make it feasible. The two main areas of preliminary analysis
include:
Project outline
Start by describing the project using the available details. The outline lists all the critical elements like
the target market, the expected goals and outcomes. It also analyses whether there are any available
products or services in the market that meet these goals and how the current project offers features or
benefits that are better and more efficient.

Technical and equipment accessibility

Evaluate if there are any barriers or factors that hinder profitability. Challenges in accessing raw
material, expensive capital, production costs that go over the projected revenues and lack of the right
technology are some of the critical factors that hinder project profitability. If the preliminary analysis
results show optimistic returns, you can proceed to the next step.
2. Calculate the estimated income

Work with the preliminary study results to predict the expected income that the product or service is
likely to generate when sold in the target market. Then calculate the overall cost of development. This
includes the expenses for manufacturing the product, along with paying any debts taken for production
and continuing regular business operations. If the projected income is more than the overall cost of
production, then you can proceed to the next step of the feasibility study.
3. Do a market survey

A market survey helps determine the realistic revenues the project is likely to earn. The market study
has to be in-depth and includes various steps like:
• • Identifying the right market: It involves analyzing the demographic factors, the average
disposable income of the target market, cultural aspects of the audience and how these factors
determine the success of the product/service.
• • Comparing similar offerings: Identify the pros and cons of each product on your list. Compare
pricing, quality, customer feedback, marketing strategies, and more to decide if your product/service
addresses a specific need that is missing in the market.
• • Estimating the scope of expansion: Determine if the market offers expansion opportunities for
launching new products or services down the line. See if there is an opportunity to expand to nearby
markets based on the feedback from the survey respondents.

Based on the market survey results, you can decide whether the project is feasible to generate the
predicted revenues. If the survey results are positive, you can move on to the next step of the feasibility
study.
4. Prepare a business plan

A business plan explains the project in detail. It outlines the raw material requirements and the planned
product launch schedule and has a step-by-step plan on the expected costs at each step of the project
and how to manage them. The critical elements of the business plan include:
• • Executive summary
• • Organizational chart
• • Materials, supplies and equipment
• • SWOT analysis
• • Labour costs
• • Facility costs
• • Overheads, including utilities, taxes, and insurance
• • Marketing and merchandising costs
5. Build a day-one project balance sheet
The day-one project balance sheet lists the liabilities and assets of the project on launch day before it
starts generating revenue. Make sure to include the following:
• • assets like the project's initial capital investment, land, building and equipment
• • liabilities like rent, loan repayments and margins for receivables

6. Review the data and decide

In this step, you compare the data you compiled in the previous steps to determine if the project is still
feasible. The review provides a clear picture of the overall risks and costs. It helps decide whether it is
technically feasible to commence work on the project. Here are three questions to ask during the final
review stage:
• • Does the feasibility study determine whether the project guarantees the minimum expected
ROI?
• • Do the potential rewards (income, market share, scope of growth) outbalance the risks
(monetary investment, energy, time)?
• • Does this project have growth potential?

If the answer is 'yes' to all three questions, you can arrive at the conclusion that the project is technically
feasible and economically justifiable.

In this step, assess the cost-effectiveness of the different approaches. You are also required to provide
an estimate of the project's total cost and compare it with the expected revenues. Additionally, you can
highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
Final review
The final step of the feasibility study is to provide a formal review of the various elements completed
until now. The assessment helps the stakeholders arrive at a final decision about whether it is technically
feasible and economically justifiable to proceed with the plan.
Best Practices For Conducting A Technical Feasibility Study
Here are some points to remember while writing a detailed feasibility report:
• • Use the available tools and templates to help you collate and gather accurate information.
• • Gather feedback and suggestions from all stakeholders, including clients, product designers,
developers and other team members.
• • Ask technical questions to the core team members to investigate and get reliable data.
• • If possible, outsource the market survey to a market research team with experience and
expertise in the field.
• • Break the study into different parts and evaluate the information you collect separately in
each stage.
• • Collate the feedback from each stage and develop the final review without any bias.

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
Preliminary investigation is the first phase. In this phase, the system is investigated. The objective of this
phase is to conduct an initial analysis and findings of the system.
The preliminary investigation occurs within a short period ranging from a few hours to a few days and
should not exceed two to three days. The purpose of the preliminary investigation is to determine
whether the problem or deficiency in the current system really exists. The project team may reexamine
some of the feasibility aspects of the project. At this point, the purpose is to make a “go” or “no-go”
decision. The end result is a decision to proceed further or to abandon the project.
Initial Investigation This is a user's request to change, improve or enhance an existing system. The
objective is to determine whether the request is valid or feasible before a recommendation is reached
to do nothing, improve or modify the existing system, or build a new one.