Planning is the collection of necessary steps to be taken in order to reach the desired goal. It generally involves thinking and jotting down those steps that will help you in reaching the target.
For example, your target is to score higher grades in the final exam at school. So, you start with planning on how to do it, for which you start by taking a look at the syllabus. After that, you jot down the necessary step that will help you score higher eventually.
Here, what you think and list down before you start implementing them, is what is planning in simple words.
Planning Process – What Is It?
Planning in itself is a process that includes multiple steps. According to the planning process definition, one goes through a series of directions during planning. For instance, suppose your school is conducting a Football tournament and your class teacher has assigned you the task of preparing a school team.
So, what would you do now? You are given two days to finalise your team and give the names to your teacher. Now, you are not aware of who can play well in your class, so you need proper planning to assess who is fit and can be a part of the team.
Now, you call for an assessment round wherein you give a task to evaluate the best members for your team. Therefore, all that you think and list before implementing the same is the process of planning.
Additionally, one should also know that the planning process can be of several types –
-
High-level plans
-
Short-term plans
-
Operation plans
-
Assignment plans
While the objective remains common in each of these, as the planning definition does not change in any of them. However, only the requirements vary based on the desired goal, but the process does not change overall.
What Are The Steps of Planning?
As already mentioned, planning is not a standalone concept, but it consists of multiple steps. Here is a brief explanation of the 8 steps planning process for a simplified understanding.
-
Determine Your Objective
The first step in planning is to identify what you want to achieve. Assess your objective if it is a long term or a short term goal. Besides, also check whether the objective is based on external factors such as market fluctuations or not.
As you look for ‘what is planning’, being able to determine all of it specifically will help you in sailing through the next steps smoothly.
-
Sort Tasks That Will Lead To Your Goal
The second step is to divide the whole planning into sub-parts so that executing them becomes easier and the tasks get accomplished faster. It is also essential to list down the tasks that are to be done immediately and segregate the other than might be required later.
-
Identify Potential Resources
Once the task segregation is done, you should now move on to identifying the resources that will fit into the role and help you achieve the target. Know the capabilities of your resources and allocate the task accordingly.
For instance, you will assign the role of a goalkeeper to a person who is tall and has the maximum agility with a quick reflex. On the other hand, you will choose a striker who has good stamina.
-
Check for Alternative Resources
It is always wise to have alternatives, the next step is to check the strength and weakness of the resources that you already have. Based on that, you can look for other resources that can act as a backup if the former resource fails to provide you with the necessary information.
This step is similar to having extra team members, who can come to the field in case one of the team members gets injured or is disqualified in between the match.
-
Sort Out Necessary Techniques
The next step to explain the process of planning is to determine the necessary techniques by which you will go about the implementation of the plan. Find out if you or your resources are familiar with the required techniques.
-
Keep A Progress Tracker
Make sure to have a tracker that will track your proceedings while you execute the plan. Assess whether all your resources are functioning well or if there is any discrepancy. Sort it out once you identify any loophole.
-
Take A Final Look
Now revise the entire plan from the very first step. Ask questions to yourself if all the steps lead you to your desired goal. Be very careful when going through the entire plan. You can also make a checklist of the most essential aspects to avoid missing out.
-
Communicate To The Team Members
This is the last step where you convey the plan to your members for the initiation of the plan. On another instance, if it is solely your task, you can execute the plan finally.
Herein, you start with the first step and proceed one by one. As in the case of your Football team, you can go about assigning a task to everyone interested. Based on their performance, the role can be allocated thereafter. Besides, you also keep a few members beyond the team size as a backup.
For more information on what is planning and its steps, you can refer to our online learning programmes available in our website. The study materials offered by are drafted after rigorous research by eminent faculties.