- Elements of technical planning
- Action plan
- Resources used
- People involved in the plan
- Risk factor's
- Problems that may arise after technical planning has been carried out
- References
The technical planning or planning technique is to draw up plans in order to meet certain objectives or goals. This type of planning can be carried out by both individuals and groups (organizations and companies).
Technical planning guarantees the correct performance of the participating individuals, since it indicates step by step the actions that must be carried out. You can foresee the actions of a week as well as the actions of a whole year. There is no fixed pattern of time that they cover.
However, it is not advisable to plan for more than one year, since economic, social and political conditions can change causing planning to change as well.
Technical planning is one of the most important elements when carrying out a project, no matter what the nature of the project. In this sense, technical planning can be carried out to do school work, to do business, among others.
Elements of technical planning
Each technical planning is carried out in a personalized way so that the elements of the plan are perfectly adapted to the desired results. However, most schedules have certain elements in common, which are presented below.
Action plan
Technical planning can include more than one plan if goals require it.
The plans are made up of the following basic elements:
1- Goals: Goals are wishes to be achieved that are specified in the objectives.
2- Objectives: The objectives are meaningful, quantifiable and qualifiable descriptions of the goals to be achieved. These are framed in a framework of time and space, which means that they must be achieved in a specific period within a specific area.
The objectives are raised with verbs in the infinitive, which gives them the quality of actions to be fulfilled. As a general rule, planning includes one general objective and three specific ones (the number of specific ones can vary).
3- Strategies: The strategies include the description of the methods that will be used to achieve the objectives.
4- Table of activities: The table of activities establishes a relationship between objectives and strategies. In this diagram, it is shown which strategies will be used specifically for each objective.
Some activity tables include a section in which they indicate the amount of resources that will be used for each activity. In other schedules, this element is included as a separate section.
Other elements that can be included in the action plan are:
1- Temporal relationships: Because the objectives are framed in time, some plans include the tentative dates of their fulfillment.
2- Relationships with other plans: As explained at the beginning, as many technical planning as the individual or group deems necessary can be carried out. In this sense, you can include how this particular plan relates to the other plans.
Resources used
The second element of all technical planning is a section of the resources that will be used to carry out any activity related to the plan.
As already explained, resources can be included in the activity table. However, due to the complexity of this list, it may constitute a separate section.
This section includes any type of element that the individual or the company needs to meet the objectives (funds, labor, per diem, machinery, stationery, office supplies, furniture, land, among others).
Similarly, reference should be made to the expenses that these resources could generate.
People involved in the plan
The third aspect that all technical planning must include is human capital, that is, the people who will be involved in the execution of the plan.
It is not enough only to refer to the name of these individuals, but the position they will hold in the organization must also be included.
Similarly, a relationship must be established between objectives and individuals. This means that you must specify how these individuals will help meet the goals set in the first place.
Risk factor's
Risk factors are the elements that could negatively affect our plan and that could cause changes in it: external factors (such as the economy, culture, society, among others) and internal factors (problems in the development of activities, dissolution of alliances, failures in the system, among others).
There are hundreds of risk factors that cannot be predicted. However, for those that are predictable, advance solutions can be offered.
This is done in order to be able to solve the problem in time in case the risk factor arises, thus guaranteeing the immutability of the technical planning.
Problems that may arise after technical planning has been carried out
The most common problems once the technical planning is done are:
1- Drastic changes in the conditions that make the plan obsolete. If this happens, a new planning must be developed.
2- Inappropriate plans. A plan is inappropriate if:
a) It is not realistic and is not framed in the conditions of the environment in which it is intended to be executed.
b) If it is too abstract and does not present enough guidelines.
c) If it is too detailed and offers unnecessary guidelines that obstruct the project development process.
Plans must be realistic. In these, the goals to be met must be properly organized. However, this organization must be flexible so that the plan can continue even if conditions change slightly.
3- Erroneous calculation of the necessary resources. One of the most common and least serious mistakes is miscalculating the resources that will be used to carry out the plan.
References
- Technical Planning. Retrieved on July 18, 2017, from sei.cmu.edu
- Technical Project Planning. Retrieved on July 18, 2017, from penbay.org
- How to create an effective action plan. Retrieved on July 18, 2017, from wikihow.com
- Create a Daily Plan to Work Efficiently. Retrieved on July 18, 2017, from thebalance.com
- How to create an effective business marketing plan. Retrieved on July 18, 2017, from businessnewsdaily.com
- Action plan. Retrieved on July 18, 2017, from wikipedia.org
- How to create an action plan to achieve your goals. Retrieved on July 18, 2017, from thebalance.com.