What, Who, & When in an Action Plan

The simplest definition of an action plan is “action plan is a sequence of steps that must be taken, or activities that must be performed well, for a strategy to succeed. We can simply calculate it in by “3 W’s”. Its sound strange but this is how can it make it an accurate action plan in a less time or can give a simplest idea of how to summarize your project just in few lines.

What:

The first “W” for “What” in your action plan stands for the “agenda”. Let’s suppose say;

What are the criteria for your proposed project?

What changes will occur?

What action will be taken?

What is the methodology for your proposed project? Etc.

Who:

The second “W” for “Whom” in your action plan stands for the “responsibility”.  There must be at least one person responsible for the implementation of the agenda, which look after a project and achieve the target result within the time period proposed for the project. It is also favorite to have a supportive team or even a single person behind each action step.  The only difference is that each supportive person or multiple people are not responsible for the action or outcome. Action steps should be clear, actionable; keeping the right people in the communication loop for each action is crucially important. Key people might need to understand the state of progress around your actions to see how they affect other actions and objectives.

When:

The third and last “W” for “When” in your action plan stands for the “time/period” proposed for the action on any designated project. It is must to complete the project within the limit time frame given for the project. The period proposed for the action could range from one day to one year depend truly upon the project. This time horizon could also indicate the starting date as well as the completion date of the project.

If you work on these three “W’s” it can give accuracy for your project in less timing; thus, save your valuable time which can be utilize in some other activity. 

The main purpose is to save time, energy, resources and achieve target goals in an efficient manner. Creating an action plan can also give a clear vision, mission, objective, strategies, target change and methodology for your project.