Develop action plans

An action plan is an agreed-upon set of intended actions to achieve desired outcomes during a certain period of time. At Vinschool, campus-level leaders are required to develop an action plan for the whole school year at its start. The KPIs should reflect not only the school’s goals but also the subject's focus. The Program Department will be the advisor during this process and make recommendations to the School Boards.

An effective action plan must consists of the following elements:

• specific statements of outcomes (which are required to be SMART)
• a spelling out the the steps that have to be followed
• timeline for each step (when it must take place and how long it is likely to take)
• a clarification of the person(s) in charge
• a clarification of the inputs/resources needed
• a clarification of measures to evaluate progress

The following steps need to be run through while an action plan is developed:

Step 1: Define the end goal The starting point for campus-level managers is to analyze the situation of their own campus, identify where they are and where they want to be, clearly define the opportunities for improvement as well as potential causes for those opportunities. The aim here is to take a hard look at the campus’ capability. Once such an analysis is done, they can outline their goals and the goals must meet SMART criteria: Specific – well defined and clear Measurable – include indicators to track progress Attainable – realistic and achievable within the resources, time, money, experience, ect. you have Relevant – aligned  with the directions, wigs and other goals Timely – has finishing date for tracking progress

Step 2: Make a list of tasks List down all the tasks/steps to be followed. Make sure each task is clear and attainable. If a task is too big or complex, break it down to smaller ones that are easier to execute and manage. Prioritize tasks to make sure that there is no overlapping and the steps are not blocking one another.

Step 3: Determine persons in charge and deadlines Make sure the entire team is involved in the planning process. Everyone has a role and responsibility in the action plan. All team members are consulted on the capacity before deciding to make sure the KPIs or deadlines are realistic.

Step 4: Set milestones Milestones can be considered as mini goals leading up to the main goal at the end. They help the team to be motivated and allow timely evaluation & adjustment. Start from the end goal and work backward as you set milestones. Set a reasonable time interval between 2 milestones (recommended 2-8 weeks).

Step 5: Identify resources Ensure you have all the necessary resources at hand, if not you need to first make a plan to acquire them. Assign a column of your action plan to mark the cost of each task (if any).

Step 6: Visualize your action plan Visualize your action plan (excel, gantt chart, flow chart, etc.). Tasks, task owners, deadlines, resources, etc. are clearly communicated. This document should be easily accessible to everyone and open for edit recommendations.

Step 7: Monitor, evaluate and update Allocate time to evaluate the progress with your team. Mark the tasks that have completed and those pending or delayed. Figure out why and find suitable solutions. Update the action plan accordingly.