Welcome to PlanningSkills.COM

This website focuses on a wide variety of topics related to organization and individual planning situations. The primary focus is business planning.

Planning is an anticipatory decision making process that involves situation analysis, forecasting outcomes and events, evaluating alternative courses of action, anticipating consequences and considering implementation issues and contingencies. Planning often begins with asking one or more questions, for example: What if ...? Could we ...? Do we ...? Is it possible...? How should we respond ...? How can we ...? Is it feasible to ...?

In general, planning is a proactive process that is intended to help individuals, groups and organizations achieve performance objectives.

Featured Glossary Term

Effects Based Planning (EBP) is an operational planning process to conduct effects based operations within rapid decisive operations. EBP is results-based rather than attrition-based planning. EBP closely mirrors the current U.S. Joint Forces Command planning process, yet focuses upon the linkage of actions to effects to objectives. EBP changes the way one views the adversary/enemy, ourselves, and what is included and emphasized in the planning process. EBP uses a flexibly-structured battle rhythm that leverages a collaborative knowledge environment and capitalizes on the use of fewer formal joint boards. It employs virtual, near-simultaneous planning at all echelons of command.

Featured Planning Tip

Planning should involve considering a "worst case" scenario. Planners do this because the "worst case" can happen! The "worst case" is a set of conditions and circumstances that pose the greatest chance of failure in a planning situation when compared to ideal conditions. Worst case is the worst possible environment or outcome out of the several possibilities in planning. Imagining a worst case scenario helps in formulating contingency plans and in setting aside enough reserves to cushion the impact if the event or situation actually occurs. "Let's consider the worst case scenario" is a cliché for thinking about the worst possible future outcome.

Worst case analysis involves identifying causative, state and environmental variables and analyzing what the outcome would be when these variables are most negative. So define negative situations and see how bad the outcomes might be if that situation occurs.

The "worst case" is the worst possible environment or outcome of several possibilities in planning. Imagining a worst case scenario helps in formulating contingency plans and in setting aside enough reserves to cushion the impact if the event or situation actually occurs.