Business & Commercial Aw a r e n e s s

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Lecture 10: Implementation Planning

j.a.g.willard@herts.ac.uk
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Learning Outcomes
To understand the role of implementation planning in product or service launches To understand the structure and importance of the common sections in a business implementation plan To be able to produce a business implementation plan for a functional department

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The product development process

As the product* is developed: the work at each stage increases the range and scope of ideas narrows Acceptance of the Investment Case triggers the detailed work
& AGREE PRODUCT LAUNCH BUSINESS MANAGEMENT OPTION SHORTLIST

Product Concept

Create Proposal

Idea Generation & Evaluation

Develop Investment Case

* The same process applies to development of a service

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DECISION POINT 3

INVESTMENT CASE

ACCEPTANCE

INTERVIEW

PRESENT

Investment case accepted what next?

Acceptance of the investment case is a cause for celebration But the excitement quickly dies down The hard work is just starting Time, people and skill range requirements escalate
Detailed design of product Secure finance Design production facilities Construction of production facilities Develop product delivery processes & procedures Development of sales processes and sales locations Website development Acquisition of resources

The implementation plan is the tool used to specify all these activities

Construction and fit-out of sales locations

Start manufacture of initial supplies of product Develop marketing plans pricing and advertising Recruit and train sales staff

see weekly reading for all the detail on the slide

Launch advertising campaign Ship and sell product

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Implementation plan objectives

or: what, when, where, who, how many *
activities and tasks risks activity timings and inter-relationships

management and control processes

Product Launch Blueprint

responsibilities

milestones

resources deliverables
people, finance, premises, IT equipment etc

* The Why was specified in the Investment Case

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Plan formats
No unique best format or structure

Just like the Investment Case

Depends on: Product or Service Industry Company

STANDARD FORMATS
Most organisations use a fixed format: Ensures all elements are included Users will be familiar so less errors Input from each dept has same format

FUNCTIONAL vs BUSINESS
Plans aggregated from each function are common and ensure expertise is included

BUT they can be disjointed so an overall control and coordination role is required.

This is the role of the project manager

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A typical plan structure

this is not presented as the best or the most common but it includes the most important elements and is a good foundation for building a plan for actual use
1 overview The numbers in the pyramid refer to the order in which the sections are covered in the following slides 2 time plan But they could also be used as the section numbers in the implementation plan itself

3
dependencies

5 financial plan 9 references and sources 7

4 resource requirements 8 risks

6 staffing plan 10 data and appendices

7

milestones
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1. Overview
Purpose
To provide plan readers with the background to the product/service To ensure everyone is aware of and shares the same goal To allow plan users to refresh themselves about the objectives
Brief details using sub-headings covering all key elements of the product/service
Product description Key target dates

Structure

Content
Target customers Price, sales, costs, profits

Competitors & products

Manufacturing process

Suppliers

Distribution & warehousing

Service delivery process

Sales process & locations

Key risks and mitigation

Comments

An Implementation Plan does not need a summary as it is a working document rather than a decision document. This section is as close to a summary as will exist
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2. Time plan
Purpose
To allow plan users to identify what needs to happen and when The definitive activity list which feeds the project plan To allow those involved with implementation to determine: When their activity takes place How long they have to complete it and whether there is any leeway A list of activities in chronological order, perhaps split by function Indicate the start and end dates and the amount of allowable slippage (slack) This is an indicative sample of the content that may appear in an HR Plan:

Structure Content

Activity

Duration Start

End

Slack

Develop job descriptions 2 wks Place and run adverts

Sift CVs Interviews Comments

Week 10 Week 12 Nil Week 13 Week 16 5 days

Week 16 Week 17 5 days Week 19 Week 21 10 days

3 wks
1 wk 2 wks

Long, detailed descriptions of activities stop easy appreciation of the time plan. A short meaningful title is better and the task can be expanded in an Appendix DO NOT refer to activities by a number alone as this prevents understanding
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3. Links and dependencies

Purpose
To allow those involved with implementation to determine: The activities that their personal activities are dependent upon Which activities are affected by the ones that they are working on For each activity: A list of the other activities which must be complete before it can start A list of the other activities which cannot start until it is complete This is an indicative sample of the content that may appear in an HR Plan:

Structure

Content

Activity Develop job descriptions Place and run adverts Sift CVs Interviews Comments

Dependent on:
Manpower plan sign-off Skills audit of existing staff Job descriptions Media brand development Advert response CV sift Interviewer training

Precursor to:
Placing adverts Salary review CV Sift Interviews Staff secondments Staff appointments Promotion review

This does not eliminate the need for a project plan. Sometimes this section is omitted and a project plan is developed instead. However, a summary of the dependencies of each activity is required for those involved in the activity
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4. Resource requirements
Purpose
To identify what is required to bring the product/service to market To allow the controllers of the different types of resource to provide what is needed at the required time To allow similar resources to be aggregated to reduce cost and admin.

Structure

For each resource: The quantity, precise specifications and timings for provision This is best done as a list, but charts and spreadsheets will play their part
Resource
Specify details

Content

Quantity
1000m2 800m2 2000m2

Date
Week 8 Week 12 Week 20

Cost
Floor area
X Y Z

Project X
3000 2000 1000 0
Weeks Week 5-10 10-15 Weeks 15-20

Warehousing Office space Factory floor

This can take the form of tables or charts

Comments

The main input to this section is the time plan. Each activity requires resources: staff, finance, materials, IT, premises etc. These can be scheduled from that plan
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5. Financial plan
Purpose Structure
To summarise the finance needed to bring the product to the market To identify cash flow needs which will drive the funding injections Split the finance into costs and incomes. During implementation there will be limited incomes If the project involves different currencies then a separate plan for each currency is required and these should be combined (remember exchange rates) Item
Warehousing Office space Factory floor

Content

Quantity
1000m2 800m2 2000m2

Unit cost
20 25 40

Date reqd
Week 8 Week 12 Week20

Cost
Funding (k)
20k 20k 80k

Project X
100 50
0
Weeks Week Weeks 5-10 10-15 15-20

Assess financial needs for each resource/activity Add them on a week by week basis Chart them to obtain overall funding needs

Comments

Each functional area will normally have a financial plan but sometimes these are all taken out into an overall project financial plan. In your Case Study you will need to do a financial plan specific to your functional area.
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6. Staffing plan
Purpose
To summarise the human resource needed to implement the product To identify the skills, experience and number of staff of particular types To identify training requirements to develop existing or available resource
Break down the people requirements for the product by skill type, seniority and location. There are many types of human resource and most are not interchangeable. But training can convert one type to a scarce or costly type
Assess staff needed for each activity

Structure

Content

by

Skill type

Experience

Job Role

Timing

Aggregate categories

Determine Labour Market potential Apply costs

salaries, training recruitment etc

Identify any shortfall in availability

Tabulate training recruitment and costs

Identify training requirements

Comments

This is one of the most important parts of the implementation plan. Along with insufficient finance, insufficient people with the right skills will almost certainly cause the project to fail.
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7. Milestones
Purpose Structure Content
To set a series of intermediate deadlines to track interim progress To create a series of short term goals to provide a project team focus A list of milestones, with their description, date and often a lead responsibility This is an example of a set of high level milestones for a product development

Milestone Product design complete Factory fitted out Prototype products manufactured Marketing campaign commences

Date
Mar 2009 Sep 2009 Nov 2009 Jan 2010

Lead responsibility Design Team Leader Facilities Manager Operations Director Marketing Director

Product launched nationally

Comments

Feb 2010

Programme Manager

The end point of product/service launch is often a long way off and so a product implementation team can lose focus on hitting target dates for completion of their activities. Milestones are achievements or deliverables. They are not activities. They need to be significant events. Their achievement will be a cause for project team celebration.
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8. Risk plan
Purpose
To identify the key risks which could jeopardise implementation To identify the actions which would be taken should the risk materialise To identify actions that can reduce the likelihood of the risk occurring
A prioritised list of risks, including actions to reduce their chance of occurrence, actions to mitigate the scale of any impact and early warning signs

Structure Content

Risk Priority Description

Pre-warning signs

Action
To avoid

Action
To mitigate

Priority can be graded: A, B, C (assessed subjectively by the project team) or By using a risk identification scoring method (see next lecture)

Comments

Risk plans are working documents and need review during implementation. New risks arise. Identified risks change their likelihoods. Actions in the event of a risk need adjustment as the business environment changes

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9. References and sources

Purpose
To provide details of any documents or the sources of data used to develop the implementation plan. Dependent on the extent of material used in the implementation plan. A list of the sources and documents used in the implementation with dates, authors and locations. A format similar to an academic reference list would be suitable. The location of the source is important in a business. In academic reference lists the location is not required as it is assumed that a reader can find the referenced document in a library. In business the location (department in a large business) can be difficult to find unless stated in the plan. Most implementation plans will have a minimal amount of referencing. Most references will be to other documents in the company.

Structure

Content

Comments

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10. Appendices
Purpose
To provide a place for detailed data and information which is not essential for use of the plan To allow data used to develop the plan to be retained in the plan so that it is there for audit trail or revision purposes

Structure

This is dependent on the extent and nature of the data A clear indexed structure is essential if there are large volumes of data A separate document is best if there is extensive material

Content
tables charts

spreadsheet output

Remember the guidelines for good presentation from a previous lecture

Comments

All material in Appendices MUST be referred to from the main implementation plan document. If there is no reference to it then readers will not use it and it may as well not be included
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Summary
In this lecture we have learned:
There are 3 key decision points in the process of developing a product or service, and . . . .
. . . . about the typical steps required for implementation
The objectives of an implementation plan Why a standard plan format is usually preferred in a business and finally, and in some detail . . . . . . . . how an implementation plan can be structured to include 10 common elements required to bring a product (or service) to the point at which it can be successfully launched. Next week we will look at how extensive projects can be managed
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