Menu

Strategy

Strategic Planning

Plain English

Planning how to get where you want to go.

Definition

Strategic planning is the of defining goals, priorities, and actions to achieve a desired future state.

In practice

Includes setting objectives, allocating resources, and defining timelines.

In context

The output that matters is not the document. It is the small number of decisions the exercise forced, which could have been recorded on a page.

The reality

Plans often become outdated quickly or are not followed in practice.

Compared with

Strategic Planning vs Strategy

is the set of choices. Planning is the that produces and schedules them. Organisations regularly complete the process and emerge without having made a choice.

FAQ

Common questions

A few practical answers to the questions that usually come up around this term.

What is strategic planning?

It is the of defining goals and how to achieve them.

Why is strategic planning important?

It provides structure and direction.

What does strategic planning include?

Goals, priorities, and actions.

Why do plans fail?

They are not maintained or aligned with reality.

Related Services

Related Guides

Related Terms

LET'S WORK TOGETHER

Ready to improve your product?

UX, research and product leadership for teams tackling complex digital services.

Previous feedback

I had a fantastic experience working with Andy. One of his most impressive achievements during our time at NHS HEE was masterminding a deeply complex information architecture for a new platform that brought together a large number of legacy websites.

Will Parkhouse

Senior Content Designer