What is a plan? In simple terms, a plan is defined as a detailed and comprehensive research on a particular topic or study. A plan covers different fields of study and not just limited to business, academics, public service, sports, medicine, agriculture, education, etc. A plan is needed so that companies or organizations do not waste money, as well as time and other company resources.
In this article, we will be helping you create a plan. We have provided you with templates in Google Docs that you can download for free. We have also provided you with tips as well as steps that you can help you create an effective and detailed plan. Read on below!
Listed below are the elements of a plan. Make sure to follow these elements so that you can create a detailed and effective plan.
1. Introduction: A plan always begins with an introduction. This is to prepare the reader or readers of the plan for what’s in store, or basically the contents of the plan. The introduction covers basic company or organization information, such as products and services, office address, contact number, and organizational structure (only limited to higher positions such as CEO, COO, CFO, line managers, supervisors, etc.). Check out sales plan.
2. Methodology: Methodology refers to the data-gathering procedure as well as the classification of the respondents. This is also an important element of a plan since companies or organizations should simply not create assumptions when creating a plan, since plans mostly rely on researched and analyzed information. Data-gathering procedure can refer to interviews or survey questionnaires while classification of respondents refer to demographics (e.g. gender, age, annual income, type of work, etc.).
3. Presentation and analysis of data: This is probably the most important element of a plan. The presentation and analysis of data will bring the most weight to the plan you are creating. As previously mentioned, you can write your plan based on assumptions alone so you need to do research first, and the results of your research will be presented in the presentation and analysis of the data.
4. Recommendations: Recommendations will comprise the results of the data analysis. This refers to the action plan or solutions that the company or organization needs to achieve. Recommendations need to be detailed so that the organization will know the process of how to solve a new or recurring issue.
5. Conclusion: Sometimes, when creating a business document (especially a business plan), recommendations and conclusions are combined. This should not be the case especially when creating a plan. The conclusion should be more focused on the possible effects of the recommendations that were listed down. Unlike the other elements, the conclusion should be short yet concise.
Follow these easy steps when creating a plan for your new (or existing) venture or project:
1. Choose what word processing software to use: Before you start writing or creating the plan, you should first choose what word processing software you are going to use. The word processing software will be where you create the plan. Most of the time, individuals or organizations use Microsoft Word or Google Docs. These two software are the most popular word processing software around, so you might as well choose between the two. Google Docs is very convenient but is only useful when you have Internet connection. You cannot save a file or document in Google Docs if you don’t have Internet connection. You may also see annual plan examples.
2. Do research: After choosing what graphic design software to use, you can now do research. Research will pertain to methodology as well as the presentation and analysis of data. As previously mentioned, never base your plan on assumptions alone. Research is very important when creating a plan, and depending on what type of plan you are creating, there are hundreds of sources you can use. You can get these sources from books, novels, periodicals, magazines, and online sources, to name a few.
3. Choose which data-gathering procedure to use: Place your researched information aside for the meantime and focus on writing the methodology, specifically choosing which data gathering procedure to use. You can either choose conducting an interview or handing out survey questionnaires. Conducting an interview is much more preferred if you are creating an exploratory study where sources are very limited. Interviews are also handy when you prefer asking open-ended questions where the responses are not limited to choices much like in a survey questionnaire. Take a look at action plans.
Handing out survey questionnaires is more preferred if your study is focused on a pre-determined set of recommendations (e.g. multiple choice questions). This data-gathering procedure is very popular and is often the preferred procedure used by companies or organizations.
4. Incorporate all the elements: Once you have accomplished the three previous steps, it is now time to incorporate all the elements. Incorporate all the elements in the word processing software you will use (e.g. Microsoft Word or Google Docs). As previously mentioned, the elements include the introduction, methodology, presentation and analysis of data, recommendations, and conclusion. Incorporating all the elements comprises the main content of your plan, so make sure you do proper research as well as analysis.
5. Edit and revise: Once you are done creating the plan, you can now print it out. But before you even decide to print the plan, you should first edit and revise for possible errors. These errors range from text or image placement, typographical or grammar errors, or sentence and paragraph structure. Never submit the plan after the first draft even if you are very confident on the data you incorporated in the plan. Most likely, the readers will notice your errors first before they notice the good parts or sections of the plan so do some checking and rechecking. You may also see job plan examples.
Once you have now known the elements you will be incorporating in the plan, you should now focus your attention on creating simple tips in creating a plan layout.
What is a plan?
A plan is basically a detailed and comprehensive proposal that is needed for something to be achieved (i.e. a business plan for a start-up business or a scientific research plan to conduct a new scientific study).
Why is a plan important?
A plan is important because it identifies problems as well as offer solutions for a particular study. Companies or organizations at all times do not immediately go into a new venture or project. This is will be very risky for the organization and will result into huge financial losses for the said company or organization.
We hope you found this article to be informative as well as helpful when you will be creating your own plan in Google Docs. We have provided templates that you can download and you can easily edit as well even though there are multiple formats you can use aside from Google Docs. A plan is needed for any new (or existing) venture or project, so you have to create properly with the tips (as well as templates) we listed down.