Fact Sheet - Action Plans

This page provides general guidance for creating effective action plans to implement improvements in resource efficiency.

State your objective

An action plan should be aligned to a specific objective. This prevents ‘scope creep’ and provides a check for assigned tasks to ensure they are progressing a project toward the end goal.
The objective should be stated in terms of a measurable outcome within a specified timeframe, for example: “To eliminate single-use plastic film from production processes by June 2021”.

The steps to achieve the stated objective may not be immediately obvious. Problem solving tools, such as brainstorming or root cause analysis, may be required to figure out the actions required - see the Fact Sheet on Problem Solving.
In other cases, the solution is straight-forward and tasks can be stepped out in logical order. Some tasks may rely on others to be completed before they can commence and it is important to identify these ‘dependencies’.

When working in a team, the person responsible for achieving each task should be clearly identified so that the expectation for action is understood. Each team member should hold others accountable, particularly where their delegated tasks have related dependencies.

It is important to set deadlines for completion of a project and for each step along the way.
Try to be realistic about time commitments; break big steps into smaller chunks with more frequent milestones to achieve a sense of accomplishment.
Allow flexibility to experiment and change direction, as you learn from the outcomes of your actions along the way.

Resources could include people, equipment, funding or information required to complete a project or implement an improvement.
Identifying these requirements early will highlight potential roadblocks or lead times that could delay completing an action.
Pre-emptive action can be taken to ensure the resources are available as they are needed.

For simple projects, or to manage actions arising from meetings, a basic action list may be sufficient. At a minimum it should include the project or improvement objective, a list of actions, the person responsible for each action and a due date for completion of the action.
An Action Plan template is available for download from the Business Action Learning Tasmania website.

A Kanban Board is another way to prioritise and manage actions. This could be set up on a blank wall, or a whiteboard. A simple board will have three sections, with headings such as: To Do, In progress, Completed.
Cards or sticky notes, with details of an action, person responsible and due date, are moved across the board as actions progress.
Free web-based applications are available online, which allow boards to be managed ‘virtually’.

The Gantt chart was developed by Henry Gantt in the early 1900s as a simple and effective means of managing a project.
A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart. Activities to be completed are listed vertically at the left hand end of the chart. Calendar dates are shown horizontally at the top of the chart. The duration of each activity is shown by drawing a bar on the chart.
A Gantt chart is useful to determine the sequence of activities and show dependencies between actions.
A template Gantt Chart is available on the Business Action Learning Tasmania website.

An action plan must be monitored regularly. When creating a plan, establish the methods and frequency of review. During the review, each person responsible for a task should report back on their progress.
If you are a small business owner or are working alone, recruit a trusted friend or colleague to hold you accountable to your plan, or form an action learning set with others pursuing improvement projects.
See the Fact Sheet on Action Learning for more information.