How do you know when to revise or update your plans?

1 Monitor your progress

The first step to knowing when to revise or update your plans is to monitor your progress regularly and compare it to your expected outcomes. You can use various tools and methods to track your performance, such as dashboards, milestones, indicators, or feedback loops. Monitoring your progress can help you identify any gaps, deviations, or delays in your plans and determine the causes and consequences of these issues. It can also help you celebrate your achievements and recognize what is working well in your plans.

2 Evaluate your assumptions

The second step to knowing when to revise or update your plans is to evaluate your assumptions and test their validity. Assumptions are the beliefs or expectations that underpin your plans and influence your decisions. They can be based on facts, data, experience, or intuition, but they can also be inaccurate, outdated, or biased. Evaluating your assumptions can help you challenge your thinking and uncover any blind spots, errors, or risks in your plans. It can also help you discover new insights, opportunities, or perspectives that can improve your plans.

3 Review your environment

The third step to knowing when to revise or update your plans is to review your environment and scan for any changes or trends that may affect your plans. Your environment includes the internal and external factors that shape your context and influence your opportunities and challenges. These factors can be political, economic, social, technological, environmental, or legal, and they can be positive or negative, stable or dynamic, predictable or uncertain. Reviewing your environment can help you anticipate and respond to any changes or trends that may require you to adapt or modify your plans. It can also help you identify and seize any emerging opportunities or advantages that may enhance your plans.

4 Consult your stakeholders

The fourth step to knowing when to revise or update your plans is to consult your stakeholders and solicit their input and feedback. Stakeholders are the people or groups who are affected by or have an interest in your plans and their outcomes. They can be internal or external, supportive or resistant, active or passive, and they can have different needs, expectations, or perspectives. Consulting your stakeholders can help you understand their views and concerns and address any issues or conflicts that may arise in your plans. It can also help you build trust and collaboration and leverage their expertise and resources to improve your plans.

5 Assess your alternatives

The fifth step to knowing when to revise or update your plans is to assess your alternatives and weigh their pros and cons. Alternatives are the different options or scenarios that you can choose from or implement in your plans. They can be based on different assumptions, objectives, strategies, or actions, and they can have different outcomes, costs, benefits, or risks. Assessing your alternatives can help you compare and contrast the different possibilities and consequences of your plans and decide which ones are the most feasible, desirable, or effective. It can also help you prepare for contingencies and uncertainties and have backup or fallback plans ready.

6 Make your decisions

The final step to knowing when to revise or update your plans is to make your decisions and communicate them clearly and convincingly. Decisions are the choices or judgments that you make based on your analysis and evaluation of your plans and their alternatives. They can be simple or complex, easy or difficult, timely or urgent, and they can have significant or minor impacts on your plans and their outcomes. Making your decisions can help you resolve any problems or challenges and implement any changes or improvements in your plans. It can also help you align your actions and resources with your goals and expectations and communicate your rationale and direction to your stakeholders.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?