Seven Management and Planning Tools

"Planning (also called forethought) is the process of thinking about and organizing the activities required to achieve a desired goal.
Planning involves the creation and maintenance of a plan. As such, planning is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior. This thought process is essential to the creation and refinement of a plan, or integration of it with other plans; that is, it combines forecasting of developments with the preparation of scenarios of how to react to them.
An important, albeit often ignored aspect of planning, is the relationship it holds with forecasting. Forecasting can be described as predicting what the future will look like, whereas planning predicts what the future should look like. The counterpart to planning is spontaneous order." [Planning. Wikipedia]
The block diagram example "Planning process" was created using the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software extended with the Block Diagrams solution from the area "What is a Diagram" of ConceptDraw Solution Park.

The cycle diagram sample was created on the base of the figure illustrating the webpage "2. POLICY & STRATEGY" of "Scottish Police College Primary Inspection 2006: A Report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary" from the Scottish Government website.
"Strategic Planning.
2.1 The planning process for the College currently follows a structured approach, starting in April and extending through the financial year. The planning cycle is illustrated in figure 2. ...
2.2 The College recognises the need to consult with its customers and stakeholders in the process of setting objectives and directing the training programme. The planning cycle to date refers to force visits, environmental scanning, the course planning process which involves consultation with all forces and other common police services, as well as to a survey of external providers.
2.3 The information from consultation feeds into an EFQM framework from which the College has identified four key policies, namely:
(1) developing and delivering quality training;
(2) developing our people through lifelong learning;
(3) continuous improvement of our service; and
(4) embracing the changing environment.
2.4 The objectives set at divisional level are designed to contribute to delivering these policies. HMIC found that whilst the selected objectives were presented in line with the structure, not all could be considered to meet SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed) criteria. This failure indicates that while the process appears suitably structured to deliver a robust result, some of those involved could perhaps have a better understanding of the process." [scotland.gov.uk/ Publications/ 2007/ 02/ 15134652/ 8]
The cycle diagram example "Strategic planning" was created using the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software extended with the Target and Circular Diagrams solution from the Marketing area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.
www.conceptdraw.com/ solution-park/ marketing-target-and-circular-diagrams

This arrow loop diagram sample was created on the base of the figure illustrating the webpage "Safe Roads for a Safer Future A Joint Safety Strategic Plan" from the website of US Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety.
"STRATEGIC PLANNING CYCLE.
After the safety units issue the SSP, they will identify and prioritize strategies to support the established goals. Many strategies will originate in existing roadmaps or in other program planning activities. The safety units will also use this information when developing their Unit Performance Plans and individual performance plans. Teams within each safety unit will carry out projects and activities to support identified strategies and achieve the SSP goals.
The SSP process also includes continuous performance monitoring and evaluation through which the safety units will review past accomplishments against the established goals, consider how well strategies are implemented, assess progress toward goals, identify risks, consider changes in the environment, and discuss future strategic direction. As a part of the evaluation process, the three safety units will recognize achievements and discuss the need for adjustments. Figure ... shows the strategic planning cycle.
The safety units will update the SSP every 3 to 5 years using input from a variety of sources, including evaluations, safety trends, and legislative changes." [safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ ssp/ ]
The arrow loop diagram example "Strategic planning cycle" was created using the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software extended with the Target and Circular Diagrams solution from the Marketing area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.
www.conceptdraw.com/ solution-park/ marketing-target-and-circular-diagrams