Guidance note: Developing the
implementation plan
[The implementation plan is a planning document that outlines the
activities, resources, time lines and action owners required to implement
the vision and change requirements identified in the previous steps ]
17 September 2008
Table of Contents
1
2
Background............................................................................................................4
The implementation plan ........................................................................................5
2.1
Steps in the development of an implementation plan ................................................. 5
2.2
3
Prioritizing activities in the implementation plan ......................................................... 7
Scalability and Tools ..............................................................................................9
iii
1
Background
Step 2 and 3 have resulted in an agreed strategic vision and framework for UN Coherence and
Step 4 has identified the change implications required to realize the strategic vision. Step 5 will
help you draw all activities together within a single implementation plan.
The implementation plan focuses on the logical grouping of activities into work streams and the
subsequent unpacking of work streams into outputs and activities. Once ownership, resource
requirements and timelines have been set, activities are prioritized based upon their impact on
the outcomes and complexity to implement.
The prioritized implementation plan will be used as the road map for coordinating the next step:
Step 6: Implementation.
The UNCT can use this results based implementation plan to monitor and coordinate the
implementation and ensure that the identified outcomes are realized in accordance with the
timelines and resource requirements as identified in this plan. As such, the progress report
based on the implementation plan is an important input to the UNCT decision making process.
2
The implementation plan
The main activities for drafting the implementation plan focus on the logical grouping of activities
into work streams in order to achieve the outcomes of that work stream. Once ownership,
resource requirements and timelines have been set, activities are prioritized based upon their
impact on the outcomes and complexity to implement. (An example of a plan containing
grouping of activities into several work streams can be found in the Malawi business plan
document.)
2.1 Steps in the development of an implementation plan
1. Identify appropriate worksteams for your programme. Examples of worksteams include
Common Services, Common Premises, Joint Communication, Joint Resource
Mobilisation etc. The workstreams should always correspond to the priorities of the
UNCT vision identified in step 3.
2. Each work stream relates to one or more outcomes that it aims to achieve. The
outcome should be phrased as a high level result or change that you aim to achieve.
Some examples include: increase in efficiency or a decreased cost of delivering a
programme or service, or a change in capacity to deliver a different type of service or
programme.
3. For each work stream outcome, identify the outputs that together realize the outcome of
the work stream. The outputs are a deliverable – a product or service which will
contribute to the achievement of the outcome, and they should be phrased as such.
4. For each of the outputs in a work stream, identify the activities that jointly realize the
output. Activities are actions undertaken to realize a deliverable, the output.
Generally we can say that a work stream is a logically related set of outputs and activities
aimed at realizing the specific outcome(s).
The table below provides an example of the completed steps 1-4 above.
Example :
Workstream 1: Common Services

Outcome 1: Decrease the cost of UN procurement of general office supplies by 12% by the end of 2046

Output: “The general office supply joint procurement process developed and implemented by
the end of 2045”

Activity 1: Organize Inter Agency Task Force of participating agency procurement staff
Resource Required: None


Activity 2: Execute joint General procurement requirements / feasibility study

Activity 3: Redesign General procurement business processes

Activity 4: Organize joint bidding process

Activity 5: Obtain corporate clearance

Activity 6: Train involved staff

Activity 7: Communicate new process to all staff
Outcome 2: Decrease the cost of procurement of UN Travel services by 5 % by the end of 2047

Output: “Joint procurement of travel services developed and implemented by the end of 2046”

Activity 1: Organize Inter Agency Task Force of participating agency procurement staff

Activity 2: Execute joint Travel procurement requirements / feasibility study

Activity 3: Redesign Travel procurement business processes

Activity 4: Organize joint bidding process

Activity 5: Obtain corporate clearance

Activity 6: Train involved staff

Activity 7: Communicate new process to all staff
One you have defined workstreams, outcomes outputs and activities, you can start
populating the implementation plan template. Add the following information:
5. Owner: Attribute an action owner to each of the outcomes, outputs and activities to
ensure ownership, accountability and responsibility at each level. The owner can be a
person or a team, depending on the agreement and complexity of the outputs and
activities.
6. Resources: Identify for each activity the human and financial resources required to
implement it. This is a very important step, as it will drive the overall budget figures
for the implementation of the programme. Therefore, the completed
implementation plan with resource allocations is an input into the overall budget
breakdown for the execution of the programme. (Refer to the Budget Template
tool in Step 9).
7. Schedule/Timeline: The development of the implementation plan and detailed
description of activities and performance indicators mentioned in the previous step
should be complemented by a schedule which defines when each activity will be carried
out. Schedule should be in line with agreed priorities and should be realistic.
Therefore, attribute a realistic timeline to each activity, based on its complexity. Ensure
that in case other activities depend on the realization of this activity, the timelines
between the different activities is aligned so that the deadline for other activities and
outputs does not get compromised.
8. Dependencies: In order to ensure that resources are made available and matched with
identified activities and to avoid potential bottlenecks and unnecessary downtime it is
advisable to analyse interdependencies including: activities that may be performed in
parallel; activities that may overlap; and gaps needed between activities e.g. to perform
quality control tasks.
2.2 Prioritizing activities in the implementation plan
The prioritisation of the activities and outputs in the implementation plan could be determined
based on the impact the activities have on the realization of the outcomes of the work streams.
The activities/outputs with the higher impact and lower complexity should get the highest
priority.
Examples of potential impact:
•
To what extent does this initiative result in a reduction of costs?
•
Will our stakeholders see the direct benefits from this initiative?
•
What are the expectations with regard to sustainability of the change?
Examples of complexities:
•
To what extent is the organization ready to implement the activity or realize the
output
•
How many different stakeholder groups will be involved in the process?
•
To what extend can we draw on the experience of our staff for this initiative?
•
•
How could the decision make process be classified for this initiative?
…
Impact and complexity determined for each activity/output can be reflected in the following
diagram:
HIGH PRIORITY
(HIGH IMPACT/LOW
COMPLEXITY)
MEDIUM PRIORITY
(HIGH IMPACT/HIGH
COMPLEXITY)
MEDIUM PRIORITY
(LOW IMPACT/LOW
COMPLEXITY)
LOW PRIORITY
(LOW IMPACT/HIGH
COMPLEXITY)
IMPACT
COMPLEXITY
3
Scalability and Tools
Planning is an essential part of any project small, medium or large. There is no one “fit all”
solution to planning, the level of detail will vary depending on the needs of the project.
Likewise, there are many different tools that may be used in the planning process. These
include checklists, graphs, excel sheets, gantt charts, critical path analyses etc. Such tools may
be manual, computerised or a combination of both.
It is desirable to discuss and decide the detailed level of planning required and the planning and
control aids to be used before the development of the implementation plan. Different tools may
be appropriate depending on the complexity and scale of the programme.