GLOSSARY
Advocacy mapping: Identifying who in the organization will be a sponsor for the strategic plan and what's in it for them to do so.
Advocates: The people in the organization who support the development of a strategic plan. Advocates may be customers, stakeholders, business partners, or sponsors.
Balanced scorecard approach: An evaluation method, created by Robert Kaplan and David Norton, that consists of four perspectives (customer, learning, business, and financial) and is used to evaluate effectiveness.
Business drivers: The internal and external factors that affect an organization's strategy and therefore its business needs. An example of an external business driver is government; regulation or deregulation forces changes in competition or the overall business environment. An example of an internal business driver is technology; technological innovations create opportunities or needs for changes in information storage and processing.
Business need: An organization requirement identified by examining business drivers and deciding how the company will respond to an external or internal force. Examples of business needs include increased competitive advantage, increased sales, and more rapid development of new products or services.
COCOMO: A specific cost model for estimating the number of person-months required to develop software.
Communication plan: An overall plan for publicizing a strategic plan, including key messages, target audiences, timeframes and communication points, required resources needed, materials to be developed, and distribution dates and mechanisms.
Cost model: A template for calculating the budget or line item costs of implementing a tactic.
Data coding: Grouping data into categories for analysis either by strategic outcome or by a specific topic in the strategic plan.
Data collection: The gathering of information through focus groups, interviews, surveys, and research as required to develop a strategic plan.
Data collection instrument: A written document (such as a survey, observation worksheet, or a focus group or interview guide) used to gather the data needed for developing a strategic plan.
Descriptive statistics: Numbers that summarize how questionnaire items were answered. Descriptive statistics include frequency, percentage, cumulative frequency, and cumulative percentage.
Expected results: The business outcomes to be realized when the tactics identified in the strategic plan have been implemented.
Falsification principle: The principle at work when agreement with a data finding is reached through the influence or opinion of a dominant player or someone with seniority.
Maintenance: Periodic updating of the strategic plan based on changes in the organization, new business needs, industry trends, and the overall economic environment.
Maintenance triggers: Internal and external changes that may indicate the need to update the strategy; for example, changes to the organization structure, changes in technology, or the entry of new competitors in the marketplace.
Marketing message: A message that promotes realistic expectations about the strategic plan.
Mission objectives: The direction the organization, group, or department will take, and the goals to be pursued. The objectives communicate the ultimate purpose and intention of the entity.
Mission statement: A brief declaration of why the organization, group, or department exists. It provides the foundation on which the entity will build its products and services and identifies to whom it will offer them.
Organizational structure: An organization's reporting relationships and decision-making processes.
Pivot table: An interactive table of summarized data that can organize data in different ways for easy comparison and analysis.
Preexisting information: Data already available from organizational or outside resources that can save time in data collection.
Priority setting: Deciding which tactics, resources, outcomes, or results are most important to the organization or merit more attention or resources than other elements in a strategic plan.
Reliability: A characteristic of the data that indicates to what extent they are consistent and dependable.
Resource prioritization: Rank-ordering the resources needed to execute the strategic plan, using cost models or linking resources to business drivers and objectives.
Risk management: Identifying a situation or problem that may put specific plans or outcomes in jeopardy, and then organizing actions to mitigate it.
Sponsor: The executive or manager who is supporting the strategic plan, who provides financial approval for it, and who navigates the political waters on its behalf.
Strategic plan document: Written record of a strategic plan, usually consisting of an overview, strategy charter, description of the current environment, research findings, tactics, roles and accountabilities, key performance indicators, and recommended next steps.
SWOT analysis: A scan of the business environment to identify the organization's strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats it faces.
Tactical plan: A detailed list of actions to be taken over a three- to five-year period to achieve specific desired results or outcomes. The plan specifies required resources and intended timeframes.
Tactics: Actions that will lead to specific desired results or outcomes.
Thematic analysis: Arrangement of data by themes, ideas, or topics to make analysis of the data less difficult.
Validation: Confirmation or corroboration of something, such as a business need or an identified opinion or recommendation.
Validity: A characteristic of the data collected that indicates they are sound and accurate.
Values statement: A declaration of the traits, behaviors, or qualities that will define or characterize the organization's actions and those of all who represent it.
Vision statement: A declaration describing where the organization is going or what its future will be. This type of statement is more idealistic and inspirational than a mission statement.