Category Archives: Business

Project-Plan-Template.xlsx

Business, Project Management,
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This is a project plan template that can be used across many types of projects. It is built in Microsoft Excel and is simple and easy to use. This project plan template allows for the entering of:

  • Task Name
  • Status
  • Start Date
  • End Date
  • Owner.

Additionally, the Project Plan template automatically calculates the Duration of each task, as well as the Total Project Duration and Project Completion Date.

The project plan template also shades each row a certain color based on which status the task is in. A Completed task shades the row green, an In Progress task shades the row orange, a Delayed task shades the row red.  A status of Not Started does not create any shading and leaves the text black.

To indicate a line is a Milestone, type “Milestone” into the Status field and it will turn the text blue and remove any shading. To indicate a line is a Project Phase (or header of multiple tasks), type “(Phase)” into the status field and it will shade the row grey to mark it as a a phase which does not have a status.

The project plan, also known as a “project schedule”, is created and maintained by the Project Manager. It should be easily accessible to project team members, stakeholders and sponsors. It can also be printed and hung in a common working area to create a sense of accountability for tasks and timelines.

SWOT-Analysis.pptx

Business
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A SWOT Analysis facilitates the development of organizational strategies based on the organization’s conditions and it’s industry conditions. It is not considered a thorough analysis.

What is SWOT? SWOT stands for:

  • Strengths (internal to the organization) – what the organization does well, core competencies, etc.
  • Weaknesses (internal to the organization) – what the organization does not do well.
  • Opportunities (external to the organization) – favorable trends in the industry
  • Threats (external to the organization) – unfavorable trends in the industry

Upon identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, one can identify strategies for the organization that ideally address more than one SWOT item.  For example, a strength in “low-cost manufacturing” and an opportunity of “increasing demand for low end electronics” may lead to a strategy of new product development for certain low end electronics items.

The first page of the powerpoint template is the SWOT diagram which can easily be populated for your organization. The second page is to document the business strategies identified through the SWOT analysis, grouped according to which two SWOT components are being addressed.

Communication-Plan.xlsx

Business, Project Management,
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This is a template for a Communication Plan.  This type of document is typically used in Project Management.  It is not intended to include the details of the content for each interaction (powerpoint slides, financial information, etc), but to coordinate what needs to be communicated to who and when.

The main components of the plan are: the topic to be communicated, the audience who is being communicated to, frequency of the communication, the channel of communication (or, how the topic will be communicated), and the owner (who is responsible for the communication).

The Project Manager is typicaly responsible for maintaing the Communication Plan and sharing it with parties of interest.

SIPOC-Diagram.pptx

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This is a simple SIPOC Diagram Powerpoint Template. SIPOC stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers.

A SIPOC diagram is often used in Lean and Six Sigma process improvement projects to:
– Define the stakeholders of a process (suppliers and customers)
– Define the scope and boundaries of the process
– Provide a high level overview of the process
– Understand how process outputs serve the end customer

It is typically used early in the project to gain alignment amongst the team and stakeholders.

How do you use it?

It is easiest to begin in the Outputs column. What does your process produce? It may be physical products, services, data/information, etc. List each output of the process in a cell in the Outputs column.

Next, move to the Customers column. Who consumes the outputs of your process? List each Customer in a cell in this column. A customer should be aligned with each of the outputs. Keep in mind that one Output may have many customers.

Complete the Inputs column next. What raw materials, data, etc must be fed into your process in order to get the outputs on the other side? List each input in a cell in the Inputs column.

Next, complete the Suppliers column. Who provides the inputs for the process? The suppliers can be individuals, companies, systems/databases, etc. Each input should be aligned with a supplier.

Finally, complete the Process column. Look at your Inputs column and determine what is the high level process to transform them into your Outputs. Note that the SIPOC diagram only includes a very high level view of the process. It should be summarized in 4-6 steps. A more detailed picture of the process can be created in a Process Flow Diagram. The process steps do not need to be aligned with the inputs and outputs.

SIPOC-Diagram.xlsx

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This is an Excel version of the SIPOC Diagram template posted here:  https://www.hitdocs.com/sipoc-diagram-pptx/.

SIPOC stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers.

A SIPOC diagram is often used in Lean and Six Sigma process improvement projects to:

– Define the stakeholders of a process (suppliers and customers)

– Define the scope and boundaries of the process

– Provide a high level overview of the process

– Understand how process outputs serve the end customer

It is typically used early in the project to gain alignment amongst the team and stakeholders.


How do you use it?

It is easiest to begin in the Outputs column. What does your process produce? It may be physical products, services, data/information, etc. List each output of the process in a cell in the Outputs column.

Next, move to the Customers column. Who consumes the outputs of your process? List each Customer in a cell in this column. A customer should be aligned with each of the outputs. Keep in mind that one Output may have many customers.

Complete the Inputs column next. What raw materials, data, etc must be fed into your process in order to get the outputs on the other side? List each input in a cell in the Inputs column.

Next, complete the Suppliers column. Who provides the inputs for the process? The suppliers can be individuals, companies, systems/databases, etc. Each input should be aligned with a supplier.

Finally, complete the Process column. Look at your Inputs column and determine what is the high level process to transform them into your Outputs. Note that the SIPOC diagram only includes a very high level view of the process. It should be summarized in 4-6 steps. A more detailed picture of the process can be created in a Process Flow Diagram. The process steps do not need to be aligned with the inputs and outputs.