# PWR-120 — Strategic planning: learner worksheet Release: Revision 7T · Full Tutorial Edition Estimated time: Estimated 31 min reading and worksheet pass Difficulty: Intermediate Equipment: Common household or practice equipment — Exact fictional open-day brief: Friday 15:00 event for 40 visitors; room manager owns the plan; £300 ceiling; four volunteers; 40 chairs; step-free entry and a 1.2 m clear path are hard constraints. Ground-floor room confirmation is due Wednesday 12:00; the two-hour accessible-layout check ends Thursday 10:00; the one-hour volunteer briefing ends Thursday 16:00; baseline printing arrives Friday 10:00, material staging takes three hours, and final setup takes two hours and requires staged materials plus briefing. Thus printing→staging→setup exactly fills Friday 10:00–15:00 and has zero slack. Disruption cards: lift unavailable, two volunteers withdraw, or printing arrives Friday 14:30.; Backward milestone sheet, dependency map, assumption log and trigger table.; A timing worksheet with planned start, duration, earliest finish, required finish, latest start and slack. For this fixed-clock fixture, calculate earliest finish = planned start + duration, latest start = required finish − duration, and slack = latest start − planned start; a zero-slack predecessor moves the event deadline if it slips.; Version and outcome-review record. Space: Desk / seated Automated structural checklist: 10 of 10 structural checks present Evidence quality/context: G1; Focused research depth Automated method-quality band: Comprehensive Method-rating basis: Structure coverage, instruction/check specificity, alternative distinctness, source troubleshooting, comparison depth and whether purpose/check fields are authored rather than derived. Editorial review: Pending manual editorial sign off ## Before you begin - [ ] I read the tutorial authority and stop conditions. - [ ] I have the required equipment/space or a declared accessible alternative. ## Canonical source context Strategic planning links a legitimate goal with milestones, assumptions, dependencies, resources, contingencies, execution and review. A polished plan is not the outcome. This lesson uses a fictional community-room open day and stops before real implementation. The learner works backwards, marks assumptions, assigns trigger-based contingencies, rehearses one disruption and states who could approve, change or retire the plan. Target outcome: The learner creates a fictional strategy with a measurable outcome, backward milestones, dependencies, assumptions, one disruption rehearsal, review triggers and a retirement rule. ### Authority and setup conditions - Mark the fixture fictional and name the legitimate owner supplied by the case. - State the intended outcome, affected roles and hard access/safety constraints. - Set a planning horizon and stop before real outreach, spending or implementation. ### Required or supplied materials - Exact fictional open-day brief: Friday 15:00 event for 40 visitors; room manager owns the plan; £300 ceiling; four volunteers; 40 chairs; step-free entry and a 1.2 m clear path are hard constraints. Ground-floor room confirmation is due Wednesday 12:00; the two-hour accessible-layout check ends Thursday 10:00; the one-hour volunteer briefing ends Thursday 16:00; baseline printing arrives Friday 10:00, material staging takes three hours, and final setup takes two hours and requires staged materials plus briefing. Thus printing→staging→setup exactly fills Friday 10:00–15:00 and has zero slack. Disruption cards: lift unavailable, two volunteers withdraw, or printing arrives Friday 14:30. - Backward milestone sheet, dependency map, assumption log and trigger table. - A timing worksheet with planned start, duration, earliest finish, required finish, latest start and slack. For this fixed-clock fixture, calculate earliest finish = planned start + duration, latest start = required finish − duration, and slack = latest start − planned start; a zero-slack predecessor moves the event deadline if it slips. - Version and outcome-review record. ## 1. Define outcome and legitimacy Write a measurable fictional outcome, deadline, owner, affected roles and non-goals. Why: A goal can be clear yet illegitimate or overbroad. Success check: The outcome includes who authorises it and what is excluded. Accessible alternative: Complete the same research action — “Write a measurable fictional outcome, deadline, owner, affected roles and non-goals.” — using speech-to-text, text-to-speech, enlarged text, keyboard-only navigation, shorter work blocks or a support person. Preserve this declared check: “The outcome includes who authorises it and what is excluded.” Do not convert the research task into capability practice. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 2. Backcast milestones Start at the deadline and work backwards through the minimum observable milestones needed. Why: Backward planning exposes prerequisites that forward wish lists miss. Success check: Every milestone has a latest completion point and evidence. Accessible alternative: A visible, captioned or haptic version of “Start at the deadline and work backwards through the minimum observable milestones needed.” can rehearse the response sequence, but it removes the declared auditory stimulus and is therefore a related activity, not an equivalent attempt at Strategic planning. To preserve the target, keep the authored sound and adapt only non-target access such as response input, instructions, breaks or support; retain this success check: “Every milestone has a latest completion point and evidence.” Alternative relationship: Related alternative changes trained or measured target Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 3. Map dependencies and resources For each milestone, name people, permission, material, information and predecessor tasks it relies on. Why: Plans fail at interfaces and missing resources, not just intentions. Success check: Every critical milestone has at least one dependency and resource. Accessible alternative: A visible, captioned or haptic version of “For each milestone, name people, permission, material, information and predecessor tasks it relies on.” can rehearse the response sequence, but it removes the declared auditory stimulus and is therefore a related activity, not an equivalent attempt at Strategic planning. To preserve the target, keep the authored sound and adapt only non-target access such as response input, instructions, breaks or support; retain this success check: “Every critical milestone has at least one dependency and resource.” Alternative relationship: Related alternative changes trained or measured target Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 4. Find the critical sequence Fill the timing worksheet from the Friday 15:00 event backwards. For each task compute earliest finish from its planned start and duration, latest start from the successor's required time minus duration, then slack as latest start minus planned start. Trace the connected zero-slack tasks as the critical sequence. Why: A list of deadlines does not show which delay actually controls delivery. Success check: The sheet shows printing 10:00–10:00, staging 10:00–13:00 and setup 13:00–15:00 as a five-hour Friday chain with zero slack, while non-critical timing margins are written separately. Accessible alternative: Complete the same research action — “Fill the timing worksheet from the Friday 15:00 event backwards. For each task compute earliest finish from its planned start and duration, latest start from the successor's required time minus duration, then slack as latest start minus planned start. Trace the connected zero-slack tasks as the critical sequence.” — using speech-to-text, text-to-speech, enlarged text, keyboard-only navigation, shorter work blocks or a support person. Preserve this declared check: “The sheet shows printing 10:00–10:00, staging 10:00–13:00 and setup 13:00–15:00 as a five-hour Friday chain with zero slack, while non-critical timing margins are written separately.” Do not convert the research task into capability practice. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 5. Specify each handoff For every critical transition, name who produces what, who receives it, the acceptance check and what happens when the handoff is late or incomplete. Why: Many strategies fail between tasks even when each task appears assigned. Success check: The critical chain contains no anonymous handoff, and each receiver has an observable acceptance rule. Accessible alternative: A supported, seated, reduced-range or slower version of “For every critical transition, name who produces what, who receives it, the acceptance check and what happens when the handoff is late or incomplete.” is equivalent only when it keeps the same trained or measured target, declared configuration and success check: “The critical chain contains no anonymous handoff, and each receiver has an observable acceptance rule.” If any of those change, record it as a related alternative rather than an equivalent repetition. Alternative relationship: Conditional equivalence requires target and configuration check Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 6. Expose assumptions Write what must be true, how uncertain it is and what observation would test it. Why: Invisible assumptions become surprise failures. Success check: The three highest-risk assumptions have tests or review dates. Accessible alternative: Complete the same research action — “Write what must be true, how uncertain it is and what observation would test it.” — using speech-to-text, text-to-speech, enlarged text, keyboard-only navigation, shorter work blocks or a support person. Preserve this declared check: “The three highest-risk assumptions have tests or review dates.” Do not convert the research task into capability practice. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 7. Build trigger contingencies For each major failure branch, write an observable trigger, fallback action, decision owner and communication route. Why: A contingency is useful only when its activation rule is clear. Success check: At least two branches have trigger, action, owner and notice. Accessible alternative: Complete the same research action — “For each major failure branch, write an observable trigger, fallback action, decision owner and communication route.” — using speech-to-text, text-to-speech, enlarged text, keyboard-only navigation, shorter work blocks or a support person. Preserve this declared check: “At least two branches have trigger, action, owner and notice.” Do not convert the research task into capability practice. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 8. Rehearse one disruption Draw a supplied disruption card, walk the plan from that point and record delays, harms, excluded people and new dependencies. Why: A rehearsal tests adaptability without real-world consequences. Success check: The revised version shows exactly what changed and why. Accessible alternative: Complete the same research action — “Draw a supplied disruption card, walk the plan from that point and record delays, harms, excluded people and new dependencies.” — using speech-to-text, text-to-speech, enlarged text, keyboard-only navigation, shorter work blocks or a support person. Preserve this declared check: “The revised version shows exactly what changed and why.” Do not convert the research task into capability practice. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 9. Separate execution and retire List the direct outcome measures, burdens and harms that would be checked during execution, plus a rule for pausing or retiring the plan. Why: Plan coherence cannot substitute for observed implementation. Success check: The final page distinguishes plan-quality checks from outcome checks. Accessible alternative: Complete “List the direct outcome measures, burdens and harms that would be checked during execution, plus a rule for pausing or retiring the plan.” in shorter passes, or use keyboard input, dictation or a support person, while preserving this success check: “The final page distinguishes plan-quality checks from outcome checks.” Use a linear milestone table instead of a network diagram. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## Reflection What changed? ________________________________________________________________________________ What remains difficult? ________________________________________________________________________________ What will I repeat, adapt, ask for help with, or stop? ________________________________________________________________________________ --- Completion of this worksheet demonstrates tutorial participation only. It does not establish capability, qualification, safety clearance, diagnosis, treatment or independent validation.