Business Plan
A business plan is a proposal to invest in a new business or to diversify a business.Business Case
A business case is a proposal to invest in an existing business. For example, a proposal to invest in automation to improve productivity and quality.Financial Analysis
Financial analysis such as return on investment estimates.Strategic Drivers
Identifying and measuring the strategic drivers that influence your strategy.Forecasting
Developing grounded assumptions about the future. For example, a sales forecast that is used to plan production, marketing and sales.Estimates
Estimates are internal forecasts of costs and duration. For example, estimating how long it will take to bring a product to market.Reference Class Forecasting
Reference class forecasting is the process of comparing estimates to a database of historical costs and duration. For example, comparing the cost to build a luxury hotel against a database of the actual costs for hundreds of similar buildings. A means of validating and improving estimates.Management Accounting
Management accounting is the practice of measuring anything that management needs to know. For example, measuring a firm's productivity rate.Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of comparing your internal results to those of your industry or competitors.Customer Analysis
Developing an understanding of your customers or target market.Market Research
Researching customers and markets. For example, estimating the demand for a new type of food product.Competitor Analysis
Evaluating sets of competitors. For example, estimating the unit costs of competitors who manufacturer in a country with cheaper labor costs.Voice of the Customer
Engaging customers such as lead users to hear their view of your customer experience.Customer Journey
Customer journey is an analysis of the customer experience as a time sequence.Brand Analysis
Analysis and measurement of brand recognition, brand awareness, brand image and other factors such as brand architecture.Goal Planning
The process of setting strategic goals.Strategic Priorities
The process of prioritizing goals and objectives.Gap Analysis
A gap analysis is the identification of the difference between the current state of your business and a desired future state.Capability Analysis
Capability analysis is looking at your organization as a set of current and future capabilities. For example, sales forecasting is a capability.Risk Analysis
Risk analysis is the process of identifying risks and evaluating risk exposure.Requirements Analysis
Developing plans that achieve goals in the form of requirements for change.Strategic Objectives
Strategic objectives are meaningful steps towards strategic goals. For example, if your goal is to open a new restaurant a related objective might be securing a location.Critical Success Factors
Identifying critical success factors that will cause your strategy to fail if they aren't executed well. For example, finding a talented chef for a new restaurant location.Operations Analysis
The analysis of the core operations of a business such as manufacturing and logistics processes.Feasibility Analysis
Determining if elements of your plan are feasible given your organizational, financial, regulatory and technical constraints.Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is the overall process of taking all the information above and generating an actual set of prioritized goals and a concrete plan to achieve them.
| Overview: Strategic Analysis | ||
Type | ||
Definition (1) | Research that supports strategic planning and decision making. | |
Definition (2) | Business analysis in support of strategy. | |
Related Concepts | ||
