ACT

“Without action, the world would still be an idea” –Georges F. Doriot, INSEAD Founder

Act means to

"..Take action; do something. - Oxford dictionary

While the formulation of a strategy and all the activities associated with it are important, no goals can be achieved without action. Implementing a strategy requires a coherent set of actions that are well coordinated to guide efforts to achieve the objectives. Coherence in actions means the actions are logical, consistent and form a unified whole.

Objectives

1. Achieve coherence in action

2. Execute project initiatives within time, budget and resource constraints

3. Achieve key results

Approach

1. Collaboration between formulation and execution teams

2. Identify the list of prioritized initiatives

3. Select the right methodology (agile, waterfall or hybrid)

4. Set up delivery teams

5. Establish communication plan

6. Execute the initiatives

Output

1. Initiatives status reports

Actors

1. Delivery Manager

2. Facilitator

3. All responsible Stakeholders

Activities

Collaboration

ACT phase is the beginning of execution phase. The input to this phase is an approved strategy which provides a clear business technology context in the form of diagnosis, guiding policies, objectives, key results, list of prioritized initiatives and project charters. Execution is usually the responsibility of an execution office which is called project or program management office. A delivery manager may be assigned to a strategy.

List of initiatives

A list of prioritized key results and initiatives was created during the Define OKR phase of the strategy. Initiatives are part of objectives and key results. The charter of each initiative was also documented. This is a good starting for ACT phase.

Manage Initiatives

Initiatives are the primary means of implementing the strategy and include programs, projects, change requests, and even proof of concept work. They drive progress toward objectives and key results. Initiatives are created during the Set OKR phase and are aligned with the OKR cadence.

Initiatives can be implemented using waterfall, agile, or hybrid approaches. In all cases, a solution architecture is a necessary deliverable.

Workflow: Manage Strategy Initiative

Workflow: Manage Initiative Solution

Manage Backlog

A strategy backlog is an accumulation of work related to strategy implementation that needs to be completed. The backlog may include important tasks, issues, problems, ideas or other items that should be completed to accelerate the delivery of key results.

Workflow: Manage Strategy Backlog