Strategic Planning
is the process of determining an organization's long-term goals and then identifying the best approach for achieving those goals. A strategic plan represents a shared vision of what will be; provides a framework applicable to a specific period of time (though this framework may change as internal and external business factors change); identifies an overall direction (but not the means of achieving it); identifies the predetermined direction toward which short term actions will be pointed; identifies the context within which the organization accepts or rejects new products and opportunities; and assigns its resources to current services.
It enables an organization to think about the big picture and future plans, align stakeholder needs with a plan that can be put into operation, make decisions, prioritize and solve problems, deal with change, and facilitate teamwork. A strategic plan is distinct from a tactical or operational plan, which is more dynamic and specific than a strategic plan. A strategic plan, for example, might state that a software company should move away from large proprietary software targeted to large corporate customers and toward a more easily and in many cases more cost-efficiently customizable open standards software marketed to mass-market consumers. Tactical plans would need to be developed to meet this strategy, including, for example, a software development plan, a marketing plan, financial plans, etc.
Also called: IT Strategy, Strategic Business Planning, Business Alignment, Strategy, Strategy Planning, IT Strategic Planning, Corporate Strategic Planning, Business Strategy, Corporate Strategy Planning, Planning, and Information Technology Strategy