business plan evaluation example

Business Plan Evaluation

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What is Business Plan Evaluation?

A business plan evaluation is a critical process that involves the assessment of a business plan to determine its feasibility, viability, and potential for success. This process is crucial for entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders as it helps them make informed decisions about the business. The evaluation process involves analyzing various aspects of the business plan, including the business model, market analysis, financial projections, and management team.

The purpose of a business plan evaluation is to identify strengths and weaknesses in the plan, assess the feasibility of the business idea, evaluate the potential for profitability, and determine the likelihood of achieving the business objectives. The evaluation process also helps identify areas where improvements can be made to enhance the chances of success. This process is particularly important for solopreneurs who are solely responsible for the success or failure of their business.

Importance of Business Plan Evaluation

The evaluation of a business plan is an essential step in the business planning process. It provides an opportunity for the entrepreneur to critically examine their business idea and identify potential challenges and opportunities . The evaluation process also provides valuable insights that can help improve the business plan and increase the chances of success.

For investors, a business plan evaluation is a crucial tool for risk assessment. It allows them to assess the viability of the business idea, the competence of the management team, and the potential for return on investment. This information is vital in making investment decisions.

For Solopreneurs

For solopreneurs, the evaluation of a business plan is particularly important. As they are solely responsible for the success or failure of their business, it is crucial that they thoroughly evaluate their business plan to ensure that it is feasible, viable, and has the potential to be profitable.

The evaluation process can help solopreneurs identify potential challenges and opportunities, assess the feasibility of their business idea, and determine the likelihood of achieving their business objectives. This information can be invaluable in helping them make informed decisions about their business.

For Investors

Investors use the evaluation process to determine whether or not to invest in a business. They look at various aspects of the business plan, including the business model, market analysis, financial projections, and management team, to assess the potential for success. If the evaluation reveals that the business plan is solid and has a high potential for success, the investor may decide to invest in the business.

Components of a Business Plan Evaluation

A business plan evaluation involves the analysis of various components of the business plan. These components include the executive summary, business description, market analysis, organization and management, product line or service, marketing and sales, and financial projections.

Each of these components plays a crucial role in the overall success of the business, and therefore, they must be thoroughly evaluated to ensure that they are realistic, achievable, and aligned with the business objectives.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is the first section of a business plan and provides a brief overview of the business. It includes information about the business concept, the business model, the target market, the competitive advantage, and the financial projections. The executive summary is often the first thing that investors read, and therefore, it must be compelling and persuasive.

In the evaluation process, the executive summary is assessed to determine whether it clearly and concisely presents the business idea and the plan for achieving the business objectives. The evaluator also assesses whether the executive summary is compelling and persuasive enough to attract the attention of investors.

Business Description

The business description provides detailed information about the business. It includes information about the nature of the business, the industry, the business model, the products or services, and the target market. The business description also provides information about the business's competitive advantage and how it plans to achieve its objectives.

In the evaluation process, the business description is assessed to determine whether it provides a clear and comprehensive description of the business. The evaluator also assesses whether the business description clearly outlines the business's competitive advantage and how it plans to achieve its objectives.

Methods of Business Plan Evaluation

There are several methods that can be used to evaluate a business plan. These methods include the SWOT analysis, the feasibility analysis, the competitive analysis, and the financial analysis. Each of these methods provides a different perspective on the business plan and can provide valuable insights into the potential for success.

It's important to note that no single method can provide a complete evaluation of a business plan. Therefore, it's recommended to use a combination of these methods to get a comprehensive understanding of the business plan.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that is used to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to a business. This method involves examining the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the business.

In the evaluation process, a SWOT analysis can provide valuable insights into the potential for success of the business. It can help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the business plan, as well as the opportunities and threats in the market.

Feasibility Analysis

A feasibility analysis is a process that is used to determine whether a business idea is viable. This method involves assessing the practicality of the business idea and whether it can be successfully implemented.

In the evaluation process, a feasibility analysis can provide valuable insights into the feasibility of the business plan. It can help determine whether the business idea is practical and whether it can be successfully implemented.

In conclusion, a business plan evaluation is a critical process that involves the assessment of a business plan to determine its feasibility, viability, and potential for success. This process is crucial for entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders as it helps them make informed decisions about the business.

The evaluation process involves analyzing various aspects of the business plan, including the business model, market analysis, financial projections, and management team. The purpose of a business plan evaluation is to identify strengths and weaknesses in the plan, assess the feasibility of the business idea, evaluate the potential for profitability, and determine the likelihood of achieving the business objectives.

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How to Evaluate a Business Plan

by Evangeline Marzec

Published on 16 Oct 2019

Whether you're an investor, an entrepreneur or a business skills teacher, you'll be exposed to a wide variety of business plans and should have a solid, somewhat standard approach to conducting a business plan assessment. Analyze each section individually, and then look at the plan as a whole to determine the viability of the business and the likelihood of its success in the manner proposed. Also consider the writing skills and attention to detail that went into formulating the plan.

Read and Understand the Executive Summary

The first step in a business plan assessment is reading the business' executive summary. This should be a concise "elevator pitch", not a summary of the business plan. In one or two pages, it should convey the market opportunity and the uniquely compelling features of the business that will help it meet that opportunity. The executive summary should excite you and make you want to turn to the next page. If it doesn't, the entrepreneur might lack marketing or writing skills, or it may indicate that the idea itself is not going to fly.

Analyze Opportunity in the Market

Evaluate the market opportunity. Ideally, the market should be growing at least 10% per year and have a substantial potential relative to the size of the business and investment. For example, a small company seeking an investment of $50,000 should see a potential market of $5 million.

The larger the potential market and the faster it is growing, the greater the opportunity in the market. Look to the exhibits and appendices to ensure that the business actually has done the necessary market research and can back up any claims.

Evaluate the Company's Business Strategy

Examine the company strategy for capturing its market. The plan must clearly describe the problem the company is solving or need it is meeting for customers, and then propose a solution. This is the crux of a business plan assessment.

Closely examine the alignment between problem and solution. Will the company actually address that need? This evaluation must take into account the product or service being offered, the operational capacity and efficiency with which the business actually can produce its product, and the quality of the proposed marketing efforts.

Examine the Business Environment

The business plan should describe the competitive landscape in which the company operates, preferably by referencing Porter's 5 Forces or another well-established tool. Look for detailed breakdowns and analyses of each of it competitors, and of how the company is different and better than the competition in a particular niche. This section should include the regulatory environment and mention any costs or necessary delays associated with regulations.

Porter's 5 Forces is an evaluation model that looks closely at the five competitive forces at play in the business landscape. These forces are present in every industry and by evaluating how they manifest in an individual industry, one can gauge that industry's strengths and weaknesses. Porter's 5 Forces are:

• Competition in the industry
• Potential of new entrants in the industry
• Power of suppliers
• Power of customers
• Threat of substitutes

Evaluate the Leadership Team

Look for experience, integrity and passion in the executive team. Read bios and brief highlights of each executive's strengths and expertise should accompany standard business information such as headquarters and corporate structure. The company should have experienced advisers, either formally or informally.

It is paramount that the principals involved in the business convey their passion and drive toward success with this project. If the founders haven't invested their own capital into the business, or plan on keeping their “day jobs” while running the business, they might lack faith in the project.

Crunch the Numbers and Understand the Finances

Ensure that the financial projections are both promising and realistic. Most entrepreneurs vastly overstate their company's potential, starting with the market size and market share. Financial figures should be based on historical data if available, or very conservative projections if the company is not yet profitable. Entrepreneurs that project capturing 20% market share in the first two years probably have unrealistic expectations.

Investigate the returns provided by the investment. Good business plans include exit strategies for pulling the initial investment back out of the company, and have a realistic valuation of their shares.

View the Business Plan as a Living Document

Evaluate the business plan as a whole document, and as a reflection of a real-world company. Determine whether the market need is adequate, the company's offerings are compelling, the management team experienced and committed, and the financial statements realistic. Does this company as a whole have a chance of success?

How to Write a Business Plan in 2023 [Examples Included]

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So you have come up with a business idea that will turn your company into a Forbes 500 enterprise? Sounds great!

However, you are going to need much more than an idea. You will need to do some comprehensive research, create operational standpoints, describe your product, define your goals, and pave out a road map for future growth.

In other words, you are going to need a business plan.

A business plan is a document that precisely explains how you are going to make your startup a success. Without it, your chances of attracting funding and investments significantly decrease.

Do you want to learn how to create a winning business plan that will take your company to the next level? We created a guide that will help you do just that.

Let’s dive in.

What Is a Business Plan?

Why and when do you need a business plan, types of business plans (what to include in each).

• How Do You Write a Business Plan?

Best Practices for Writing a Winning Business Plan

Business plan examples.

• Monitor the Performance of Your Business with Databox

A business plan is a comprehensive document that defines how a business will achieve its goals. It is essentially a road map for growth that includes operational standpoints from all the key departments such as marketing, financial, HR, and others.

Startups use business plans to describe who they are, what they plan to do, and how they plan to achieve it. This is an extremely valuable document for attracting investors.

However, they are valuable for the company members as well. A good business plan keeps executive teams on the same page regarding the strategies they should implement to achieve their set objectives.

Related : Reporting to Investors: 6 Best Practices to Help Increase Funding

While business plans are especially useful for startups, each business should include them. In the best-case scenario, this plan will be updated from time to time and reviewed whether the goals of the company have been met.

The main things that investors want to check out in the business plan are:

• Product-market fit – Have you researched the market demand for your products and services?
• Team efficiency – Does your startup have devoted professionals that will work on achieving your goals?
• Scalability – How probable is growth in sales volumes without proportional growth or fixed costs?

An organized business plan is essentially a blueprint of your goals and it showcases your abilities as an entrepreneur.

Related : Business Report: What is it & How to Write a Great One? (With Examples)

If you want to persuade venture capitalists and banking institutions to invest in your startup, you won’t be able to do it without a solid business plan. Following a clear business plan format is crucial, as it structures your plan in a way that is easily understandable and demonstrates your business’s potential. 

A business plan is helpful in two ways – it allows you to focus on the specific goals you set for the future and it provides external parties with evidence that you have done your research in advance.

But don’t just take our word for it – here are some of the things that researchers from Bplans found out when they were analyzing the benefits of business plans with the University of Oregon.

• Companies that use business plans have recorded a 30% faster growth compared to those that didn’t use them.
• Getting investments and loans is twice as likely to happen with the help of business plans.
• There is a 129% increased chance for entrepreneurs to go past the ‘startup’ phase through business plans.

You should create a business plan before you decide to quit your regular job. It can help you realize whether you are ready or not.

Also, creating a business plan is helpful when:

• You want to attract investments or funding from external parties
• You want to find a new partner or co-founder
• You want to attract talented professionals to join your startup
• You need to change things up due to the slow growth

While creating a business plan is an important step, you first have to know how to differentiate all the different types. This will help you choose the one that is most suitable for your business.

Here are the most common types of business plans and what you should include in each.

One-Pager Business Plan

Startup business plan, internal business plan, strategic business plan, feasibility business plan.

The one-pager is a business plan that only includes the most important aspects of your business. It is essentially a simplified version of a traditional business plan.

When creating the one-pager business plan, your primary focus should be on making it easily understandable.

Since this business plan is rather short, you should avoid using lengthy paragraphs. Each section should be around 1-2 sentences long.

The things you should include in a one-pager business plan are:

• The problem – Describe a certain problem your customers have and support the claim with relevant data.
• The solution – How your products/services can solve the issue.
• Business model – Your plan on how to make money. Include production costs, selling costs, and the price of the product.
• Target market – Describe your ideal customer persona. Start with a broad audience and narrow it down by using TAM, SAM, and SOM models. This lets investors in on your thought process. To understand these models better, check out, for example, the importance of proper TAM evaluation for B2B startups .
• Competitive advantage – How are you different from your competitors?
• Management team – Include your business’s management structure.
• Financial summary – This part should revolve around the most significant financial metrics (profit, loss, cash flow, balance sheet, and sales forecast).
• Required funding – Define how much money you need to make your project a success.

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New businesses use startup business plans to outline their launching ideas and strategies to attract funding and investment opportunities. When creating startup business plans, you should primarily focus on the financial aspect and provide evidence that supports it (e.g. market research).

These are some of the main things that should be included:

• Vision statement – Explain your vision for the company and include the overall business goals you will try to achieve.
• Executive summary – A quick overview of what your company is about and what will make it successful. Make sure to include your products/services, basic leadership information, employees, and location.
• Company description – A detailed overview of your company. Talk about the problems you will solve and be specific about customers, organizations, and growth plans. This is the place where you should state your business’s main advantages.
• Market Analysis – Show investors that you have a good understanding of your industry and target market by providing a detailed market analysis. Try to point out certain trends, themes, or patterns that support your objective.
• Organization and management – This section explains the structure and the management hierarchy. Also, describe the legal structure of your business.
• Service or product line – Go into detail about the products and services you are going to sell. Explain the benefits they bring and share your intellectual property plans.
• Marketing and sales – Talk about your marketing strategy and describe how you plan to attract new customers.
• Financial projections – This section should be about convincing your readers why the business will be a financial success. Create a prospective financial outlook for the next few years and it includes forecasts.

An internal business plan is a document that specifically focuses on the activities within your company. While external business plans focus on attracting investors, internal business plans keep your team aligned on achieving goals.

Related : Internal vs. External Reporting: What Are the Differences?

This business plan can differentiate based on how specific you want it to be. For example, you can focus on a specific part of the business (e.g. financial department) or on the overall goals of the whole company.

Nonetheless, here are some things that should universally be included in all internal business plans:

• Mission statement – Focus on the practical, day-to-day activities that your employees can undertake to achieve overall objectives.
• Objectives – Provide specific goals that you want your company to achieve. Make the objectives clear and explain in which way they can be reached. Focus more on short-term objectives and set reasonable deadlines.
• Strategies – Talk about the general activities that will help your team reach the set objectives. Provide research that will describe how these strategies will be useful in the long term.
• Action plans – These plans revolve around particular activities from your strategy. For example, you could include a new product that you want to create or a more efficient marketing plan.
• Sustainability – This refers to the general probability of achieving the goals you set in the internal report. Sometimes, plans may seem overly ambitious and you are going to have to make amends with certain things.

A strategic business plan is the best way to gain a comprehensive outlook of your business. In this document, forecasts are examined even further and growth goals tend to be higher.

By creating a strategic business plan, you will have an easier time aligning your key stakeholders around the company’s priorities.

Here is a quick overview of what a strategic business plan should include:

• Executive summary – Since strategic business plans are generally lengthy, not all executives will have time to go through it. This is why you should include a quick overview of the plan through an executive summary, you can also create an executive summary template to make the step easily repeatable.
• Vision statement – Describe what you wish to achieve in the long term.
• Company overview – This refers to past achievements, current products/services, recent sales performances, and important KPIs.
• Core values – This section should provide an explanation of what drives the business to do what it does.
• Strategic analysis of internal and external environments – Talk about the current organizational structure, mission statements, and department challenges.
• Strategic objectives – Go into detail about the short-term objectives your team should reach in a specific period. Make sure the objectives are clear and understandable.
• Overall goals – This section should include operational goals, marketing goals, and financial goals.

A feasibility business plan is also known as a feasibility study. It essentially provides a foundation for what would be a full and comprehensive business plan. The primary focus of a feasibility plan is research.

The things you should include in a feasibility plan are:

• Product demand – Is there a high demand for your product? Would customers be interested in buying it?
• Market conditions – Determine the customer persona that would be interested in buying your products. Include demographic factors.
• Pricing – Compare your desired price with the current pricing of similar products. Which price would make your service profitable?
• Risks – Determine the risks of launching this new business.
• Success profitability – Is there a good way to overcome the risks and make your company profitable?

How Do You Write a Business Plan Report?

As we explained in the previous heading, there are a few different types of business plan. Depending on the audience you are referring to, the language you use in the plan should be adjusted accordingly.

Nonetheless, there are certain key elements that should be included in all business plans, the only thing that will vary is how detailed the sections will be.

Include these elements in your business plan.

Executive summary

Company description, market opportunity and analysis, competitive landscape, target audience, describe your product or service, develop a marketing and sales strategy, develop a logistics and operations plan, financial projections, explain your funding request, compile an appendix for official documents.

An executive summary is a quick overview of the document as a whole that allows investors and key stakeholders to quickly understand all the pain points from the report.

It is the best way to layout all the vital information about your business to bank officials and key stakeholders who don’t have the time to go through the whole business plan.

If you summarize the sections well, the potential investors will jump into the sections they are most interested in to acquire more details.

You should write the executive summary last since you will then have a better idea of what should be included.

A good executive summary answers these questions:

• Who are you?
• What do you sell?
• How profitable is it?
• How much money do you need?

This section of the business plan aims to introduce your company as a whole. The things you include in the company description can vary depending on if you are only starting a business or you already have a developed company.

The elements included in this section are:

• Structure and ownership – Talk about who the key shareholders in your company are and provide a full list of names. Also, mention details such as where the company is registered and what the legal structure looks like. In most countries, this is a legal requirement for AML regulations.
• History – This segment is if you already have an existing company. Use this section to show your credibility. Include company milestones, past difficulties, and a precise date for how long your company has been operating.
• Objectives – Describe the overall objectives of your company and how you plan to reach them.

Market analysis refers to creating your ideal customer persona and explaining why they would be interested in buying your products.

Market opportunities are the gaps that you found in the current industries and creating a way for your product to fill those gaps.

The most important step in this section is to create a target market (persona) through demographic factors such as location, income, gender, education, age, profession, and hobbies.

Make sure that your target market isn’t too broad since it can put off potential investors.

A good idea is to also include a detailed analysis of your competitors – talk about their products, strengths, and weaknesses.

Related : 12 Best Tools Marketers Use for Market Research

Although you may include a competitive analysis in the market analysis section, this segment should provide a more detailed overview.

Identify other companies that sell similar products to yours and create a list of their advantages and disadvantages. Learning about your competitors may seem overwhelming, but it’s an indispensable part of a good business plan.

Include a comparison landscape as well that defines the things that set you apart from the competitors. Describe the strengths of your product and show which problems it could solve.

Related : How to Do an SEO Competitive Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide

Use the target audience section to fully describe the details of your ideal customer persona. Include both demographic and psychographic factors.

Ask yourself:

• What are the demographic characteristics of the people who will buy my product?
• What are their desires?
• What makes my product valuable to them?

Make sure to answer all of these questions to get in the mindset of your customers.

If you need more details on how to identify your target audience , check our full expert guide.

When talking about your products and services, be as precise as possible. Mention your target audience and the marketing channels you use for targeting this audience.

This section should reveal the benefits, life cycle, and production process of your products/services. Also, it is a good idea to include some pictures of your products if possible.

When describing your products, you should highlight:

• Unique features
• Intellectual property rights
• What makes the product beneficial

Marketing is the blood flow to your business’s body. Without a good marketing and sales strategy, the chances of your product succeeding are very slim.

It’s always best to already have a marketing plan in place before launching your business. By identifying the best marketing channels, you will show your investors that you researched this topic in detail.

Some of the things you should include are:

• Reach – Explain why a specific channel will be able to reach your target market
• Cost – Is the marketing strategy going to be cost-effective? How much money do you plan on spending on the strategy?
• Competition – Are your competitors already using this channel? If so, what will make your product stand out?
• Implementation – Who will be taking care of the implementation process? Is it a marketing expert? Which suppliers did you reach out to?

Related : 14 Reasons Sales And Marketing Alignment Is Crucial for Skyrocketing Company Growth

This section should explain the details of how exactly your company is going to operate.

These are the things you should include:

• Personnel plan – Define how many people you plan to employ and their roles. Also, if you plan on increasing your staff, you should explain what would be the cause of that.
• Key assets – This refers to assets that will be crucial for your company’s operation.
• Suppliers – Mention who your suppliers will be and what kind of relationship you have with them. Your investors will be interested in this part of the section since they want to be reassured that you are cooperating with respectable counterparties.

The financial projections section is one of the most important parts of your business plan. It includes a detailed overview of expected sales, revenue, profit, expenses, and all the other important financial metrics .

You should show your investors that your business will be profitable, stable, and that it has huge potential for cash generation.

Monthly numbers for the first year are crucial since this will be the most critical year of your company.

At the very least, you should provide:

• Funding needs
• Profit-and-loss statement forecast
• Balance sheet forecast
• Cash-flow statement forecast

Related : How to Write a Great Financial Report? Tips and Best Practices

When providing the funding request, be realistic. Explain why you need that exact amount of money and where it will be allocated.

Also, create both a best-case and worst-case scenario. New companies don’t have a history of generating profits which is why you will probably have to sell equity in the early years to raise enough capital.

This will be the final section of your business plan. Include any material or piece of information that investors can use to analyze the data in your report. 

Things that could be helpful are:

• Local permits
• Legal documents
• Certifications that boost credibility
• Intellectual properties or patents
• Purchase orders and customer contracts

After reading the previous heading, you should have a clear idea of how to write a compelling business plan.

But, just to be sure, we prepared some additional information that can be very helpful.

Here are some of the best practices you should implement in your business plan according to the most successful companies.

Keep it brief

Make it understandable, be meticulous about money, design is important.

Generally, business plans will be around 10-20 pages long. Your main focus should be to cover the essentials that we talked about, but you don’t want to overdo it by including unnecessary and overwhelming information.

In business plan, less is more.

Create a good organizational outline of your sections. This will allow investors to easily navigate to the parts they are most interested in reading.

Avoid using jargon – everyone should be able to easily understand your business plan without having to Google certain terms. 

Make a list of all the expenses your business incurs. Financial information should be maximally precise since it will directly impact the investor’s decision to fund your business idea.

After you wrap up your business plan, take a day off and read it again. Fix any typos or grammatical errors that you overlooked the first time.

Make sure to use a professional layout, printing, and branding of your business plan. This is an important first impression for the readers of the document.

Now you know what a business plan is, how you can write it, and some of the best practices you can use to make it even better.

But, if you are still having certain difficulties coming up with a great business plan, here are a few examples that may be helpful.

HubSpot’s One-Page Business Plan

Bplan’s free business plan template, small business administration free business plan template.

This One-Page Business Plan was created by HubSpot and it can be a great way to start off your business plan journey on the right foot.

You already have fields such as Implementation Timeline, Required Funding, and Company Description created so you will just need to provide your specific information.

This free business plan template highlights the financial points of the startup. If your primary focus will be your business’ financial plan and financial statements, you can use this template to save up some time.

It can also be useful for making sure everyone in your company understands the current financial health and what they can do to improve it.

If you need additional inspiration to kick start your own business plan, you can check out this free template by small business administration .

You just have to decide which type of plan you want to create and then review the format of how it should look like.

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Strategy Evaluation Process: Comprehensive Guide + Examples

The process of strategy evaluation is often overlooked in the overall strategic management process . After the flurry of activity in the initial planning stages, followed by the reality check of executing your strategy alongside business-as-usual, strategy evaluation is often neglected.

When this happens, strategies quickly become outdated and out-of-sync with the changing face of the organization.

On the contrary, when an efficient strategy evaluation process is set in place, businesses can benefit from insights and learnings from past performance to inform more efficient decision-making .

What Is Strategy Evaluation?

Strategy evaluation is the process of analyzing a strategy to assess how well it's been implemented and executed. It’s an internal analysis tool and should be used as part of a broader strategic analysis for the organization when making strategic decisions.  

Typically, the strategy evaluation process involves answering questions such as:

• Are we moving forward towards achieving our core business metrics ?
• How much progress have we made towards our Vision ?
• Are our Strategic Focus Areas still relevant?
• Which of our Objectives have we completed?
• Do we have sufficient Projects to deliver incomplete Objectives?
• Are our KPIs still effective for measuring progress towards our Objectives?
• Where did we fall short of our targets? Why did this happen?

At the very least, you need to evaluate your strategy twice a year—or better yet, every quarter. Even if you feel as though your existing company strategy is 'too far gone' and needs a fresh start, you'll want to perform a thorough strategy evaluation to understand what went wrong and use this information for your new strategy.

The mistake that people often make when it comes to strategy execution , is thinking of their strategy as a linear set of steps. In reality, the strategic planning process requires constant iteration and evolution, with strategy evaluation serving as a pivotal factor in shaping strategy formulation.

💡 Pro Tip: A good strategy should never really 'end'. Rather, it should morph into something more ambitious and sophisticated as goals are met.

Steps For a Successful Strategy Evaluation Process

There is no one-size-fits-all in terms of strategy evaluation, so we encourage you to think about how your own process would look like. However, after working on countless strategies with our customers, these are the steps we suggest you follow for a successful evaluation process.

Step 1: Evaluation starts at the start

It may sound counter-intuitive, but ideally, you'll be kicking off your strategy evaluation process back in the planning stage . Strategy evaluation is essentially the process of figuring out:

• What did we do well?
• How can we improve upon what we did well?
• What did we learn about ourselves and the external environment along the way?

One of the best ways to answer these questions is by setting effective KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) in your planning stage so you’ll be able to clearly measure performance in the following stages.

Let’s look at an example:

Imagine "EcoWise," a company with a vision to lead global sustainable living. One of their core business metrics is market share , and they aim to expand their eco-friendly products into new international markets.

One of their focus areas could be “International Market Expansion” driven by the following objectives:

• Enter and secure a 5% market share in Europe.
• Launch at least five new eco-friendly products annually.

To understand progress towards the objectives, they set the following KPIs:

• Market Share Growth
• Product Adoption Rate
• Sustainability Ratings

By having clear KPIs that set a benchmark and allow to measure actual results, EcoWise will be able to answer fundamental questions during the strategy evaluation process:

• Did we meet our KPI?
• Why did we fall short?
• Was this even the right KPI?

👉🏻 How Cascade can help?

With Cascade’s planner feature, you can ensure you set all the important elements of your strategic plan with structure and ease and assign measurable targets at the initiative and project levels.

Step 2: Implement consistent processes and tools

Not to sound too much like a broken record, but effective strategy evaluation requires planning that goes beyond the setting of good KPIs. You'll also need to plan out your 'strategy rhythm'—things like:

• How often will we measure progress against our goals?
• What standardized set of reports will be used throughout the business?
• What level of detail shall we capture in our written commentary on progress against the plan?

💡 Pro Tip: It’s important to determine these types of things up front and implement a regime of meetings and reports throughout the organization.

We like to call this process your ' strategy rhythm ' as it should form the backbone of your organization's activities, and be maintained regularly and consistently throughout the year.

Here is an example you can use provided by Cascade’s team of experts:

Step 3: Empower teams to evaluate their own strategies

Empowerment plays a critical role in the strategy evaluation process. Rather than have the leadership team alone participate in your strategy evaluation, invite stakeholders from different areas and departments to prepare their own evaluation of how the team performed against the strategy.

Provide them with a simple framework to conduct the analysis and address essential questions like:

• Did we meet our goals?
• What was it that helped us to succeed?
• What challenges made us fall short?
• Were our goals well set, and have they brought us closer to achieving our overall vision?

Ideally, you'll have your teams present using the tools you defined in step 2 . This includes any strategic dashboards or standardized reports that you agreed on previously.

Cascade’s dashboards and reports in real-time give you and your teams an accurate picture of the strategic performance to aid in your strategy evaluation process.

Step 4: Take corrective action

Steps 4 and 5 (below) are somewhat intertwined and should be performed largely in conjunction with each other. If you find that you're not meeting one of your goals, you'll want to do two things:

• Start by figuring out if the goal is still the right one.
• If it is, take corrective action to address any shortcomings.

Assuming you're still convinced the goal you've set is the right one, you need to implement an action plan to get yourself back on track.

There are many reasons why you might be struggling to hit your goals, ranging from relatively simple issues such as:

• Lack of resource allocation (human or financial)
• Conflicting priorities
• Ineffective tracking of targets
• Misalignment or understanding of the goal

Or your challenges may be more complex and relate to:

• Increased competition
• A significant capital shortfall
• Regulatory pressures
• Lack of internal innovation

Whatever the case, the sooner you can identify these issues, the sooner you can start to take corrective action to ensure a more effective strategy implementation that will get you closer to achieving your desired results.

How to identify the issue?

There are tools and frameworks you can use during the strategy evaluation process that can give you more information about internal and/or external factors that may be hindering your progress.

For example, a SWOT analysis can be useful to reveal what you excel at and where you need improvement. Identifying your weaknesses is key to understanding what might be holding your strategy back.

Another best practice is conducting a competitive analysis to gain insights into what your competitors are doing better. By comparing your strengths and weaknesses against theirs, you can understand where you hold the competitive advantage and where you have gaps that need addressing.

Step 5: Iterate your plan

There are two scenarios where you'll want to iterate your plan as part of your strategy evaluation—one being significantly more positive than the other:

Scenario 1: When you achieve your goals

In an ideal world, your plan evolves because you've successfully checked off some or all of your strategic goals. Your plan isn't set in stone; it's flexible and can take unexpected turns.

For instance, you might reach certain goals much earlier than anticipated. When that happens, you shouldn't wait around for the entire plan to play out. Instead:

• If you've met all your goals, it's time to ask if your broader focus area is complete. If not, it's time for new goals within that focus area.
• Or, if you've successfully nailed all your focus areas, it's time to ponder if you're closer to your vision. If not, new focus areas should come into play.

Scenario 2: When you fall short of your goals

Now, let's consider a different scenario, where you didn't quite hit all your goals. But here's the thing: just because you missed a goal doesn't automatically mean you need to take immediate corrective action.

One of the key outcomes of effective strategy evaluations is the recalibration of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Going back to the example in step 1 , let’s say that EcoWise effectively launched 5 new products, but this did not effectively translate into them gaining significant market share (which was the key metric they were aiming for).  

In this case, it suggests the original KPI might not have been quite right. But you wouldn't have known that without either the KPI in the first place or the process of strategic evaluation.

The platform allows for a flexible setup of your strategy to easily make changes to the plan if needed after the insights learned from your strategic evaluation process. By providing full visibility, your teams and other stakeholders will be aware of the changes in real-time!

Step 6: Celebrate successes

We've saved the most fun part of the strategy evaluation process for last—celebrating success.

Given that your strategy will never ‘finish,’ it’s important to celebrate the successes along the way to keep your teams motivated and engaged. The first time you achieve a KPI or even focus areas— enjoy it!

Celebrating the success of a strategic goal is not only great for morale, but it also sends a strong message that the execution of the plan really really matters .

Strategy Evaluation Framework Example

Let's imagine how a supply chain company could tackle the evaluation of its quarterly supply chain plan:

• KPIs analysis : First, they examine their KPIs to decipher which goals they've attained and which ones are still a work in progress.
• Team performance report : The teams get to work on crafting performance reports, offering insights into their achievements and areas requiring additional focus.
• Further analysis : When certain KPIs fall short, they conduct a deeper analysis to uncover the root causes of these performance gaps. In some cases, they even realize that the initial KPIs might not have been the best fit.
• KPI evolution : If they’ve successfully met a KPI, they adapt and introduce a new one to further advance toward key business metrics.
• Evolving the plan : With insights and learnings from their strategy evaluation, they refine their strategic plan, making tweaks and adjustments as needed.

Centralized Observability: The Key To Effective Strategy Evaluation

In the realm of strategic business management, the journey to success is all about adaptability, evolution, and continuous improvement. A pivotal aspect of this journey is the capability to gain a holistic, centralized view of your strategy.

Centralized observability plays a pivotal role in successful strategy evaluation, empowering organizations to:

• Monitor KPIs and goals in real time.
• Understand how teams work together toward achieving the overarching business goals.
• Quickly spot areas that may need adjustments.
• Foster a culture of transparency and accountability, as teams can see how their efforts impact the broader strategy.

This unified perspective simplifies the process of assessing strategy effectiveness and provides invaluable insights for more effective decision-making.

This is where Cascade , the world’s leading Strategy Execution Platform , comes into play as your strategic ally. Cascade enables centralized observability by offering key features for goal management, performance tracking, and strategy alignment. It streamlines the strategy evaluation process, providing real-time data for confident decision-making.

Discover how Cascade can help! Sign up today for free or book a guided 1:1 product tour with one of Cascade’s in-house strategy execution experts.

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Creating a Comprehensive Business Plan Rubric

A well-structured business plan is a foundational document for any entrepreneurial venture, serving as a roadmap to guide your business to success. It provides clarity on your business goals, strategies, and financial projections, making it an essential tool for attracting investors and stakeholders. However, evaluating the quality and completeness of a business plan can be challenging, especially when dealing with multiple plans. This is where a business plan rubric comes into play. It’s a systematic and objective way to assess business plans consistently.

How to Create a Comprehensive Business Plan Rubric

1. define your objectives.

Start by identifying the objectives of your business plan rubric. What do you want to assess and measure in the business plans? Your objectives may include evaluating market research, financial projections, marketing strategies, or overall clarity and coherence. Make sure your objectives align with the key components of a well-rounded business plan.

2. Establish Criteria

For each objective, establish specific criteria or factors that you will evaluate. For instance, if you’re assessing market research, your criteria might include the depth of market analysis, competitor research, and target audience insights. Clearly define the criteria for each objective.

3. Assign Weightings

Not all criteria are equally important. Assign weightings to each criterion based on its significance. Weightings reflect the relative importance of different elements in the business plan. For example, financial projections may carry more weight than a company’s historical background.

4. Develop a Scoring System

Create a scoring system for each criterion. You can use a numerical scale (e.g., 1-5, 1-10) or a descriptive scale (e.g., poor, fair, good, excellent). This system allows you to provide a quantitative assessment for each criterion.

5. Provide Clear Descriptions

For each criterion and level on the scoring system, provide clear descriptions of what each level represents. This ensures consistent and objective evaluation. Avoid vague descriptions to prevent subjectivity.

6. Consider the Overall Structure

Include an assessment of the business plan’s overall structure and presentation. Elements to consider might include readability, use of headings, and formatting. A well-organized and visually appealing plan often indicates a more professional and thoughtful approach.

7. Test Your Rubric

Before applying your rubric to assess real business plans, test it with a few sample plans to ensure that it’s clear, fair, and effective. Make any necessary adjustments based on your testing.

8. Evaluate Business Plans

Once your rubric is ready, you can begin evaluating business plans. Review each plan against the criteria, assign scores, and calculate the final scores based on the weightings.

9. Provide Feedback

After assessing the plans, offer constructive feedback to the entrepreneurs or teams behind them. Highlight strengths and weaknesses, and offer recommendations for improvement. This feedback can be invaluable for the plan’s creators.

10. Maintain Consistency

Consistency is key in using a business plan rubric. Ensure that different assessors apply the rubric consistently, and if possible, discuss and calibrate your rubric assessments with other evaluators to maintain fairness and objectivity.

11. Use the Results

The results from your business plan rubric can help you make informed decisions about which plans align best with your investment or support criteria. Plans with higher scores are likely more well-prepared and have thoroughly considered various aspects of their business.

Business Rubric Example

Here are a few examples of criteria that could be included in a business plan rubric along with a corresponding scoring system:

• Identification of target market (5 points)
• Thoroughness of competitor analysis (5 points)
• Assessment of market trends and growth potential (5 points)
• Realistic revenue forecasts (5 points)
• Comprehensive cost analysis (5 points)
• Clear understanding of profit margins (5 points)
• Coherent and effective marketing plan (5 points)
• Utilization of digital marketing tools (5 points)
• Identification of key marketing channels (5 points)
• Description of unique value proposition (5 points)
• Clarity in product development roadmap (5 points)
• Assessment of potential market demand (5 points)
• Demonstrated expertise and experience (5 points)
• Coherence and complementary skills of the team (5 points)
• Clarity in roles and responsibilities (5 points)
• Identification of potential risks (5 points)
• Comprehensive risk mitigation strategies (5 points)
• Contingency plans for identified risks (5 points)
• Clarity and coherence of the business plan structure (5 points)
• Use of appropriate visuals and graphics (5 points)
• Professionalism and readability of the document (5 points)

For each of the criteria listed above, a scoring system can be implemented using a scale such as:

• 1-5 scale (1 being Poor, 5 being Excellent)
• 1-10 scale (1 being Low, 10 being High)
• Descriptive scale (Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent)

In summary, a well-structured business plan rubric is a valuable tool for evaluating and comparing multiple business plans. It provides objectivity, consistency, and fairness in assessing the quality and completeness of these plans, helping you make informed decisions when considering investments or partnerships. This business plan rubric can help assessors evaluate various business plans consistently and objectively, providing a comprehensive overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each plan and aiding in making informed decisions regarding potential investments or collaborations.

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10 Steps to Evaluating Your Business Plan

Whether you’re writing your first business plan or updating your current one, the process requires strategic thinking, market research and motivation.

A well-developed business plan is a great way for you to take stock of your company’s attributes and needs. It outlines how you will progress over the coming years and also reveals information about the business owner. It explains how your strengths will be an asset to your business and how you will address areas where you may need help.

Here is an overview of 10 sections a good business plan should include:

1. Executive summary

The executive summary is a condensed version of your full business plan and covers:

• The high points of what your company does (or will do)
• Plans for the future
• How you will execute those plans
• Why your company will be successful

The summary is the big picture. It’s where plan reviewers – including banking partners – will form a first impression of your company. Some people prefer to write this section last while others prefer to write it first.

2. Company description

Explain the different elements of your business. Help plan reviewers quickly understand your goals, marketplace needs, how your products and services will meet those needs, and the competitive advantages of your business.

3. Market analysis

Show you are knowledgeable about the industry and the market in which your business will compete. Include your research findings and conclusions, such as:

• Industry description and outlook
• Information about your target market
• Competitive analysis
• Any known regulatory restrictions

There are many resources that can help you analyze the market, including the SCORE Association and Small Business Development Centers .

4. Organization and management

Explain your company’s organizational structure and ownership, its legal structure, and team backgrounds and qualifications.

5. Service or product line

Emphasize the benefits to customers and focus on why your particular service or product will fill a need for your target customers.

6. Sales and marketing

Your sales strategy should be defined concurrently with the marketing plan. How will you sell your product? Include your sales force and sales activity strategies.

Marketing helps you attract customers. Define your marketing strategy, which should be unique to your company and evaluated on an ongoing basis.

7. Contingency plan

Document how you will deal with some of the good and bad situations of running a business:

• What will you do if your product is an overwhelming success and demand is greater than expected?
• What will you do if initial sales are sluggish? How will you jump-start sales?

8. Funding request

Ask for the amount of money you need, explain why you need it and how it will be used. You will need to provide historical and prospective financial information to support your request.

9. Financial history or projections

Demonstrate your company can meet financial obligations. If you own an established business, supply two to three years of historical data related to its performance. If your business is a start-up or still in its infancy, supply projected data showing the company’s anticipated financial performance for the current and upcoming fiscal years.

10. Personal guarantee

Most business loans require the business owner(s) to personally guarantee repayment of debt. This means the owner of the business agrees to repay the debt using personal means if the business can no longer pay its debt. As a result, you should include the following documents with your business plan funding request:

• Your personal tax returns for the last two to three years.
• A personal financial statement listing the value of your personal assets and the balance(s) of exiting personal debt(s).

With a long history of advocating for entrepreneurs, Bankers Trust understands the needs of small businesses and the value they bring to the community.

Creating your business plan will give your company the foundation and direction needed to reach your goals. Contact us when you’re ready to put your business plan in motion.

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Chad Solberg

Chad Solberg joined Bankers Trust Company in May 2013 bringing 15 years of banking and finance experience. He currently serves as VP, Business Banking Manager overseeing a team of dedicated business bankers. Prior to joining Bankers Trust, he most recently spent nine years with Wells Fargo as a lender in business banking. Chad was also an examiner with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago for three years.

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11.4 The Business Plan

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe the different purposes of a business plan
• Describe and develop the components of a brief business plan
• Describe and develop the components of a full business plan

Unlike the brief or lean formats introduced so far, the business plan is a formal document used for the long-range planning of a company’s operation. It typically includes background information, financial information, and a summary of the business. Investors nearly always request a formal business plan because it is an integral part of their evaluation of whether to invest in a company. Although nothing in business is permanent, a business plan typically has components that are more “set in stone” than a business model canvas , which is more commonly used as a first step in the planning process and throughout the early stages of a nascent business. A business plan is likely to describe the business and industry, market strategies, sales potential, and competitive analysis, as well as the company’s long-term goals and objectives. An in-depth formal business plan would follow at later stages after various iterations to business model canvases. The business plan usually projects financial data over a three-year period and is typically required by banks or other investors to secure funding. The business plan is a roadmap for the company to follow over multiple years.

Some entrepreneurs prefer to use the canvas process instead of the business plan, whereas others use a shorter version of the business plan, submitting it to investors after several iterations. There are also entrepreneurs who use the business plan earlier in the entrepreneurial process, either preceding or concurrently with a canvas. For instance, Chris Guillebeau has a one-page business plan template in his book The $100 Startup . 48 His version is basically an extension of a napkin sketch without the detail of a full business plan. As you progress, you can also consider a brief business plan (about two pages)—if you want to support a rapid business launch—and/or a standard business plan.

As with many aspects of entrepreneurship, there are no clear hard and fast rules to achieving entrepreneurial success. You may encounter different people who want different things (canvas, summary, full business plan), and you also have flexibility in following whatever tool works best for you. Like the canvas, the various versions of the business plan are tools that will aid you in your entrepreneurial endeavor.

Business Plan Overview

Most business plans have several distinct sections ( Figure 11.16 ). The business plan can range from a few pages to twenty-five pages or more, depending on the purpose and the intended audience. For our discussion, we’ll describe a brief business plan and a standard business plan. If you are able to successfully design a business model canvas, then you will have the structure for developing a clear business plan that you can submit for financial consideration.

Both types of business plans aim at providing a picture and roadmap to follow from conception to creation. If you opt for the brief business plan, you will focus primarily on articulating a big-picture overview of your business concept.

The full business plan is aimed at executing the vision concept, dealing with the proverbial devil in the details. Developing a full business plan will assist those of you who need a more detailed and structured roadmap, or those of you with little to no background in business. The business planning process includes the business model, a feasibility analysis, and a full business plan, which we will discuss later in this section. Next, we explore how a business plan can meet several different needs.

Purposes of a Business Plan

A business plan can serve many different purposes—some internal, others external. As we discussed previously, you can use a business plan as an internal early planning device, an extension of a napkin sketch, and as a follow-up to one of the canvas tools. A business plan can be an organizational roadmap , that is, an internal planning tool and working plan that you can apply to your business in order to reach your desired goals over the course of several years. The business plan should be written by the owners of the venture, since it forces a firsthand examination of the business operations and allows them to focus on areas that need improvement.

Refer to the business venture throughout the document. Generally speaking, a business plan should not be written in the first person.

A major external purpose for the business plan is as an investment tool that outlines financial projections, becoming a document designed to attract investors. In many instances, a business plan can complement a formal investor’s pitch. In this context, the business plan is a presentation plan, intended for an outside audience that may or may not be familiar with your industry, your business, and your competitors.

You can also use your business plan as a contingency plan by outlining some “what-if” scenarios and exploring how you might respond if these scenarios unfold. Pretty Young Professional launched in November 2010 as an online resource to guide an emerging generation of female leaders. The site focused on recent female college graduates and current students searching for professional roles and those in their first professional roles. It was founded by four friends who were coworkers at the global consultancy firm McKinsey. But after positions and equity were decided among them, fundamental differences of opinion about the direction of the business emerged between two factions, according to the cofounder and former CEO Kathryn Minshew . “I think, naively, we assumed that if we kicked the can down the road on some of those things, we’d be able to sort them out,” Minshew said. Minshew went on to found a different professional site, The Muse , and took much of the editorial team of Pretty Young Professional with her. 49 Whereas greater planning potentially could have prevented the early demise of Pretty Young Professional, a change in planning led to overnight success for Joshua Esnard and The Cut Buddy team. Esnard invented and patented the plastic hair template that he was selling online out of his Fort Lauderdale garage while working a full-time job at Broward College and running a side business. Esnard had hundreds of boxes of Cut Buddies sitting in his home when he changed his marketing plan to enlist companies specializing in making videos go viral. It worked so well that a promotional video for the product garnered 8 million views in hours. The Cut Buddy sold over 4,000 products in a few hours when Esnard only had hundreds remaining. Demand greatly exceeded his supply, so Esnard had to scramble to increase manufacturing and offered customers two-for-one deals to make up for delays. This led to selling 55,000 units, generating $700,000 in sales in 2017. 50 After appearing on Shark Tank and landing a deal with Daymond John that gave the “shark” a 20-percent equity stake in return for $300,000, The Cut Buddy has added new distribution channels to include retail sales along with online commerce. Changing one aspect of a business plan—the marketing plan—yielded success for The Cut Buddy.

Link to Learning

Watch this video of Cut Buddy’s founder, Joshua Esnard, telling his company’s story to learn more.

If you opt for the brief business plan, you will focus primarily on articulating a big-picture overview of your business concept. This version is used to interest potential investors, employees, and other stakeholders, and will include a financial summary “box,” but it must have a disclaimer, and the founder/entrepreneur may need to have the people who receive it sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) . The full business plan is aimed at executing the vision concept, providing supporting details, and would be required by financial institutions and others as they formally become stakeholders in the venture. Both are aimed at providing a picture and roadmap to go from conception to creation.

Types of Business Plans

The brief business plan is similar to an extended executive summary from the full business plan. This concise document provides a broad overview of your entrepreneurial concept, your team members, how and why you will execute on your plans, and why you are the ones to do so. You can think of a brief business plan as a scene setter or—since we began this chapter with a film reference—as a trailer to the full movie. The brief business plan is the commercial equivalent to a trailer for Field of Dreams , whereas the full plan is the full-length movie equivalent.

Brief Business Plan or Executive Summary

As the name implies, the brief business plan or executive summary summarizes key elements of the entire business plan, such as the business concept, financial features, and current business position. The executive summary version of the business plan is your opportunity to broadly articulate the overall concept and vision of the company for yourself, for prospective investors, and for current and future employees.

A typical executive summary is generally no longer than a page, but because the brief business plan is essentially an extended executive summary, the executive summary section is vital. This is the “ask” to an investor. You should begin by clearly stating what you are asking for in the summary.

In the business concept phase, you’ll describe the business, its product, and its markets. Describe the customer segment it serves and why your company will hold a competitive advantage. This section may align roughly with the customer segments and value-proposition segments of a canvas.

Next, highlight the important financial features, including sales, profits, cash flows, and return on investment. Like the financial portion of a feasibility analysis, the financial analysis component of a business plan may typically include items like a twelve-month profit and loss projection, a three- or four-year profit and loss projection, a cash-flow projection, a projected balance sheet, and a breakeven calculation. You can explore a feasibility study and financial projections in more depth in the formal business plan. Here, you want to focus on the big picture of your numbers and what they mean.

The current business position section can furnish relevant information about you and your team members and the company at large. This is your opportunity to tell the story of how you formed the company, to describe its legal status (form of operation), and to list the principal players. In one part of the extended executive summary, you can cover your reasons for starting the business: Here is an opportunity to clearly define the needs you think you can meet and perhaps get into the pains and gains of customers. You also can provide a summary of the overall strategic direction in which you intend to take the company. Describe the company’s mission, vision, goals and objectives, overall business model, and value proposition.

Rice University’s Student Business Plan Competition, one of the largest and overall best-regarded graduate school business-plan competitions (see Telling Your Entrepreneurial Story and Pitching the Idea ), requires an executive summary of up to five pages to apply. 51 , 52 Its suggested sections are shown in Table 11.2 .

Are You Ready?

Create a brief business plan.

Fill out a canvas of your choosing for a well-known startup: Uber, Netflix, Dropbox, Etsy, Airbnb, Bird/Lime, Warby Parker, or any of the companies featured throughout this chapter or one of your choice. Then create a brief business plan for that business. See if you can find a version of the company’s actual executive summary, business plan, or canvas. Compare and contrast your vision with what the company has articulated.

• These companies are well established but is there a component of what you charted that you would advise the company to change to ensure future viability?
• Map out a contingency plan for a “what-if” scenario if one key aspect of the company or the environment it operates in were drastically is altered?

Full Business Plan

Even full business plans can vary in length, scale, and scope. Rice University sets a ten-page cap on business plans submitted for the full competition. The IndUS Entrepreneurs , one of the largest global networks of entrepreneurs, also holds business plan competitions for students through its Tie Young Entrepreneurs program. In contrast, business plans submitted for that competition can usually be up to twenty-five pages. These are just two examples. Some components may differ slightly; common elements are typically found in a formal business plan outline. The next section will provide sample components of a full business plan for a fictional business.

Executive Summary

The executive summary should provide an overview of your business with key points and issues. Because the summary is intended to summarize the entire document, it is most helpful to write this section last, even though it comes first in sequence. The writing in this section should be especially concise. Readers should be able to understand your needs and capabilities at first glance. The section should tell the reader what you want and your “ask” should be explicitly stated in the summary.

Describe your business, its product or service, and the intended customers. Explain what will be sold, who it will be sold to, and what competitive advantages the business has. Table 11.3 shows a sample executive summary for the fictional company La Vida Lola.

Business Description

This section describes the industry, your product, and the business and success factors. It should provide a current outlook as well as future trends and developments. You also should address your company’s mission, vision, goals, and objectives. Summarize your overall strategic direction, your reasons for starting the business, a description of your products and services, your business model, and your company’s value proposition. Consider including the Standard Industrial Classification/North American Industry Classification System (SIC/NAICS) code to specify the industry and insure correct identification. The industry extends beyond where the business is located and operates, and should include national and global dynamics. Table 11.4 shows a sample business description for La Vida Lola.

Industry Analysis and Market Strategies

Here you should define your market in terms of size, structure, growth prospects, trends, and sales potential. You’ll want to include your TAM and forecast the SAM . (Both these terms are discussed in Conducting a Feasibility Analysis .) This is a place to address market segmentation strategies by geography, customer attributes, or product orientation. Describe your positioning relative to your competitors’ in terms of pricing, distribution, promotion plan, and sales potential. Table 11.5 shows an example industry analysis and market strategy for La Vida Lola.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis is a statement of the business strategy as it relates to the competition. You want to be able to identify who are your major competitors and assess what are their market shares, markets served, strategies employed, and expected response to entry? You likely want to conduct a classic SWOT analysis (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) and complete a competitive-strength grid or competitive matrix. Outline your company’s competitive strengths relative to those of the competition in regard to product, distribution, pricing, promotion, and advertising. What are your company’s competitive advantages and their likely impacts on its success? The key is to construct it properly for the relevant features/benefits (by weight, according to customers) and how the startup compares to incumbents. The competitive matrix should show clearly how and why the startup has a clear (if not currently measurable) competitive advantage. Some common features in the example include price, benefits, quality, type of features, locations, and distribution/sales. Sample templates are shown in Figure 11.17 and Figure 11.18 . A competitive analysis helps you create a marketing strategy that will identify assets or skills that your competitors are lacking so you can plan to fill those gaps, giving you a distinct competitive advantage. When creating a competitor analysis, it is important to focus on the key features and elements that matter to customers, rather than focusing too heavily on the entrepreneur’s idea and desires.

Operations and Management Plan

In this section, outline how you will manage your company. Describe its organizational structure. Here you can address the form of ownership and, if warranted, include an organizational chart/structure. Highlight the backgrounds, experiences, qualifications, areas of expertise, and roles of members of the management team. This is also the place to mention any other stakeholders, such as a board of directors or advisory board(s), and their relevant relationship to the founder, experience and value to help make the venture successful, and professional service firms providing management support, such as accounting services and legal counsel.

Table 11.6 shows a sample operations and management plan for La Vida Lola.

Marketing Plan

Here you should outline and describe an effective overall marketing strategy for your venture, providing details regarding pricing, promotion, advertising, distribution, media usage, public relations, and a digital presence. Fully describe your sales management plan and the composition of your sales force, along with a comprehensive and detailed budget for the marketing plan. Table 11.7 shows a sample marketing plan for La Vida Lola.

Financial Plan

A financial plan seeks to forecast revenue and expenses; project a financial narrative; and estimate project costs, valuations, and cash flow projections. This section should present an accurate, realistic, and achievable financial plan for your venture (see Entrepreneurial Finance and Accounting for detailed discussions about conducting these projections). Include sales forecasts and income projections, pro forma financial statements ( Building the Entrepreneurial Dream Team , a breakeven analysis, and a capital budget. Identify your possible sources of financing (discussed in Conducting a Feasibility Analysis ). Figure 11.19 shows a template of cash-flow needs for La Vida Lola.

Entrepreneur In Action

Laughing man coffee.

Hugh Jackman ( Figure 11.20 ) may best be known for portraying a comic-book superhero who used his mutant abilities to protect the world from villains. But the Wolverine actor is also working to make the planet a better place for real, not through adamantium claws but through social entrepreneurship.

A love of java jolted Jackman into action in 2009, when he traveled to Ethiopia with a Christian humanitarian group to shoot a documentary about the impact of fair-trade certification on coffee growers there. He decided to launch a business and follow in the footsteps of the late Paul Newman, another famous actor turned philanthropist via food ventures.

Jackman launched Laughing Man Coffee two years later; he sold the line to Keurig in 2015. One Laughing Man Coffee café in New York continues to operate independently, investing its proceeds into charitable programs that support better housing, health, and educational initiatives within fair-trade farming communities. 55 Although the New York location is the only café, the coffee brand is still distributed, with Keurig donating an undisclosed portion of Laughing Man proceeds to those causes (whereas Jackman donates all his profits). The company initially donated its profits to World Vision, the Christian humanitarian group Jackman accompanied in 2009. In 2017, it created the Laughing Man Foundation to be more active with its money management and distribution.

• You be the entrepreneur. If you were Jackman, would you have sold the company to Keurig? Why or why not?
• Would you have started the Laughing Man Foundation?
• What else can Jackman do to aid fair-trade practices for coffee growers?

What Can You Do?

Textbooks for change.

Founded in 2014, Textbooks for Change uses a cross-compensation model, in which one customer segment pays for a product or service, and the profit from that revenue is used to provide the same product or service to another, underserved segment. Textbooks for Change partners with student organizations to collect used college textbooks, some of which are re-sold while others are donated to students in need at underserved universities across the globe. The organization has reused or recycled 250,000 textbooks, providing 220,000 students with access through seven campus partners in East Africa. This B-corp social enterprise tackles a problem and offers a solution that is directly relevant to college students like yourself. Have you observed a problem on your college campus or other campuses that is not being served properly? Could it result in a social enterprise?

Work It Out

Franchisee set out.

A franchisee of East Coast Wings, a chain with dozens of restaurants in the United States, has decided to part ways with the chain. The new store will feature the same basic sports-bar-and-restaurant concept and serve the same basic foods: chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches, and the like. The new restaurant can’t rely on the same distributors and suppliers. A new business plan is needed.

• What steps should the new restaurant take to create a new business plan?
• Should it attempt to serve the same customers? Why or why not?

This New York Times video, “An Unlikely Business Plan,” describes entrepreneurial resurgence in Detroit, Michigan.

• 48 Chris Guillebeau. The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future . New York: Crown Business/Random House, 2012.
• 49 Jonathan Chan. “What These 4 Startup Case Studies Can Teach You about Failure.” Foundr.com . July 12, 2015. https://foundr.com/4-startup-case-studies-failure/
• 50 Amy Feldman. “Inventor of the Cut Buddy Paid YouTubers to Spark Sales. He Wasn’t Ready for a Video to Go Viral.” Forbes. February 15, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2017/02/15/inventor-of-the-cut-buddy-paid-youtubers-to-spark-sales-he-wasnt-ready-for-a-video-to-go-viral/#3eb540ce798a
• 51 Jennifer Post. “National Business Plan Competitions for Entrepreneurs.” Business News Daily . August 30, 2018. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6902-business-plan-competitions-entrepreneurs.html
• 52 “Rice Business Plan Competition, Eligibility Criteria and How to Apply.” Rice Business Plan Competition . March 2020. https://rbpc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs806/f/2020%20RBPC%20Eligibility%20Criteria%20and%20How%20to%20Apply_23Oct19.pdf
• 53 “Rice Business Plan Competition, Eligibility Criteria and How to Apply.” Rice Business Plan Competition. March 2020. https://rbpc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs806/f/2020%20RBPC%20Eligibility%20Criteria%20and%20How%20to%20Apply_23Oct19.pdf; Based on 2019 RBPC Competition Rules and Format April 4–6, 2019. https://rbpc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs806/f/2019-RBPC-Competition-Rules%20-Format.pdf
• 54 Foodstart. http://foodstart.com
• 55 “Hugh Jackman Journey to Starting a Social Enterprise Coffee Company.” Giving Compass. April 8, 2018. https://givingcompass.org/article/hugh-jackman-journey-to-starting-a-social-enterprise-coffee-company/

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The importance of knowing how to evaluate a strategic plan

Now that you know more precisely what strategic planning is and what it is for – with the help of Peter Drucker’s ideas – let’s take a look at some strategic planning objectives.

3 main objectives of strategic planning

Below are the main objectives and benefits of monitoring your organization’s strategic plan:

1- Ensuring that activities are being performed within the defined parameters

During the development of strategic planning, for each activity planned for the organization, necessary parameters for their accomplishment are considered.

Costs, execution time, financial, material and human resources needed, among others.

Now, while the plan is being put in place, the manager must make sure that all activities are being carried out within the proper parameters.

Rather than assessing, the manager must look at whether a change of course is required, and whether the parameters for any activity need to be rethought.

Ensuring activity progress helps set performance standards that indicate progress towards long-term goals, assesses people’s performance, and provides input for feedback.

2- Ensuring activities are consistent with company DNA

The soul of the organization is closely linked to its vision, mission and values.

Monitoring strategic planning is also a way to ensure that activities are being developed in accordance with the values that guide the organization and its organizational culture.

Since they are directly related to the organizational climate and the corporate image of the company.

Check out this unique Siteware infographic that shows the consequences of a misaligned organizational culture of strategic planning:

3- Assessing ability to achieve goals and identify problems

Analyzing both the internal and external workforce and the exchange of ideas is also important in measuring how well a company is able to achieve what was set for the period.

By comparing performance data with established standards, it is possible to visualize or anticipate possible bottlenecks in corporate daily life.

Why is monitoring strategic planning important?

When a company monitors its strategic planning closely, it ensures that its teams are doing a good job, committed to maintaining progress, and with proper records so they can be evaluated.

Here is another quote from a master, Ram Charan , to illustrate how monitoring strategic planning is critical.

“ 70% of strategies fail due to ineffectiveness. They rarely fail due to lack of intelligence or vision.”

That is, at the time of executing the plan, it is crucial to carry out strategic monitoring and evaluation of the planning systematically and constantly.

After all, if 70% of planning activities fail in execution, only strategic planning control and evaluation – with metrics – will allow errors to be detected and adjustments made.

The metrics a company uses to measure also indicate the quality of the year or period the company is in.

If necessary, from what is evaluated, it is possible to correct the current path, make investments, hire staff, seek technological tools, build partnerships, among many other solutions.

Monitoring is part of the strategic planning system primarily to keep track of what is happening.

And this is usually done through an analysis of regular operational and financial reports on a company’s activities.

The results of a strategic planning follow-up are:

• Incentive for continuous improvement;
• Provision of data on the impact of activities;
• Information for decision making.

The monitoring of strategic planning should be carried out based on the same indicators used when preparing strategic planning.

This also allows for process review as the company realizes that activities, internal and external relationships, customer approaches, etc. need to be modified.

Is it clear to you how important strategic planning and the control of action plans and activities are?

Examples of strategic planning indicators

You have seen that there is no way to monitor strategic planning without the use of indicators.

There are actually three types of indicators to consider in a company:

• Strategic Indicators:  They point to the future, the path the company is expected to follow, and are linked to the mission and vision of the business. They will be reached in the long term, between 3 and 5 years. After an analysis of internal and external scenarios and company differentials, with the help of SWOT analysis, strategic indicators are usually defined.
• Tactical Indicators:  are related to the actions of each area of the company. They make up an action plan that is effective in a shorter period than the strategic objectives, but should contribute to it. If tactical indicators are being met, there is a good chance that strategic objectives will also be met successfully.
• Operational Indicators:  short term. They are directly linked to the day-to-day operations in a company and the progress of the processes. Operational indicators are assigned to each employee to achieve the desired performance level that will make it possible to achieve tactical and strategic goals.

How do you define strategic planning indicators, anyway?

We have seen in the paragraphs above that strategic indicators have the following characteristics:

• Point to the future
• Achieved in the long term
• Linked to a company’s mission and vision
• Based on competitive differences

So, for example, it would make no sense to define strategic indicators like the following:

• Improve the efficiency of our production line by 15% next year.
• Increase sales by 10% by the end of June
• Hire new talent to fill 6 positions on the board by year’s end

These are typical examples of tactical indicators.

To get examples of strategic planning indicators, one must think of changes more linked to the company’s DNA, its mission to society.

Here is a short list of examples of strategic planning indicators:

• Launch 3 new product lines each year over the next 4 years to gain 35% more Share in Market X.
• Create a corporate university that meets our needs within a maximum of 2 years and institute university study support plans to enable our employees to have 85% of the workforce with a college degree and 50% with a postgraduate degree. 5 years.
• Deactivate business units with less than 20% profitability and use the proceeds from the sale of these assets to start an international expansion project by opening 1 unit in countries X, Y and Z and 3 units in country W within 4 years.

Challenges of following strategic planning

Now that it’s clear to you how to evaluate a strategic plan, let’s look at the challenges inherent in doing it.

If we consider that strategic planning is the consolidation of ideas, it is in the implementation of these ideas that the organization will obtain its results, as Charan pointed out.

That’s why it needs to be constantly reevaluated and rethought as corporate progresses.

The biggest challenge of strategic management is related to the ability to move the organization and keep it connected with what was proposed by the strategic plan, with the adaptability that this process requires.

Like every management function, this presupposes a permanent dynamic of planning, execution, monitoring, evaluation, adjustments and readjustments.

And if you want to know how to evaluate a strategic plan even more quickly and assertively, check out STRATWs One strategic planning software.

It enables a friendly view of your strategy map, making it easy to track indicators and goals and creating action plans for each one.

It makes it much easier to understand how to evaluate a strategic plan and monitor internal activities.

Revolutionize the management of your company with STRATWs One

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Examples of a Company Evaluation

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How to Make Your Employees Feel Like a Team

How to evaluate strategic management, corporate financial objectives.

• What Is Human Capital Planning?
• How to Plan a Business Infrastructure

Evaluating a business can take different forms, depending on the reason for the evaluation. A small-business owner might wish to assess her company’s profit-making ability, operations, staffing, marketing or net worth.

Reviewing examples of company evaluations will help you improve your business in a variety of areas.

Operations Management Evaluation

An example of a common corporate evaluation is one that reviews your operations. This can include everything from how you make your product and services to how you hire, train, manage and fire staff. It includes looking at your internal staff communications, your purchasing procedures, distribution strategies, shipping procedures, how your departments communicate and what processes you have for delivering reports from subordinates to superiors.

Financial Position Evaluation

One way to evaluate your company is to look at your financial soundness. In addition to having enough money to pay your bills on time, you should have extra cash, or enough access to credit, to order supplies, pay emergency bills or expand your business.

A company evaluation that examines your monetary position uses financial documents such as a balance sheet, accounts receivable and payable, profit-and-loss statement, annual budget and cash flow statement.

Human Resources Evaluation

Do you have the right organizational structure for your business? This should be in place before you start hiring, according to the Society of Human Resource Management . An organizational structure is the system of employee management you use, such as having key executives, department heads, managers, coordinators and staff.

A human resources evaluation of your company will also look at the job descriptions for each position you have to help you make sure that all necessary tasks are performed by the right people, based on their place in your organizational structure. This evaluation also examines pay and benefits and helps you get a handle on whether or not your labor costs are where they should be.

Cost-Containment Evaluation

One way to increase profits is to reduce your expenses. This requires a regular evaluation of your spending. For example, do you ask your vendors and suppliers to submit new bids each year?

Some small businesses haven’t re-shopped their insurance policies since they opened their doors. When phone companies, IT services providers, marketing agencies and supplies vendors know that they have competition, they are more likely to offer you reduced prices and better terms.

Strategic Planning Evaluation

If you want to grow your business beyond simply reacting to your current demand, you’ll need a strategic plan. This consists of big-picture goals that can take years to achieve, such as launching a new product or service or opening new locations.

To conduct this type of company evaluation, you’ll need to create strategy evaluation tools, which can include your mission statement, key performance indicators, sales benchmarks and other measurements you can use to track your progress.

Company Valuation Evaluation

What is your business worth? Knowing this will help you get loans, attract investors or get a fair offer for your business from a potential buyer. Performing a valuation of your business requires looking at all of your assets and liabilities, including intangible assets, such as your brand, staff, goodwill and customer loyalty programs, according to Entrepreneur magazine.

For a company valuation, in addition to knowing your net worth, you’ll need to review your performance for the past several years and conduct a marketplace analysis to determine what type of profits you can expect during the next several years.

• Entrepreneur: Know Your Business's Worth
• SHRM: 6 Steps to Evaluating Your HR Function

Steve Milano is a journalist and business executive/consultant. He has helped dozens of for-profit companies and nonprofits with their marketing and operations. Steve has written more than 8,000 articles during his career, focusing on small business, careers, personal finance and health and fitness. Steve also turned his tennis hobby into a career, coaching, writing, running nonprofits and conducting workshops around the globe.

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Techniques of strategy evaluation, how much time should be spent on an employee evaluation, what hinders a company from growth, effective hr policy, business assessment questions, what preliminary steps should a company take when developing a recruiting strategy, how to identify characteristics of a good marketing plan, the definition of a sales evaluation, non-financial benefits of strategic management, most popular.

• 1 Techniques of Strategy Evaluation
• 2 How Much Time Should Be Spent on an Employee Evaluation?
• 3 What Hinders a Company from Growth?
• 4 Effective HR Policy

Evaluation Plan

We often hear the word ‘plan,’ and at times, hear the phrases ‘make plans’ or ‘plan something.’ We may have tried using the word a couple of times. But, what does the word even mean?

By definition, the word plan is used to define a forecast or proposal someone makes about something, or the things someone intends to do. For example, in business, business plan in PDF is something that allows a company to forecast its business goals, and make necessary measures in attaining such goals.

Education Evaluation Plan

Size: 342 KB

Performance Evaluation Plan Sample

Size: 205 KB

Teacher Evaluation Plan

Size: 462 KB

Tender Evaluation Plan Example

Size: 64 KB

What Is an Evaluation Plan?

An evaluation plan is a plan that is devised to propose the details of an upcoming evaluation, including what, how, when, and who will conduct the evaluation. Basically, evaluation plans serve as a guide to the people responsible in planning the evaluation. Aside from that, evaluation plans provide the goals of conducting an evaluation plan, along with the strategies plan to be used in order to have a successful evaluation plan.

Elements of an Evaluation Plan

Before devising an evaluation plan, people need to be aware of the basic elements of an evaluation plan. Here are some of them:

• Purpose or target. Like any other plans, evaluation plans need to include the purpose of the evaluation, and other targets which need to be met.
• Recipients. An evaluation plan needs to include information about the target recipients of the evaluation (i.e. recipients of the results of the evaluation).
• Participants and resources. This includes the people who will conduct the evaluation, including the materials and equipment to be used.
• Strategies. Your evaluation plan needs to include the necessary strategies or techniques to conduct a successful evaluation.
• Data analysis. This is where the steps needed to analyze and interpret the data gathered during the evaluation is found.

Depending on the people who will devise the evaluation plan examples , they may include things not found on the list above, or exclude some things not found above.

Technical Evaluation Plan Sample

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Job Evaluation Plan

Size: 45 KB

Project Evaluation Plan Example

Size: 81 KB

Outcome Evaluation Plan

Program Evaluation Plan Example

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Guidelines in Developing an Evaluation Plan

A well-crafted evaluation plan means a successful evaluation. So here’s what you need to remember when you create your evaluation plan:

• Have a positive attitude, before anything else. Believe that your plan will work, believe in yourself, and make it work.
• Identify the goals and targets of your evaluation, and include them in your evaluation plan.
• Determine the evaluation points, and make questions for the evaluation based on those points.
• Specify the most effective skills and strategies you need to achieve the smart goals you listed. If you’re unsure what those are, research. Brainstorm ideas, and identify which strategies to include in your plan.
• Write the details of the evaluation, including the date, place, duration, persons involved, and other details.
• Input all information in a table. This is to organize your information so you don’t get confused. Create a timeline to properly allocate the time of the evaluation.
• Write words clearly. Also, write them simply, so you understand them immediately.
• As much as possible, make your plan concise. Also, make it as realistic and specific as possible.
• Check everything you wrote in your plan. Make sure everything is accurate. If possible, improve your plan as you go.

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Create a study plan for final exams in high school

Develop a project timeline for a middle school science fair.

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• Evaluation Forms

FREE 10+ Business Evaluation Forms in PDF | MS Word

Sample Business Evaluation Forms - 9+ Free Documents in Word ...

7+ business assessment form samples - free sample, example ..., 6+ relationship evaluation form samples - free sample, example ....

However, there are certain factors that company owners need to guarantee that they properly evaluate. There are many different aspects of a business that should be evaluated with care. Good examples would be how employees are operating during business hours, or how management is able to handle all the people employed with the business.

The better the performance of every single factor within any business, then the more successful it is. Which is why every company and organization utilize Business  Evaluation Form s to help them in their path to success.

New Business Evaluation Form

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Business Plan Evaluation Form Example

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Business Immigration Evaluation Form

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Business Presentation Evaluation Form

Business Meeting Evaluation Form

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The Different  Types of Business Evaluation Forms

Business Evaluations come in many different varieties with each of them having their own specific purposes. It should be a given that using Business Evaluation Forms can greatly benefit just about every company for when they need to look into their performance quality. So here are some examples of these types of forms.

• Business  Marketing Evaluation Forms   are the kind of forms that are utilized by those that need to evaluate all the different aspects regarding the market. These evaluations will help businesses devise different marketing strategies that will help them dominate the competition.
• Business Plan Evaluation Forms are used by every business in the event that they need to properly look into the plan of action. Business Plans usually involve what kind of expenses should be made in order to achieve a specific goal, and these forms help assess if anything in the plan should be changed or improved.
• Business Meeting Evaluation Forms are used by company managers to assess the contents of their meeting and if any issues were resolved. These forms can help determine certain issues that might have been plaguing the company for a specific amount of time.
• Business Presentation Evaluation Forms are made use of by people who take part in any business presentations. It allows them the opportunity to evaluate the topic of the presentation, as well as helping them understand the relevancy of the presentation in regards to the success of the business.

Business Plan Evaluation Form Sample

Size: 300 KB

Business Internship Evaluation Form

Size: 431 KB

Business Event Evaluation Form Example

Size: 84 KB

Business Manager Evaluation Form

Size: 13 KB

Final Business Plan Evaluation Form

Size: 692 KB

General Business Evaluation Form

Size: 17 KB

The Importance of Having Business Evaluation Forms

As mentioned before, businesses have to ensure that everything is running at peak performance. Which is why they have forms such as Business  Presentation Evaluation Forms , to check on all the different aspects that directly affect their success.

These forms allow businesses the opportunity to pinpoint certain areas that they need to improve. For example, employers have done recent evaluations regarding the way certain services are done by their staff. Some are providing decent quality, while others are not. When that happens, necessary actions can be taken to immediately fix these issues. These evaluations can even help businesses get a good understanding on what their customers want and how they feel about the company.

So if you’re a business owner, you’ll need to make periodic evaluations and document the results in these forms to help you out.

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Project Evaluation Examples | 2024 Practical Guide with Templates For Beginners

Jane Ng • 03 May 2024 • 8 min read

Whether you’re managing projects, running a business, or working as a freelancer, the project plays a vital role in driving the growth of your business model. It offers a structured and systematic way to assess project performance, pinpoint areas that need improvement, and achieve optimal outcomes. 

In this blog post, we’ll delve into project evaluation, discover its definition, benefits, key components, types, project evaluation examples , post-evaluation reporting, and create a project evaluation process.

Let’s explore how project evaluation can take your business toward new heights.

Table of Contents

What is project evaluation, benefits of project evaluation, key components of project evaluation, types of project evaluation, project evaluation examples, step-by-step to create project evaluation.

• Post Evaluation (Report) 

Project Evaluation Templates

• Key Takeaways

Tips For Better Engagement

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Project evaluation is the assessment of a project’s performance, effectiveness, and outcomes. It involves data to see if the project analyzing its goals and met success criteria. 

Project evaluation goes beyond simply measuring outputs and deliverables; it examines the overall impact and value generated by the project.

By learning from what worked and didn’t, organizations can improve their planning and make changes to get even better results next time. It’s like taking a step back to see the bigger picture and figure out how to make things even more successful.

Project evaluation offers several key benefits that contribute to the success and growth of an organization, including:

• It improves decision-making: It helps organizations evaluate project performance, identify areas for improvement, and understand factors contributing to success or failure. So they can make more informed decisions about resource allocation, project prioritization, and strategic planning.
• It enhances project performance: Through project evaluation, organizations can identify strengths and weaknesses within their projects. This allows them to implement corrective measures to improve project outcomes.
• It helps to mitigate risks: By regularly assessing project progress, organizations can identify potential risks and take solutions to reduce the possibility of project delays, budget overruns, and other unexpected issues.
• It promotes continuous improvement : By analyzing project failures, organizations can refine their project management practices, this iterative approach to improvement drives innovation, efficiency, and overall project success.
• It improves stakeholder engagement and satisfaction: Evaluating outcomes and gathering stakeholders’ feedback enables organizations to understand their needs, expectations, and satisfaction levels. 
• It promotes transparency: Evaluation results can be communicated to stakeholders, demonstrating transparency and building trust. The results provide an objective project performance evaluation, ensuring that projects are aligned with strategic goals and resources are used efficiently. 

1/ Clear Objectives and Criteria: 

Project evaluation begins with establishing clear objectives and criteria for measuring success. These objectives and criteria provide a framework for evaluation and ensure alignment with the project’s goals.

Here are some project evaluation plan examples and questions that can help in defining clear objectives and criteria:

Questions to Define Clear Objectives:

• What specific goals do we want to achieve with this project?
• What measurable outcomes or results are we aiming for?
• How can we quantify success for this project?
• Are the objectives realistic and attainable within the given resources and timeframe?
• Are the objectives aligned with the organization’s strategic priorities?

Examples of Evaluation Criteria:

• Cost-effectiveness: Assessing if the project was completed within the allocated budget and delivered value for money.
• Timeline: Evaluating if the project was completed within the planned schedule and met milestones.
• Quality: Examining whether the project deliverables and outcomes meet the predetermined quality standards.
• Stakeholder satisfaction: Gather feedback from stakeholders to gauge their satisfaction level with the project’s results.
• Impact: Measuring the project’s broader impact on the organization, customers, and community.

2/ Data Collection and Analysis: 

Effective project evaluation relies on collecting relevant data to assess project performance. This includes gathering quantitative and qualitative data through various methods such as surveys, interviews, observations, and document analysis. 

The collected data is then analyzed to gain insights into the project’s strengths, weaknesses, and overall performance. Here are some example questions when preparing to collect and analyze data:

• What specific data needs to be collected to evaluate the project’s performance?
• What methods and tools will be employed to collect the required data (e.g., surveys, interviews, observations, document analysis)?
• Who are the key stakeholders from whom data needs to be collected?
• How will the data collection process be structured and organized to ensure accuracy and completeness?

3/ Performance Measurement: 

Performance measurement involves assessing the project’s progress, outputs, and outcomes about the established objectives and criteria. It includes tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and evaluating the project’s adherence to schedules, budgets, quality standards, and stakeholder requirements.

4/ Stakeholder Engagement:

Stakeholders are individuals or groups who are directly or indirectly affected by the project or have a significant interest in its outcomes. They can include project sponsors, team members, end-users, customers, community members, and other relevant parties. 

Engaging stakeholders in the project evaluation process means involving them and seeking their perspectives, feedback, and insights. By engaging stakeholders, their diverse viewpoints and experiences are considered, ensuring a more comprehensive evaluation.

5/ Reporting and Communication: 

The final key component of project evaluation is the reporting and communication of evaluation results. This involves preparing a comprehensive evaluation report that presents findings, conclusions, and recommendations. 

Effective communication of evaluation results ensures that stakeholders are informed about the project’s performance, lessons learned, and potential areas for improvement.

There are generally four main types of project evaluation:

#1 – Performance Evaluation: 

This type of evaluation focuses on assessing the performance of a project in terms of its adherence to project plans, schedules, budgets, and quality standards . 

It examines whether the project is meeting its objectives, delivering the intended outputs, and effectively utilizing resources.

#2 – Outcomes Evaluation: 

Outcomes evaluation assesses the broader impact and results of a project. It looks beyond the immediate outputs and examines the long-term outcomes and benefits generated by the project. 

This evaluation type considers whether the project has achieved its desired goals, created positive changes , and contributed to the intended impacts .

#3 – Process Evaluation: 

Process evaluation examines the effectiveness and efficiency of the project implementation process. It assesses the project management strategies , methodologies , and approaches used to execute the project. 

This evaluation type focuses on identifying areas for improvement in project planning, execution, coordination, and communication.

#4 – Impact Evaluation: 

Impact evaluation goes even further than outcomes evaluation and aims to determine the project’s causal relationship with the observed changes or impacts. 

It seeks to understand the extent to which the project can be attributed to the achieved outcomes and impacts, taking into account external factors and potential alternative explanations.

*Note: These types of evaluation can be combined or tailored to suit the project’s specific needs and context. 

Different project evaluation examples are as follows:

#1 – Performance Evaluation 

A construction project aims to complete a building within a specific timeframe and budget. Performance evaluation would assess the project’s progress, adherence to the construction schedule, quality of workmanship, and utilization of resources. 

#2 – Outcomes Evaluation

A non-profit organization implements a community development project about improving literacy rates in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Outcomes evaluation would involve assessing literacy levels, school attendance, and community engagement. 

#3 – Process Evaluation – Project Evaluation Examples

An IT project involves the implementation of a new software system across a company’s departments. Process evaluation would examine the project’s implementation processes and activities.

#4 – Impact Evaluation

A public health initiative aims to reduce the prevalence of a specific disease in a targeted population. Impact evaluation would assess the project’s contribution to the reduction of disease rates and improvements in community health outcomes.

Here is a step-by-step guide to help you create a project evaluation:

1/ Define the Purpose and Objectives:

• Clearly state the purpose of the evaluation, such as project performance or measuring outcomes.
• Establish specific objectives that align with the evaluation’s purpose, focusing on what you aim to achieve.

2/ Identify Evaluation Criteria and Indicators:

• Identify the evaluation criteria for the project. These can include performance, quality, cost, schedule adherence, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Define measurable indicators for each criterion to facilitate data collection and analysis.

3/ Plan Data Collection Methods:

• Identify the methods and tools to collect data such as surveys, interviews, observations, document analysis, or existing data sources.
• Design questionnaires, interview guides, observation checklists, or other instruments to collect the necessary data. Ensure that they are clear, concise, and focused on gathering relevant information.

4/ Collect Data: 

• Implement the planned data collection methods and gather the necessary information. Ensure that data collection is done consistently and accurately to obtain reliable results. 
• Consider the appropriate sample size and target stakeholders for data collection.

5/ Analyze Data: 

Once the data is collected, analyze it to derive meaningful insights. You can use tools and techniques to interpret the data and identify patterns, trends, and key findings. Ensure that the analysis aligns with the evaluation criteria and objectives.

6/ Draw Conclusions and Make Recommendations:

• Based on the evaluation outcomes, conclude the project’s performance.
• Make actionable recommendations for improvement, highlighting specific areas or strategies to enhance project effectiveness.
• Prepare a comprehensive report that presents the evaluation process, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

7/ Communicate and Share Results: 

• Share the evaluation results with relevant stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Use the findings and recommendations to inform future project planning, decision-making, and continuous improvement.

Post Evaluation (Report) 

If you have completed the project evaluation, it is time for a follow-up report to provide a comprehensive overview of the evaluation process, its results, and implications for the projects. 

Here are the points you need to keep in mind for post-evaluation reporting:

• Provide a concise summary of the evaluation, including its purpose, key findings, and recommendations.
• Detail the evaluation approach, including data collection methods, tools, and techniques used.
• Present the main findings and results of the evaluation.
• Highlight significant achievements, successes, and areas for improvement.
• Discuss the implications of the evaluation findings and recommendations for project planning, decision-making, and resource allocation.

Here’s an overall project evaluation templates. You can customize it based on your specific project and evaluation needs:

Key Takeaways 

Project evaluation is a critical process that helps assess the performance, outcomes, and effectiveness of a project. It provides valuable information about what worked well, areas for improvement, and lessons learned. 

And don’t forget AhaSlides play a significant role in the evaluation process. We provide pre-made templates with interactive features , which can be utilized to collect data, insights and engage stakeholders! Let’s explore!

What are the 4 types of project evaluation?

Performance Evaluation, Outcomes Evaluation, Process Evaluation and Impact Evaluation.

What are the steps in a project evaluation?

Here are steps to help you create a project evaluation: Define the Purpose and Objectives Identify Evaluation Criteria and Indicators Plan Data Collection Methods Collect Data and Analyze Data Draw Conclusions and Make Recommendations Communicate and Share Results

What are the 5 elements of evaluation in project management?

• Clear Objectives and Criteria Data Collection and Analysis Performance Measurement Stakeholder Engagement Reporting and Communication

Ref: Project Manager | Eval Community | AHRQ

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