Original Date: 09/15/1997
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Tooele Army Depot (TEAD) began developing and implementing a formal strategic planning process in April 1997. Prior to this time, no strategic plan existed for the Depot and no real strategic vision or clear mission statement was in effect. The leadership focused on making daily operational decisions with low emphasis on future direction and long-term planning. Customer feedback was negligible and typically involved only problem incidents highlighted by occasional discrepancy reports on individual ammunition shipments. Many tracking measures were in place and reported; however, a high level of uncertainty existed as to how useful and important individual measures were or how significant their contributions were to the success of Depot operations.

The strategic planning process was spurred by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. Depot managers recognized that strategic planning would help determine the Depot’s niche within the IOC, protect against further reductions in workload and workforce, identify the core capabilities of the Depot, and provide the Facility with more control over its own destiny.

The new planning process is based on the Strategic Planning Engine (SPE) developed by Michael G. Dolence and Associates. SPE is a 10-step cyclic method that helps complex organizations make strategic decisions at all levels. The methodology is simple and scalable. The heart of SPE links strategic decision making with organizational key performance indicators. It employs Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis, customer identification, and internal and external environmental assessments. The 10 steps of the SPE are:

Step 1: Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Step 2: Perform an external environmental assessment
Step 3: Perform an internal environmental assessment
Step 4: Perform a SWOT analysis
Step 5: Conduct brainstorming
Step 6: Evaluate the potential impact of each idea on each SWOT
Step 7: Formulate strategies, missions, goals, and objectives
Step 8: Conduct a cross-impact analysis to determine the impact of the proposed strategies, goals, and objectives on the organization’s ability to achieve its KPIs
Step 9: Finalize and implement strategies, goals, and objectives
Step 10: Evaluate actual impact of strategies, goals, and objectives on organizational KPIs

Initial benefits include the identification of core competencies, determination of meaningful performance measures, and identification of potential new business opportunities. The process of developing a structural approach to strategic planning has helped Depot personnel learn that diversified viewpoints produce better ideas and understanding, and that both internal and external customers are important to accomplish TEAD’s mission. The strategic planning remains an ongoing process.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.