Operations Plan Skill

Generate a detailed operations plan that demonstrates the business can deliver on its promises efficiently and at scale.

What to Generate

Required Elements

1. Business model operations — How the business creates and delivers value
2. Key processes — Core workflows from order to delivery
3. Supply chain — Suppliers, procurement, inventory management
4. Facilities and equipment — Physical locations, machinery, office space
5. Technology infrastructure — Systems, software, platforms, integrations
6. Quality control — Standards, testing, compliance procedures
7. Staffing and HR — Headcount, roles, hiring timeline
8. Key partnerships — Outsourced functions, strategic alliances
9. Operational KPIs — Metrics for measuring operational health
10. Scalability plan — How operations scale with growth

Process Documentation Format

For each core process:

Process: [Name]
Trigger: [What initiates this process]
Steps: [Sequential workflow]
Owner: [Who is responsible]
Duration: [How long it takes]
Dependencies: [What it requires]
Output: [What it produces]
Quality check: [How quality is verified]

Operational Metrics to Define

• Production/delivery capacity (units/month or clients/month)
• Lead time (order to delivery)
• Fulfilment rate
• Defect/error rate
• Inventory turnover (if applicable)
• Uptime/availability (for tech/SaaS)
• Cost per unit produced/delivered

Generation Process

1. Ask for: business type (product/service/SaaS), production method, team size, key tools
2. Map core value-delivery processes
3. Identify supply chain dependencies and risks
4. Document technology stack and infrastructure
5. Define quality control procedures
6. Plan staffing needs aligned to growth projections
7. Set operational KPIs with targets

Quality Criteria

• Processes are specific enough to execute, not just described at a high level
• Supply chain risks are identified with mitigation plans
• Technology choices are justified (not just trendy)
• Scalability plan shows how operations handle 2x, 5x, 10x growth
• Staffing plan aligns with financial projections in section 10

References

• Product development lifecycle: See ../03-products-services/references/product-development-lifecycle.md for VDPD process, prototyping, MVP development, manufacturing considerations, and innovation strategy (incremental vs. radical) — from Bates and Tidd & Bessant
• Product management frameworks: See ../03-products-services/references/product-management-frameworks.md for product scaling strategies (8 approaches), experimentation techniques, and Key Value Areas for operational metrics — from Verwijs et al