Stop 06 · Business Modeling & StrategyTopics · 8/9

Strategic Planning Basics

In short

Leaders say things like 'become the most loved app in Tier 2 cities'. Someone has to turn that into actual projects and requirements. Very often, that someone is the BA.

Connecting a company's long-term goals to specific initiatives and projects — a BA often works at the layer where strategy meets execution, translating high-level goals into actionable requirements.

The purple blob in a cricket cap moves small round tokens across a model of a green cricket field on a table.

Think of it like this

A cricket captain's season plan

The goal is winning the league. That becomes smaller targets: better death bowling, a steadier middle order. Those become actions: extra net sessions, a new spinner. Every practice drill should trace back to winning the league.

Watch it happen

From goal to requirement

Repeat orders +20%

Faster delivery

Reward loyalty

Dark stores

Route planning

Points program

Earn on order

Redeem at cart

1/5Strategy starts with a measurable goal: grow repeat orders by 20% this year.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Vision, goals, initiatives

Vision is where you're headed, goals are measurable targets, initiatives are the projects that get you there.

OKRs are common

Many companies set Objectives and Key Results each quarter. Knowing your team's OKRs tells you what matters now.

Traceability up

Linking each requirement to a goal helps you defend priorities and cut work that doesn't serve the strategy.

Strategy is also no

A clear strategy tells you what not to build. Use it politely to push back on off-track requests.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Treating strategy as something only senior leaders care about.

Do this instead

Read your company's goals or OKRs early. They explain why your project exists and what wins look like.

Oops

Accepting requirements that don't connect to any goal.

Do this instead

Ask which goal a request supports. If nobody knows, it's a candidate for later.

Your mission

Build a goal tree

~30 min

Quick check

A stakeholder asks for a dark mode feature. The quarter's only goal is cutting checkout drop-offs. What's the best response?

Go deeper

1Trace a hypothetical company strategy down to 2-3 specific project initiatives that would support it.
2Learn why misaligned projects (that don't clearly support strategy) tend to lose priority and funding.
3Practice articulating how a specific project connects back to a broader strategic goal.