The fundamental objective of planning is to design a course of action to promote effective implementation by building local capacity for using the innovation, collectively and individually (Mendel et al. 2008); this construct includes contingency planning (Dy et al. 2015), goal-setting (see Implementation Process: Reflecting and Evaluating for monitoring progress toward set goals), selecting strategies, and occurs within context of incremental implementation approaches or testing cycles.
The original CFIR (Damschroder, Aron, et al. 2009) elaborated on this construct, stating that regardless of the degree of complexity of the innovation, simple, clear, and detailed implementation plans, schedules, and task assignments contribute to successful implementation (D. H. Gustafson et al. 2003). The specific steps in plans should be based on the underlying theories or models used to promote change at organization and individual levels (R. P. Grol et al. 2007). For example, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (Institute for Healthcare Improvement 2003; 2005), Grol et al. (R. Grol et al. 2005), and Glisson and Schoenwald (Glisson and Schoenwald 2005) describe comprehensive approaches to implementation on which implementation plans can be developed. However, these theories prescribe different sets of activities because they were developed in different contexts (though commonalities exist as well). Grol et al. list 14 different bodies of theories for changing behaviors in social or organizational contexts (R. P. Grol et al. 2007), and Estabrooks et al. list 18 different models of organizational innovation (Estabrooks et al. 2006). Thus, the content of plans will vary depending on the theory or model being used to guide implementation and the context within which implementation will occur.
Setting goals and identifying metrics or measures to track progress are integral aspects of planning (Greenhalgh, Robert, et al. 2004; E. Rogers 2003). Planned measures should include implementation and innovation outcomes that are important to key constituencies (von Thiele Schwarz et al. 2019), including at a minimum, leaders, deliverers, and recipients (Damschroder, Reardon, Opra Widerquist, et al. 2022). Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely (the SMART rubric) (Brach et al. 2008); goal planning includes documenting objectives, benchmarks, and timeline with consideration of feasibility and adequacy (Dy et al. 2015). Note that the degree to which monitoring and evaluation occurs is captured in Reflecting and Evaluating.