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Pilotus Documentation

Creating Plans

This guide walks you through creating a new strategic plan and configuring it for your needs.

Before You Begin

Before creating a plan, consider:

  • Plan Type - What kind of plan are you creating? (Organization, Service, School, etc.)
  • Components - Which elements do you need? (Mission, SWOT, Indicators, etc.)
  • Stakeholders - Who needs access to this plan?

Creating a New Plan

Pilotus uses a 3-step creation wizard to set up your plan:

  1. Choose a Template

    Select from available templates or start with a blank plan. Blank plans offer three levels:

    • Strategic - Full framework with all components
    • Tactical - Implementation-focused with objectives and actions
    • Operational - Action-focused for day-to-day execution

    You can filter templates by sector, level, domain, and nature.

  2. Configure Components

    Toggle which components your plan will include. Each component is displayed as a card with a description. The 14 available components are:

    Framework: Mission, Vision, Values, Engagements Context: Executive Summary, Documents, Strategic Issues, Situational Analysis Plan: Orientations, Objectives, Key Results, Actions, Indicators

    You can always change these later in Plan Settings.

  3. Set Plan Details

    Enter the plan title (required, must be unique) and an optional short name for reports and exports. Click “Create” to finalize.

Exploring Your Plan

Once created, your plan opens with six tabs:

The Dashboard provides an at-a-glance overview of your plan’s health and progress. It displays cards for plan progress, indicator/OKR/action breakdowns, framework completeness, plan integrity, team involvement, and more.

See Reports & Dashboards for details on each card.

Managing Access

To manage who can access your plan, open the Access tab (plan owners only).

User Access

  1. Add a user

    Click “Add” and search for the person by name or email.

  2. Select a role

    Choose the appropriate permission level:

    • Reader - Can view the plan only
    • Contributor - Can view and edit plan content
    • Owner - Full control including permissions and settings

  3. Manage existing users

    Change roles or remove users from the access table. Filter by role or search by name.

Group Access

Link committees to give all group members access:

  1. Click “Add Group” and select a committee
  2. Set the access mode for the group (view, edit, or full control)
  3. Group members automatically inherit the access level

Responsible Person

Assign a single responsible person for the plan. This person automatically receives the Owner role and is displayed on the Plan Info card on the Dashboard.

Customizing Visible Components

Plan owners can control which components appear in the plan from Settings > Plan Interface:

The 14 toggleable components are organized by tab:

TabComponents
FrameworkMission, Vision, Values, Engagements
ContextExecutive Summary, Documents, Strategic Issues, Situational Analysis
PlanOrientations, Objectives, Key Results, Actions, Indicators

Duplicating a Plan

To create a new plan based on an existing one:

  1. Open the plan you want to copy
  2. Click the menu icon (three dots)
  3. Select “Duplicate Plan”
  4. Modify the title and dates
  5. The new plan will include all structure but can be edited independently

Plan Best Practices

  • Start with Vision - Define where you’re going before planning how to get there
  • Keep it Focused - A few clear objectives are better than many vague ones
  • Assign Responsibility - Every action should have an owner
  • Set Deadlines - Actions without due dates rarely get done
  • Review Regularly - Schedule time to review and update your plan

Next Steps