S.M.E.A.C. Mission / Project Planning

SMEAC

The SMEAC system is yet another acronym borrowed from our mighty Military [they do a pretty good job, so we may as well learn something from them!] and is short for:

S Situation

M Mission

E Execution

A Administration and Logistics

C Command and communications

The Military use the SMEAC system to document their orders and instructions for field operations, so that they can pass this information on to their troops.

While you probably don’t have a personal army at your disposal, there are times I’m sure when you need to give a colleague, team member, training group, instructions or directions for a task or project – and this system is ideal!

Situation This is the background to your task, or a description of what has happened. What were the events leading up to where you are now? ( for years I've been inactive and let myself go physically and mentally)

Again, consider the 5WH of the situation. What has happened? Why is it a problem? Who else is involved? When did it happen/ sequence of events? Where did it happen? How did it happen?

The point of this part of the process is to provide a snapshot or background to the following set of instructions.

Mission So now we know what has happened, the mission is what we need to do about it. The mission should be a short, clear and concise statement of what you want to achieve ( I want to journey towards better health and fitness physically and mentally. At this stage, there’s no need to include any detail – because that’s what the EA&C is for.

Execution Execution is the “how” part of the plan – how you are going to achieve your mission.

Detail the steps required, and again 5WH applies.

What are you going to do? Why? When? Where? Who is involved? How? I have highlighted the WHY because if it is not convincing enough your mission will fail when things get tough and issues come up that are hard to deal with.

The execution part of the process is usually the longest and should provide sufficient information to allow you [or your team] to go and do the job.

Administration The military term is actually “Administration and Logistics” and is about what resources you need to do the job, and how these resources are to be coordinated. Join a gym, use a P/T, join a running or cycling group. New clothing and or shoes.

Command and Communications This is the who’s who of the job – who’s in charge, who do you report to, and how you communicate with each other. Sometimes you need someone else other than yourself to report to. Look for accountability and objectivity.Have a look at the following link for a visual.

 http://youtu.be/vx-8BGAdops

S.M.E.A.C.– for documenting instructions

Situation (what has happened, background
Mission (what you need to do about it)
Execution (how are you going to do it)
Administration (and logistics what do you need to do it)