Planning Matrix Template

Build a Program / Unit Planning & Assessment Matrix

This page describes how to build a planning matrix specifically for Program and Unit Planning & Assessment. It builds on the standard matrix creation process and adds additional structure required for planning and assessment.

Before you begin

If you have not already created a basic matrix, review the general matrix setup process first:

• Build Matrix

That page covers how to create a matrix, define rows and columns, and configure basic cell settings.

Program and Unit Planning & Assessment matrices

A Program or Unit Planning & Assessment matrix uses the same matrix structure, with one key difference:

• One or more cells must be set to the Plan cell type
• Plan cells contain a hierarchy of sub-cells used to capture planning and assessment data

This hierarchy allows programs and units to document goals, objectives or outcomes, and planned actions in a structured way.

Using Plan cells

When building your matrix, identify the cell or cells that will contain planning information and set their Cell Type to Plan.

Plan cells support multiple levels of sub-cells.

Plan sub-cell hierarchy

Within each Plan cell, sub-cells must be organized in the following hierarchy:

• Plan
  • Goal
    • Objective or Outcome
      • Action

This hierarchy allows programs and units to:

• Define high-level goals
• Break goals into specific objectives or outcomes
• Identify actions that support improvement or change

Adding sub-cells

To add sub-cells to a Plan cell:

1. Open the settings for the Plan cell
2. Click the + button at the top of the cell settings screen
3. Select the sub-cell type to add (Goal, Objective, Outcome, or Action)
4. Continue adding sub-cells to build the required hierarchy

Making sub-cells repeatable

For Program and Unit Planning & Assessment, sub-cells must be configured as repeatable so programs and units can enter multiple goals, objectives, and actions.

When adding a sub-cell:

1. In the sub-cell settings, locate the checkbox Sub-cell is repeatable
2. Check this box
3. Save the sub-cell settings

Repeatable sub-cells allow users to add as many entries as needed during data entry.

Recommended repeatable sub-cells

The following sub-cells should be set as repeatable:

• Goal
• Objective and/or Outcome
• Action

If sub-cells are not repeatable, programs and units will be limited to a single entry at that level.

Design tips

• Not every Plan cell needs to include goals, objectives, or actions
• Program assessments use Outcomes, while Unit assessments use Objectives automatically.
• Keep the matrix structure consistent across programs and units to support reporting and review

Once the matrix structure is complete, it can be used to create Matrix assessments for a specific planning and assessment cycle.