by Gary Braman

Two years ago, I and several others took on the task of updating the International System Safety Society's Strategic Plan. This was a daunting task, but one that I was sure would be rewarding when complete. When we initially started, we purchased a book about strategic planning since we weren't quite sure what a strategic plan was. Strategic planning is a tool for organizing the present on the basis of the projections of the desired future. That is, a strategic plan is a road map to lead an organization from where it is now to where it would like to be in five or 10 years. The strategic plan has three parts: Vision Statement, Mission Statement and Strategic Goals.

We began the process by reviewing and updating the Society's current Vision Statement (Be the recognized international leader in the system safety discipline) and Mission Statement (Advance the system safety discipline by creating an international, interdependent network of system safety professionals dedicated to the continuous improvement of the art, sciences and technology needed to provide the best total system safety solutions). The proposed updated Vision Statement is "To make the world a safer place through safer systems" and the proposed updated Mission Statement is "Advance the system safety discipline by creating an international, interdependent network of system safety professionals dedicated to the continuous improvement of the art, sciences and technology needed to provide the best total system safety solutions. Be the recognized international leader in the system safety discipline."

The next step was to develop the Strategic Goals necessary to accomplish the mission and attain the vision of the Society. In developing these goals, we began by looking at other organizations that are similar to ours and determining what these organizations were doing to accomplish their mission and attain their organization's vision. We looked at several similar private and professional organizations, including the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the United States Army Warrant Officer Association (USAWOA) and the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA). We found that these organizations had many things to offer to their members — some that we had, and some that we wanted to have. The things that we want and need include our own office space or building, multiple sources of income, certifications, leadership programs, mentorship programs, undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional development programs and scholarship programs. After reviewing these organizations' strategies, we began to develop ours. We used a process called SMART in developing the Society's Strategic Goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. The following are the eight Strategic Goals (SGs) that were developed, along with some of the metrics used to measure their success:

• SG1: Develop and sustain multiple income streams to fund achievement of the Society's Strategic Goals. Some of the metrics include developing Society memorabilia for sale to members and others; selling system safety and other safety-related standards and publications; establishing a Society "job board" on the Society Website; and increasing the number of corporate sponsors and their sponsorship of Society activities.
• SG2: Provide staff, facilities and automated processes that quickly and efficiently resolve the needs and requirements of Society members and chapters. These metrics may include augmenting the current staff at Society headquarters, leasing or building our own facility and automating many Society, chapter and member functions.
• SG3: Provide communication capability to facilitate worldwide communications between Society members, chapters, and the Executive Council (EC). We envision improved communications between the EC and the Society chapters and members through Society-provided telephonic and Web-based communication systems, and an improved Society Website that incorporates new functionality.
• SG4: Provide educated, certified and competent system safety engineers to industry for resolution of their complex safety issues. We will continue the work of establishing a graduate-level system safety engineering and management program, along with a certification for system safety engineers and the establishment of system safety engineering competencies.
• SG5: Provide professional development opportunities for the members worldwide. In addition to the Society's annual Conference and regional conferences, we would like to provide online training opportunities to our membership.
• SG6: Provide an online information database with industry best practices and lessons learned. Metrics include a Web-based information system with lessons learned, safety-related publications and access to our Conference proceedings.
• SG7: Increase and sustain membership worldwide. We felt that the best way we could increase and sustain our membership is to automate the membership and membership upgrade processes.
• SG8: Provide cost-effective and efficient Society governance. Two of the metrics include streamlining or eliminating cumbersome Society processes (membership and membership upgrade), and eliminating overlapping duties of Society directors.

— Gary Braman
President
International System Safety Society