What is Creation Plan?
Creation Plan is a feature that identifies SOPs scheduled for maintenance by folder and consolidates management of responsibility, deadline, and progress. It creates a list showing "which folder, what SOP, who, and by when" and lets you compare planned (scheduled) SOPs against those actually published (actual results).
While Desired procedures (idea notebook) represents bottom-up demand collection from the field, Creation Plan is a board for placing "maintenance schedules" top-down first.
●Screen: Plan map view opened from the left menu "Creation Plan" on the dashboard
Requirements
- Permission: Created user role or above (Owner / Team Administrator / Group Administrator / Created user). The menu is not displayed for View-only user or guests.
- Plan: The "My assignments" view and viewing the Creation Plan are available for all plans. Management operations on the Creation Plan (adding/linking scheduled SOPs, Excel import/export, etc.) are available for Pro plan and above.
- Location: Open from the left menu of the dashboard: [Management] → [Creation Plan]
Two Views
Creation Plan has two views: "Plan map" and "My assignments", which you can switch between using the toggle at the top of the screen. The default view varies by role—administrators see "Plan map" and creators see "My assignments." The top displays progress metrics: counts of planned, completed, creating, not started, overdue items and completion rate.
Plan map
A canvas map centered on folders that shows a bird's-eye view of the entire team's maintenance status. Below each folder, it displays scheduled SOPs (planned) and, when necessary, existing SOPs (actual results).
- Drag to move: You can reassign plan cards to different folders
- Zoom and pan: Use the controls in the bottom right of the canvas to zoom in/out and center
- Header collapse: Use the ▼ in the top left to collapse the title, KPIs, and top menu to maximize work area
My assignments
A list view that displays only scheduled SOPs where you are assigned as responsible. You can see status, SOP name, creation status, storage folder, deadline, and notes in columns. Assignees use this screen to create SOPs and update their status.
●Screen: "Plan map / My assignments" toggle at the top of the screen
Steps
1. Create a folder
From the action menu (⋮) next to "Home" in the top left of the plan map, select "Create folder", enter the folder name, and create it. The created folder is shared with folders in the SOP list. From the action menu (⋮) of an existing folder, you can also create subfolders, rename folders, move, set access restrictions, and delete.
2. Plan an SOP
From the action menu (⋮) of the folder where you want to add a plan, select "Plan an SOP", enter the name of the SOP to be created, and select "Add". The added planned SOP is displayed with a "Not started" status. When registering multiple items at once, use "Add from Excel" in the toolbar at the top of the plan map (see below).
●Screen: Input dialog for "Plan an SOP"
3. Set responsible person and deadline
Click the planned SOP card (on the plan map) or the row (in My assignments) to open the panel and set the responsible person and deadline. The responsible person can be assigned only to members with Created user role or above (Owner / Team Administrator / Group Administrator / Created user). When a responsible person is assigned, and when a deadline is set or changed, the assignee receives email notification. Items that exceed the deadline without completion are counted as "Overdue".
●Screen: Panel for setting responsible person and deadline
4. Create an SOP and link it
Assignees can select "Create SOP" from their row in the "My assignments" view to create a new SOP. If the storage folder is not set, first select a folder. The created draft is automatically linked to that planned SOP and the status changes to "Creating". From the "SOP" column in the list, you can navigate to edit the draft, check approval status, or view the published SOP.
Assignees can also leave personal notes on planned SOPs (creation goals, reference materials, research notes, etc.).
5. Manage progress (status)
The status of a planned SOP progresses through three stages: "Not started" → "Creating" → "Completed". Only administrators and the responsible person themselves can advance the status. When an SOP is published, the linked planned SOP automatically becomes "Completed". To manually set the status to "Completed", select and link the actual SOP corresponding to that planned SOP.
6. Link to existing SOPs (optional)
You can also treat already-published SOPs as results for planned SOPs. When you turn on "Show existing SOPs too" at the top of the plan map, published SOPs are displayed below the folder. From the link button of an existing SOP, select an unlinked planned SOP in that folder to link it. The planned SOP then becomes "Completed".
Add or update in bulk from Excel
From the toolbar [Add from Excel] at the top of the plan map, you can register multiple planned SOPs at once in the same format as the Excel export from the existing SOP list (with type / folder path / title, and optionally responsible person / deadline).
- Click [Add from Excel] in the toolbar
- Click [Excel template] in the top right to download a sample, or paste tab-separated data directly in the paste area
- Drag and drop a file, or paste the contents
- Check the diff preview (add / update / skip / error) to verify the contents
- If all looks good, click [Register N items] to confirm
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Folder path uses slash-separated format like
root/parent/child. Non-existent folders are created automatically - Responsible person is matched by email address (name also works, but email is recommended to avoid ambiguity)
- If an SOP with the same folder and title already exists, only the responsible person and deadline fields are updated (no update if there is no diff)
- Rows with type "Folder" create folders up to that path (existing folders are skipped)
Export maintenance status to Excel
- Full Excel export (Pro+): From [Export to Excel] at the right end of the progress header on the plan map, you can export a complete list following the folder structure
- My assignments Excel export (all plans): From [Export to Excel] in the top right of the My assignments view, you can export a flat list of your assigned items
Promote from "Desired procedures" to Creation Plan
Requests collected in "Desired procedures" (idea notebook) that are decided to be created can be promoted to Creation Plan, where they can be tracked with assigned responsibility and deadline. Promoted planned SOPs show a "From Want" indicator, and as you advance the status in Creation Plan, it also reflects in the Desired procedures board. When completed, notifications are sent to the original author and everyone who pressed "want".
Deadline reminders (automatic email)
When the deadline for a planned SOP approaches or passes, the assignee automatically receives an email.
- 3 days before / 1 day before / overdue (sent once when overdue)
- Delivered daily at 08:00 (JST)
- When the deadline is changed, reminders are resent with the new deadline (the duplicate guard resets)
- Planned SOPs with "Completed" status are removed from reminders
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can I add planned SOPs on any plan?
A. The "My assignments" view and viewing Creation Plan are available on all plans. However, operations to add/link SOPs to the plan and import/export with Excel are available for Pro plan and above.
Q. Can I incorporate "Desired procedures" collected from the field into the plan?
A. Yes, you can. Incorporated items show a "From Want" indicator, and as you advance the status in Creation Plan, it also reflects in the Desired procedures board.
Q. Can people other than the assignee change the status?
A. Only administrators and the responsible person themselves can advance the status.