Understand Actions in Serendata

Actions are the practical tasks used to plan and deliver change activity. They help you move from impact analysis into execution by assigning work, setting dates, monitoring progress and keeping ownership clear across the change team.

In Serendata, actions can be viewed in different ways depending on what you need to do. The To do view helps you manage work day to day, the Plan view helps you review timing and progress, and the Report view helps you analyse delivery trends. The action data grid holds the detailed records behind these views.

Good practice. Create actions that are specific, owned and time bound. A clear action record makes reporting more meaningful and makes it easier to follow through on the work required to support change.

Open Actions

Within a project, open Change and then select Actions. This takes you into the Actions area for the current project.

Figure 1. Actions within Navigation

Actions.

Open the Actions sub-section within Change.

Use the To do view to manage action delivery

The To do view is designed for day-to-day action management. It groups actions by their current delivery status so that you can quickly see what has not started, what is in progress, what is on hold, what has been cancelled and what has been completed.

Figure 2. To do view for Actions

1	To do.	Use the To do tab to work in the status-based action board.
2	Status columns.	Review actions grouped by status so you can immediately see where work is progressing and where attention may be needed.
3	Action cards.	Open and review individual actions, including ownership, assignee, due date and action type.
4	View Data.	Select View Data in the top right-hand corner to open the underlying action data grid.

When to use this view. Use the To do view when you want a simple operational view of delivery, for example during working sessions, stand-ups or regular change team reviews.

Use the Plan view to review schedule and progress

The Plan view combines summary charts with a time-based plan. This helps you review overall status, understand progress and see when actions are scheduled to run.

Figure 3. Plan view for Actions

1	Plan.	Use the Plan tab to move from the action board into the planning and timeline view.
2	Action Status.	Review the current RAG-style distribution of actions.
3	Action Progress.	Review the progress split across not started, in progress, on hold, cancelled and completed actions.
4	Action Plan.	Use the timeline view to understand when actions are scheduled and how work is spread across the delivery period.
5	View Data.	Select View Data to return to the detailed action records at any point.

Use the Report view for analysis

The Report view provides breakdown charts that help you analyse action delivery by assignee and by business area. This is useful when you want to understand workload distribution, ownership patterns and where delivery may be strong or slipping.

Figure 4. Report view for Actions

1	Report.	Use the Report tab to open the analytical reporting view.
2	Action Status by Assignee.	Review action status by assignee to understand who owns the work and the balance of red, amber and green actions.
3	Action Progress by Assignee.	Review delivery progress by assignee to see where work is complete and where actions are still underway.
4	Action Status by Business Area.	Compare action status across business areas to understand where change activity is concentrated.
5	Action Progress by Business Area.	Compare progress across business areas to identify where more support or follow-up may be required.
6	View Data.	Select View Data in the top right-hand corner to open the supporting action data grid.

Create and maintain action records

The action data grid is where the detailed action records are created and maintained. Use this view to add new actions, update ownership and dates, maintain status and keep the wider action dataset accurate.

Figure 5. Action data grid

1	Add.	Use the teal plus button to create a new action.
2	Action details.	Maintain the main action information, including reference number, name, description, status, start date, end date, owner and assigned person.
3	Stakeholder Owners.	Use Stakeholder Owners to record the stakeholders linked to ownership or delivery of the action where relevant.
4	Action Type.	Use Action Type to classify the action so that filtering and reporting remain meaningful.

Keep records current. Update action status, dates and ownership as work progresses. This keeps the To do, Plan and Report views accurate and makes the wider change plan more reliable.

Understand linked action data

Actions can also be reviewed alongside the wider change context they support. By using the linked columns in the action data grid, you can see which impacts an action addresses and the associated processes, business areas, stakeholders and audiences connected to those impacts.

Figure 6. Linked data from Actions

1	Impacts.	Review the impact or impacts that the action is intended to support or mitigate.
2	Processes From Impacts.	See the linked processes associated with the action through its connected impacts.
3	Business Areas From Impacts.	Review the business areas connected through the linked impacts.
4	Stakeholders From Impacts.	See the stakeholders connected to the linked impacts so that action delivery remains joined up with engagement activity.
5	Audience From Impacts.	Review the audience groups associated with the linked impacts to support coordinated planning at scale.

How the pieces fit together

Actions turn change analysis into delivery. The To do, Plan and Report views help you manage and monitor work in different ways, while the action data grid provides the detailed records behind those views. When actions are kept current and linked back to impacts and affected groups, they become a practical bridge between analysis, planning and delivery.

For related guidance, continue with 'Log the Impacts of your change', 'Upload and manage your Processes' and 'Map your Stakeholders and Audiences'.

Plan and track your Actions