Guide · C40
Build a marketing-plan reforecast
How can forecasts be revised without rewriting history?
Direct answer
A reforecast preserves the initial plan, incorporates actuals, updates assumptions, budget, workload, milestones, results and risks, and records every decision.
01Approve a new forecast and its review conditions.
02The rule, the evidence and the next review date stay visible.
How to use this
Move from the question to the deliverable.
How can forecasts be revised without rewriting history?
Approve a new forecast and its review conditions.
Reforecast template
Worked example · SQ-40
Revise the forecast without erasing the original plan
The reforecast keeps three references: original plan, actual to date and latest estimate. Every variance is linked to a cause and a decision.
Costed case at the end of June for an annual pipeline plan.
- 01Keep
Freeze the original plan and the approved versions.
- 02Incorporate
Add the actual to date at constant scope.
- 03Re-estimate
Update the remaining work according to assumptions and capacity.
- 04Decide
Approve the new estimate and its conditions.
Annual pipeline reforecast from €6.0m to €5.35m
The first-half actual is kept; the reduction bears on the latest estimate for the second half.
Latest estimate = actual to date + estimate of work remaining| Period | Initial plan | Actual | Remaining estimate | Latest estimate | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | €2.6m | €2.35m | — | €2.35m | −€0.25m |
| H2 | €3.4m | — | €3.00m | €3.00m | −€0.40m |
| Year | €6.0m | €2.35m | €3.00m | €5.35m | −€0.65m |
| Budget | €520k | €248k | €237k | €485k | −€35k |
| Capacity | 1,420 d | 690 d | 610 d | 1,300 d | −120 d |
01The forecast falls by €650k; €250k is already delivered short and €400k concerns the remaining work.
02The reduction of 120 days explains part of the second-half adjustment.
03The original plan stays visible so that forecast quality and past decisions can be measured.
Fictitious data. A reforecast is not a new target; any change of objective requires a separate decision.
Coherence controls
Minimum conditions before validation.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
Usable deliverable
Reforecast template
Explore the decision further with an interactive control, or start from a structured template to produce your deliverable.