Afdelingstrajectory

Afdelingstrajectory is a term used in organizational design and strategic planning to describe the planned development path of a department within an organization. It encompasses the intended evolution of a department's scope, capabilities, resources, processes, and governance over time, aligned with the broader corporate strategy.

The concept is used to communicate how a department should grow or transform, including changes in size, skill mix, technology, service levels, and interfaces with other units. A trajectory may cover multiple time horizons (short, medium, long) and include milestones, required investments, and risk considerations.

Typical components include the department's mission and vision, the set of capabilities it must acquire or retire, governance structures, performance metrics, milestone-based roadmaps, budget and staffing plans, and dependency maps with other departments or external partners.

Development approaches include roadmapping, scenario planning, capability maturity models, and the use of dashboards and KPIs to track progress. It is commonly reviewed periodically to adjust for changing conditions or organizational priorities.

Origin and usage: the term combines the Dutch word afdeling with trajectory from English. It is most often encountered in Dutch-language management literature, with related concepts found in English as department roadmaps or function trajectories.