Service Plans to PlanBuilder Transition

Updated March 25, 2025 16:08

The PlanBuilder tool and its data entry/reporting component, Plans and Reviews, was released several years ago with a twofold goal of:

Addressing the various pain points customers experienced with the old Service Plans module
Eventually, sunsetting legacy Service Plans in order to focus development efforts on continued improvements to the PlanBuilder / Plans and Reviews

With the AWARDS Redesign effort in full swing, we intend to sunset the legacy Service Plans feature at the end of December 2022. The information shared here is designed to help your agency move any and all programs into the PlanBuilder / Plans & Reviews feature before the end of the year.

If your agency implemented AWARDS within the past six years, you are likely using the PlanBuilder / Plans & Reviews functionality already and will not need to complete this transition. If you do not see an option for Service Plans under Charts > Services - Individual for any programs in your AWARDS database, you are good to go and no transition work is needed.

PlanBuilder Benefits

There are many exciting reasons to make the switch to PlanBuilder sooner rather than later!

Flexibility and Configurability - Where the legacy Service Plans allowed little room for flexible formatting, the PlanBuilder lets you build plan formats that align with your agency's needs. You can add fields and options to your programs' plans with all the right labels and selection lists, and even pull in dynamic data from other areas of AWARDS. These fields and options can be placed into customizable goal sections of the plans and reviews, or other optional sections designed from the ground up. The choices are seemingly endless!
Updated E Signatures Functionality - PlanBuilder has a fully configurable e-signatures section that allows you to set up all the signature options you need, with all the right labels. It also allows you to build in signing order to prevent locking before supervisory review. Included in this functionality are new options not available with Service Plan e-signatures; for example, the ability to document when individuals refuse to sign or are unavailable to sign and the inclusion of comment boxes.
Easier Review Workflow - The main pain point customers experienced with legacy Service Plans was the difficult workflow required in order to complete plan reviews. With the PlanBuilder structure, the process of completing plan reviews better aligns with the actual workflows and needs of your programs and staff.
Reporting Capabilities - When using PlanBuilder and its corresponding Plans and Reviews data entry/reporting component, your staff and supervisory teams will have new and improved reporting options to better monitor plan completion and progress.

Related Permissions

Before getting started on the process of transitioning to PlanBuilder, please review the following related permissions and determine which staff will require access to which pieces of the available functionality. Keep in mind that who needs to access the PlanBuilder tool for plan customization will, in many cases, be distinct from who needs access to Plans and Reviews for the ongoing data entry and reporting needs post-transition.

Click any of the permissions listed here to view a detailed description of its purpose.

For development and maintenance of custom plan formats using PlanBuilder:

PlanBuilder (Exception Override)

For ongoing Plans and Reviews data entry and reporting:

Plan Effective Date Data Entry (Data Entry / Access)
Plans and Reviews Deletion (Data Entry / Access)
Plans and Reviews - Modify Due Date on Unlocked Plans (Data Entry / Access)
Plans and Reviews - Modify Due Date on Locked Plans (Exception Override)
Plans and Reviews Reminders (Internal Audit Messages)

The Transition Process

When embarking on the transition process, there are several steps and considerations to keep in mind - whether getting started for the first time, or transitioning remaining programs that never made the move when others did. Specifically, the process you should prepare for includes:

Building your plan formats using PlanBuilder
Training your staff on using Plans and Reviews
Having staff manually enter data for the first plan in the new format
Determining timeline for going live
Implementing new plans in programs

Tips to Get You Started

Complete a Programs Assessment - A good first step is to connect with all program areas to determine their current plan usage and needs. Ask questions like:

Are they completing plans? If so, how are they completing them today?
What challenges have they experienced with plans in AWARDS?
What are their plan creation and review schedules?
What is their workflow for creating, reviewing and signing off on plans?

Work on Plan Formats - Once you have a sense of your programs’ service plan needs, get started on creating the plan formats in PlanBuilder. Here are some things to think through:

Will one consistent plan format work for all program groups, or various formats are needed?
Do any programs have unique needs and need to be separated into a new program type?
Does the standard goal, objective action tiering for the goal section work, or less layers are needed?
Aside from goals, what other data points should be collected and how?
How should signatures be configured?

If you’d like to test out plan formats before transitioning, submit a Help Desk request asking to have a new training PlanBuilder program created with a separate program type so you can test without affecting live programs.

Think About the Timeline for Going Live - The final piece is to think about how to implement these new plan formats across all programs. Work with the program leads to determine the following, and use this information to build your rollout plan:

How large are program caseloads?
How heavy a lift is it to enter content for the first plan?
Who will be responsible for initial data entry of plans?
Will all programs transition at once, or will they be staggered?
Will full program rosters transition at once on a set go-live date, or will they follow upcoming review schedules?
Are there audit timelines or external factors to consider in the rollout plan?

Other Helpful Resources

We have a variety of helpful resources to help you learn more about the important and beneficial PlanBuilder transition process. Have a look!

Office Hours

In addition to the materials provided below and throughout the Resource Center, you can also sign up for Office Hours to receive personalized assistance with getting started on the PlanBuilder transition process at your agency. Sign up here!