# Development Plan

> The Development Plan space module, in the Planning & HR tab. Each person builds their individual development plan, with actions and due dates, sends it to their direct leader, who approves it or returns it with a note, and follows it through to completion; the leader sees the team and the management team sees a dashboard per leader.

The **Development Plan** (an individual development plan, or IDP) is where each person writes down what they will develop, as actions with due dates, and follows the plan through to the end, instead of it being written after the review and forgotten in a drawer. The **direct leader** approves the plan and follows the team; the management team sees how many people have a plan and how many are behind, leader by leader.

It is a [space module](/conceitos/modulos) in the **Planning & HR** tab of **Add Space**. A community can have **several** Development Plan spaces (for example *2026 plans* and *Leadership plans*), and everything is per space: the plan, the team, the approval queue and the dashboard. Who creates the space: owner or admin. There is nothing to configure: once created, the app opens the space.

## What it is for

| Community | How it uses it |
|---|---|
| Company HR | Each person's yearly plan, approved by their manager and followed by HR on the dashboard |
| Leadership program | A *Leadership plans* space, only for the leaders' group |
| School or mentoring | Each student's study plan, approved by the mentor (the leader in the org chart) |

## Who sees and does what

Each person's leader is their **Reports to** in the [org chart](/membros/grupos-e-organograma). Memberfy works out who can do what at the moment of each action, from the org chart at that moment.

| Who | Sees the plan | Creates, edits, sends, completes | Approves or returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| **The person** | Yes | Yes (only they send it for approval) | No, never their own |
| **Direct leader** | Yes | Yes: creates a report's plan and edits it | Yes |
| **Owner** and **admin** | Yes, everyone's | Yes | Yes (for people without a leader, or when the leader has left) |
| **Indirect leader** (the leader's leader) | Yes, read-only | No | No |
| **Finance** | Yes, read-only, and the dashboard | No | No |
| **Moderator** and other members | No (a moderator, only if they lead the person) | No | No |

- Nobody else sees a person's plan: for anyone not in the table, it simply does not exist.
- When Memberfy support enters the community (the **Enter** button), it neither sees nor touches development plans.
- There are no private leader notes: the person sees everything recorded in their plan, including the return note.
- The person needs access to the Development Plan space to have a plan in it.

> [!WARNING]
> Because the direct leader approves the plan, **only the owner and the admin change who reports to whom** in the org chart. Moderators and finance see the leader and keep organizing groups. See [Groups and org chart](/membros/grupos-e-organograma#who-can).

## How it works

### The space's tabs

| Tab | What it shows | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| **My plan** | Your active plan, or **Create my plan**, and the **History** of completed ones | Everyone with access to the space |
| **My team** | Who reports to you, directly or indirectly (**Direct report**, **Indirect report**), with each person's status, progress and overdue actions, and **Create plan** for a direct report without one | Whoever leads someone |
| **To approve** | The plans waiting for your decision, with the count | Whoever approves a plan |
| **Dashboard** | The totals and one row per direct leader | Owner, admin and finance (the whole space); a leader (their team, direct and indirect) |

The tabs show up according to what each person can see: someone who leads nobody sees only **My plan**.

The tabs are grouped in two modes. Whoever has a management view (leads someone, approves plans or sees the dashboard) opens the space in **Manage**, with **Show:** **My team**, **To approve** and **Dashboard** (those the person can see) and the plan cycle bar; **Mine** is **My plan**. Whoever has no management view sees only **My plan**, without the switch.

### The plan

| Field | What for |
|---|---|
| **Title** | E.g. *2026 plan*. Up to 120 characters |
| **Start** and **End** | The plan's period, as dates in the community's time zone. The end can't be before the start |
| **Actions** | Up to 50. Each with an **Action title** (up to 200 characters), an optional **Action description** and a **Due date** |

Each action has a **Progress**: **To do**, **In progress** or **Done**. The plan's **Progress** counts the done ones (*"3 of 5 done (60%)"*).

An action is **Overdue** when its due date has passed in the community's time zone and it isn't done. Nobody marks it: Memberfy works it out on the spot, and an approved plan shows *"Approved, with 2 overdue actions."*

### From draft to completed

<div class="flow">
<div class="flow-row"><span class="flow-node">Draft</span><span class="flow-arrow">→</span><span class="flow-node">Awaiting approval</span><span class="flow-arrow">→</span><span class="flow-node">Approved</span><span class="flow-arrow">→</span><span class="flow-node">Completed</span></div>
</div>

1. **Draft.** The person builds the plan (**Save draft**). The draft is visible to them, their leaders and the management team, and can be deleted.
2. **Send for approval.** It needs at least one action. The direct leader gets the notice; without a leader, the owner and the admins.
3. **Approve** or **Return.** Whoever approves decides. **Return** asks for a **Note to the person** (required): the plan goes back to draft and the person sees the note (*"Returned by Ana"*), adjusts it and sends it again.
4. **Approved.** The person updates the progress of the actions. Changing only the progress **never** asks for a new approval.
5. **Complete.** The person or whoever approves completes the approved plan, even with open actions, which stay as they were. The plan moves to **History** and the person can create another one. An approved plan isn't deleted: it is completed.

**One active plan per person in each space.** Draft, awaiting approval and approved all count as active; to create another one in the same space, complete the current one.

### Changing an approved plan

| Who changes the title, the period or the actions | What happens |
|---|---|
| **The person** | The plan goes back to **Awaiting approval** and the leader is notified (*"You changed an approved plan: it went back to the leader for approval."*) |
| **Whoever can approve** (the direct leader, the owner or the admin) | The plan stays approved |

The form warns beforehand: *"This plan is approved. Changing the period or the actions sends it back to the leader for approval; changing only the progress does not."* The previous version isn't kept.

### The leader creates a report's plan

In **My team**, **Create plan** next to a direct report without a plan. The person gets the notice, sees the plan and can adjust it before sending it for approval; sending it is still up to them.

### If the leader changes

The decision always belongs to the direct leader **at that moment**. If someone's leader changes while their plan is awaiting approval, the decision moves to the new leader, who gets the notice.

### The dashboard

One row per **Direct leader** (and **No leader**), with **People**, **With a plan**, **Awaiting**, **Approved**, **Not started**, **Overdue** and **Completed**. Delays are counted up to today, in the community's time zone. The owner, the admin and finance see everyone with access to the space; a leader sees their team, direct and indirect reports.

### E-mails

The **Development plan** category of [E-mails from this community](/notificacoes/emails-desta-comunidade), on by default, has four notices, never with the plan's content, only the notice and the **View the plan** button:

| Notice | Who gets it |
|---|---|
| *So-and-so sent you a development plan to approve* | The direct leader; without a leader, the owner and the admins |
| *So-and-so approved your development plan* | The person |
| *So-and-so returned your development plan with a note* | The person |
| *So-and-so created a development plan for you* | The person |

### The company cycle

A **cycle** gives the whole company the same deadline, with reminders. The owner and the admin open it in **Manage PDI cycle › Open cycle**, at the top of the space:

| Field | What for |
|---|---|
| **Cycle name** | E.g. *PDI cycle 2027*. Up to 120 characters |
| **Sending deadline** and **Approval deadline** | Days in the community's time zone; approval is on the same day as sending or later |
| **Audience** | **Everyone** who opens the space, **A group** or **A tag** (always among those who open the space) |
| **E-mail reminders** | Up to 5, in days before each deadline (0 to 60); the default is 7 and 1 |

- **One open cycle per space.** The active plans of the people in the audience join the cycle, and so do those created while it's open.
- **People in the audience** see the cycle's name and deadlines at the top of the space, with where they stand: *"Send your PDI by 11/30"*, *"Your PDI for this cycle has been sent."* or *"The deadline passed: send your PDI as soon as you can"*.
- **A leader sees their team's cycle** at the top of the space, with the deadlines and the adhesion of the people below them, even when they aren't in the audience themselves.
- **Edit** changes the name, deadlines, audience and reminders. **Close cycle** stops the reminders; the plans stay as they are, linked to the cycle, and the adhesion stays on the dashboard. A closed cycle doesn't reopen.
- **Reminders.** Opening sends nothing right away. On each reminder day, whoever is in the audience and hasn't sent receives *"Submit your development plan for …"*, and a leader with plans of the cycle to approve receives *"Development plans of … are waiting for your approval"*. Nobody gets two on the same day. The e-mails belong to the **Development plan** category of [E-mails from this community](/notificacoes/emails-desta-comunidade), with that category's unsubscribe link in the footer.
- **Adhesion.** On the **Dashboard** tab, **Cycle adhesion** shows, per direct leader, **People**, **Sent**, **Approved**, **Not sent**, **Late to send** and **Late to approve**. The owner, the admin and finance see the whole audience; a leader, only the people below them.

### Action linked to a course

When creating or editing an action, the **Community course (optional)** field links the action to a course the person can see. The action then shows the progress (*"3 of 8 lessons (37%)"*) and **See course**; someone not enrolled yet sees **Enroll**, which leads to the course (a paid course follows the usual purchase). When the person completes the course, the action is marked **Done** on its own, and they can reopen it. The leader and the team who read the plan see the same progress. If the course goes away, the action loses the link, with a notice.

### Action created by a workflow

A [workflow](/notificacoes/workflows#platform-actions-and-other-workflows) with the **Add a PDI action** action adds an action, with a deadline, to the person's active plan (for example, after a review result); with no active plan in the space, it creates a draft with it. The action shows *"Created by the workflow …"*, with the workflow's name, and follows the same rules as any action.

## Step by step

### Create the space

*Role: owner or admin.*

1. **Add Space › Planning & HR › Development Plan**.
2. Give it a name (e.g. *2026 plans*), the section and who has access.
3. Save. The app opens the space.

### Build and send your plan

1. In the space, **My plan › Create my plan**.
2. **Title**, **Start** and **End**.
3. **Add action** for each action: title, description (optional) and **Due date**.
4. **Save draft** to continue later, or **Save and send**.

### Approve or return

*Role: the person's direct leader, owner or admin.*

1. In **To approve**, open the plan.
2. **Approve**, or **Return** with a note on what needs to change.

### Follow up and complete

1. In **My plan**, change each action's **Progress** as you go.
2. At the end of the period, **Complete**.

## Examples

**A company's yearly plan.** Space *2026 plans*, open to everyone. Carla builds hers with three actions (*Take the communication course*, due 04/30; *Present at the all-hands*, 06/30; *Mentor an intern*, 10/31) and sends it. Diego, her leader, returns it with the note *"Add an English action"*; she adds it and sends it again; he approves. In May, the HR dashboard shows Diego's team with one overdue action.

**The leader starts the plan.** Diego creates, in **My team**, the plan for Bruno, who has just joined. Bruno gets *"Diego created a development plan for you"*, adjusts a due date and sends it; Diego approves.

**The person changes an approved plan.** Carla changes an action's due date: the plan goes back to **Awaiting approval** and Diego gets the notice. If Diego made the same change, the plan would stay approved.

## Through the assistant (MCP)

The development plan tools are in [Tools · Members › Development plans](/mcp/ferramentas-membros#development-plans). The cycle (`get_current_development_cycle` for anyone; `list_development_cycles` and `get_development_cycle` for the owner, the admin and finance; `create_development_cycle`, with `dry_run` to see first how it looks and who gets the reminders, `update_development_cycle` and `close_development_cycle`, which asks to confirm, for the owner and the admin; `get_development_cycle_adhesion` for the team and for a leader, about their team) and `course_id` on actions, with the course progress. See the recipe [Open the PDI cycle and follow the adhesion](/mcp/receitas#83-open-the-pdi-cycle-and-follow-the-adhesion).

## Common errors and how to fix them

| Situation | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| *"This person already has an active development plan in this space. Complete the current one to create another"* | One active plan per person per space | Complete the current one, or use another Development Plan space |
| *"Add at least one action to send it."* | A plan without actions | Add an action with a due date |
| *"Only the direct leader, owner or admin can create another person's development plan"* | You are an indirect leader, or you don't lead the person | Ask the direct leader |
| *"Only the person and whoever approves their plan can change it"* | You can read the plan (indirect leader, finance) but not edit it | Ask the person or the direct leader |
| *"The person must have access to the development plan space"* | The space is private and the person isn't in its audience | Give them access to the space |
| An approved plan went back to approval | The person changed the title, the period or an action | That's by design; the leader approves it again |
| *"Nobody on your team yet"* in **My team** | Nobody reports to you in the org chart, or whoever does doesn't open the space | The owner or the admin sets the leader in **Members** |
| *"Choose the development plan space: this community has more than one"* (API or assistant) | There are several spaces and the request didn't say which | Give the space (`spaceId` in the API, `space_id` in the assistant) |
| *"This space already has an open development plan cycle. Close it before opening another."* | One open cycle per space | Close the current one in **Manage PDI cycle** |
| *"The approval deadline cannot be before the sending deadline."* | The deadlines are reversed | Change one of them |

## Frequently asked questions

**Does the indirect leader approve?**
No. They see the plan and their team's dashboard, but the direct leader (or the owner or the admin) approves.

**Can I delete an approved plan?**
No. Only a draft is deleted; an approved plan is completed and stays in the history.

**Does completing with open actions lose them?**
No. They stay as they were, done or not, in the history.

**Does a moderator see the plans?**
Only those of the people they lead in the org chart.

## In the API

The space is `module: "developmentPlan"`, and a community can have several. The routes are under `/api/development-plans`, with the `X-CommunityId` and the `spaceId` (required when there is more than one space): `GET` and `POST /api/development-plans` (`scope`: `mine`, `team`, `toApprove` or `all`), `GET /api/development-plans/team`, `GET /api/development-plans/dashboard`, `GET`, `PUT` and `DELETE /api/development-plans/{id}`, `POST /api/development-plans/{id}/submit`, `/approve`, `/return` (with `note`) and `/complete`, and the actions at `POST /api/development-plans/{id}/actions`, `PUT` and `DELETE /api/development-plans/{id}/actions/{actionId}`. Each plan carries `canEdit`, `canSubmit`, `canApprove`, `canReturn`, `canComplete` and `canDelete`; anyone who can't see it gets `404`, and a second active plan, `409` (`activeExists`).

**Cycles and courses**: `GET /api/development-plans/cycles/current`, `GET` and `POST /api/development-plans/cycles`, `GET` and `PUT /api/development-plans/cycles/{cycleId}`, `POST /api/development-plans/cycles/{cycleId}/close` and `GET /api/development-plans/cycles/{cycleId}/adhesion`. Opening, editing and closing belong to the owner and the admin (`403` `cycleDenied`); listing and viewing a cycle, to finance too (`403` `cycleTeamOnly`); a second open cycle in the space returns `409` (`cycleOpenExists`). Actions take `courseId` (`null` unlinks) and bring `course`, with the progress.

## Related

- [Groups and org chart](/membros/grupos-e-organograma)
- [Feedback](/espacos/feedbacks)
- [Modules](/conceitos/modulos)
- [E-mails from this community](/notificacoes/emails-desta-comunidade)
- [Tools · Members › Development plans](/mcp/ferramentas-membros#development-plans)