The Strategic Planning surface atDocumentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.rytz.com.au/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
app.rytz.com.au/strategic-planning is the platform’s “step back and look at the whole matter” tool. Where the Parenting Planner, Settlement Planner, and Affidavit toolkit handle specific work products, Strategic Planning is for the wider questions — what’s my position, what are my options, what should I prioritise, what could blindside me.
When to use it
Three moments where Strategic Planning earns its keep:Beginning of a matter
Before you’ve done anything. Strategic Planning helps you frame what you’re trying to achieve and the realistic paths to get there. This frames every subsequent decision.
At a major decision point
Settle now, pursue interim orders, engage a lawyer, escalate to trial — these decisions deserve more than a 5-minute think. Strategic Planning is the structured 60-minute decision space.
When the matter has shifted
Their position changed. New evidence emerged. A court direction reshaped the timeline. Re-running Strategic Planning after a shift catches strategic implications that the day-to-day surfaces don’t.
Before any major filing
Last opportunity to question the underlying strategy before committing it to paper. Filed material is hard to walk back.
The five-question framework
Strategic Planning walks five questions in order. Each is unfashionably hard.Question 1 — What am I actually trying to achieve?
Self-represented parties often answer this with means rather than ends. “I’m trying to get full custody” is a means. “I’m trying to ensure my children grow up safe and connected to both parents in a way that gives them stability through adolescence” is an end. The platform prompts you for both. The end shapes which means are appropriate. Some matters where the parent-stated end is a particular routine are best served by accepting a different routine the other parent is more likely to comply with.Question 2 — What does success look like?
Three sub-questions:- Best realistic outcome — what would a perfect resolution look like, given the constraints?
- Acceptable outcome — what would you accept and walk away from the matter?
- Walk-away threshold — at what point does the cost of pursuing further outweigh the marginal gain?
Question 3 — What is the realistic path to success?
Four typical paths, with implications:| Path | Cost | Time | Likelihood | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct negotiation | Lowest | Fastest | Depends | When parties can communicate and there’s no FV |
| FDR / mediation | Low | Medium | Medium | When parties need a structured process but not court |
| Limited-scope retainer | Medium | Medium | Medium-High | When some specific advice or representation makes the difference |
| Full retainer | High | Long | High | When matter is complex, contested, or high-stakes |
| Trial | Highest | Longest | Variable | When other paths have failed or are unavailable |
Question 4 — What could blindside me?
The discipline of pre-mortem. What’s the most-likely path to a bad outcome that I’m currently underestimating? Common blindsides the platform prompts for:- Their evidence I haven’t seen. Discovery surprises. What might they have that I don’t?
- A legal argument I haven’t anticipated. The Library and Education Portal can identify cases and sections that might cut against you.
- A factual claim I’d struggle to refute. What in my own conduct might come up adversely?
- Their changing strategy. What might they shift to that I’m not prepared for?
- External events. Job loss, illness, child’s behavioural shift, change of school — events outside the matter that reshape it.
Question 5 — What are my next 30/60/90 days?
Concrete actions. The platform synthesises from the Master Case File’s Next Actions and asks you to commit to a 30/60/90-day plan. The plan is yours to write — Strategic Planning gives you the structured prompts, you fill in the actions and dates.How Strategic Planning differs from Master Case File
A useful distinction:| Strategic Planning | Master Case File |
|---|---|
| Question-driven | Synthesis-driven |
| Episodic (you run it occasionally) | Living (always current) |
| Active engagement (you write) | Passive read (you consume) |
| 30–90-minute investment | 5-minute read |
| Strategic-decision context | Universal-briefing context |
Outputs
Strategic Planning produces three artefacts:The strategy document
Your written answers across the five questions, formatted as a working document. Editable, exportable.
Updated Master Case File
The Strategy section of the MCF refreshes to incorporate your answers (where they shift the synthesis).
Refreshed Next Actions
The Master Case File’s Next Actions list updates to reflect the 30/60/90 plan you committed to.
Sharing strategy externally
A few rules about sharing the strategy document:Do share with your lawyer. The strategy document is exactly what a lawyer needs to engage productively. Most consultations would benefit from receiving it 24 hours before the meeting.
Take care with friends and family. Strategy can leak when friends are asked for input. The platform’s portal-share with explicit recipient logging helps maintain awareness of who has the document.
Re-running Strategic Planning
The platform retains every Strategic Planning session. You can:- Open a prior session to re-read what you thought at that moment
- Run a new session at any time
- Compare two sessions side-by-side to see how your strategy has evolved
What Strategic Planning is not
- Not a substitute for legal advice. Strategy is informed by law; it’s not the same as advice. A solicitor’s input on strategic decisions is high-leverage where you can afford it.
- Not a forecast. Strategy is what you’re trying to do; it doesn’t predict what will happen.
- Not a one-and-done. Matters shift. Strategic Planning expects to be re-run.
What’s next
Master Case File
Where the Strategy section pulls from your most-recent Strategic Planning session.
Case Roadmap
The procedural framework that structures how strategies are executed.
Non-Compliance Playbook
Strategy for one specific class of matter — when orders aren’t being followed.
Hearing Prep
Strategy for a specific upcoming court event.