Above is a flow chart showing the process for addressing visitor experience and resource protection in the National Park system. There are 8 steps in the process to be completed in order.

The first 6 steps are a part of the general management planning part of the process and include:

Step 1—Assemble the project team.

Step 2—Develop statements of park purposes, significance, and primary interpretive themes.

Step 3—Map and analyze resources and visitor experiences.

Step 4—Establish the spectrum (or range) of desired resource and social conditions (potential management zones).

Step 5—Use zoning to identify proposed plan and alternatives.

Step 6—Select quality indicators and specify associated standards for each zone.

The final 3 steps are a part of the park management part of the process and include:

Step 7—Compare desired conditions to existing conditions.

Step 8—Identify probable causes of discrepancies between desired and existing conditions.

Step 9—Develop/refine management strategies to address discrepancies.

After Step 9 is completed and a decision is made to amend the "general management plan", the process starts again starting with Step 1. If a decision is made to do some "monitoring", the process is gone through again starting with Step 7. If a decision is made to "reevaluate indicators and modify if necessary", the process is gone through again starting with Step 6.