What does 'going forward' mean in a work meeting?

'Going forward' means 'from now on' or 'in the future.' When someone says 'going forward, we'll do X,' they mean the team will start doing X from this point onward.

Is 'going forward' the same as 'moving forward'?

Yes, 'going forward' and 'moving forward' mean almost the same thing. Both phrases refer to future actions or plans. You can use them interchangeably in most situations.

Can I use 'going forward' in an email to my manager?

Yes, 'going forward' works well in emails to managers. It's neutral and professional. Example: 'Going forward, I'll send weekly status updates.'

Is 'going forward' too formal or corporate?

'Going forward' is common in business English. Some people think it sounds corporate, but it's widely accepted in tech teams. If you prefer simpler language, 'from now on' works too.

Where should 'going forward' go in a sentence?

'Going forward' usually goes at the beginning or end of a sentence. Beginning: 'Going forward, we'll use this tool.' End: 'Let's do it this way going forward.'

Can I say 'going forward' when talking about the past?

No, 'going forward' only refers to the future. For past events, use 'previously,' 'before this,' or 'up until now.'

What Does "Going Forward" Mean? | Speak Tech English

Commonness	4/5
Versatility	5/5
Formality	CasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ Written	SpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ Diplomatic	DirectDiplomaticNeutral
Region	US and UK

Say it like this

✓Going forward, let's use this new process.

✓We'll handle deployments differently going forward.

✓Going forward, all PRs need two reviewers.

✓I think going forward we should prioritize mobile.

✓Let's keep this in mind going forward.

Real examples

Standup

"Going forward, I'll focus on the API refactoring."

Slack message

"Going forward, please tag me on all deployment issues."

GitHub PR

"Going forward, we should add unit tests for all new endpoints."

Jira ticket

"Going forward, this feature will require a design review before development."

Retrospective

"Going forward, let's do code reviews within 24 hours."

Sprint planning

"Going forward, we need to focus on mobile development."

Pair programming

"Going forward, let's use this naming convention for variables."

Don't say this

✕Going forward to next week, we will release the feature.

✓Next week, we will release the feature.— 'Going forward' means 'from now on' — it doesn't need a specific time. Use 'next week' alone.

✕We fixed the bug going forward.

✓We fixed the bug. Going forward, we'll add more tests.— 'Going forward' is about the future, not past actions. Separate the past fix from future plans.

✕Going forward yesterday, we changed the process.

✓Starting yesterday, we changed the process.— 'Going forward' refers to the future, not the past. Use 'starting' for past changes.

Other forms

phrase (adverbial)

going forward

"Going forward, we'll use TypeScript for all new code."

phrase (sentence-final)

going forward

"Let's keep this approach going forward."

Often used with

going forward withProceeding with a plan or decision

plan going forwardFuture strategy or approach

strategy going forwardLong-term direction from now on

approach going forwardMethod to use from this point

focus going forwardPriority for the future

Similar words

from now onMore casual and direct; means the same thing

in the futureGeneral; less specific about when it starts

moving forwardAlmost identical meaning; equally common

henceforthVery formal; rarely used in everyday speech

from this point onClear and direct; slightly longer

Opposites

previouslyin the pastup until nowhistoricallybefore this

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Choose the most natural sentence

1. Which sentence sounds most natural in a sprint planning meeting?

Going forward to next sprint, we focus on testing.Going forward, we'll focus on testing.We going forward focus on testing.Forward going, we focus on testing.

Find the error

2. Which sentence has a mistake?

Going forward, let's add more documentation.We fixed the issue going forward last week.Going forward, please review all PRs within a day.The team agreed on a new process going forward.

Complete the sentence

3. _____, we need to include accessibility testing in our QA process.

Rewrite this sentence

4. In the future, we should use feature flags for all releases. (Use 'going forward')

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "going forward" in a standup this week?

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