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Business vocabularyphrase · /ˈɡoʊɪŋ ˈfɔːrwərd/

Going forward

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In simple English

'Going forward' signals a shift in direction or a new approach starting now. It's commonly used in meetings, emails, and planning sessions to introduce future plans or policy changes.

Someone wants to understand what "going forward" means when they hear it in meetings or read it in work emails.

At a glanceCEFR B1–B2
Commonness
Versatility
FormalityCasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticNeutral
Region

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

More words

Moving forwardAction itemNext stepsTakeawayRoadmapSprint planning

Questions

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