This study investigated the process of implementing professional development plans (PDPs) as a tool for teachers' continuing professional learning in Finnish Lapland. The PDP model was developed through two cycles following a design-based research (DBR) approach. The data were collected by interviewing teachers and principals, and then analysed thematically. The results showed that factors affecting the PDP process related mainly to structural and strategical work in schools. The lack of clear guidelines and support from principals and colleagues, as well as the absence of discussions on school strategy and its meaning for teachers' professional development, negatively affected the PDP process. As a result, schools' strategic planning only vaguely guided individual PDP processes. The results suggest that, for the successful implementation of a PDP process, schools' strategic planning should be more clearly integrated with teachers' PDPs in order to enhance their personal professional development in meaningful ways.