The Parts of the Project Plan.
The key to a successful project is
in the planning. Creating a project plan is the first thing you should do when
undertaking any kind of project.
Often project planning is ignored in favour of getting on with the
work. However, many people fail to realise the value of a project plan in
saving time, money and many problems.
This article looks at a simple, practical approach to project
planning. On completion of this guide, you should have a sound project planning
approach that you can use for future projects.
Step 1: Project Goals.
A project is
successful when the needs of the stakeholders have been met. A stakeholder is
anybody directly, or indirectly impacted by the project. As a first step, it is
important to identify the stakeholders in your project. It is not always easy
to identify the stakeholders of a project, particularly those impacted indirectly.
Examples of stakeholders are:
-The project sponsor.
-The customer who receives the deliverables.
-The users of the project outputs.
-The project manager and project team.
Once you understand who the
stakeholders are, the next step is to find out their needs. The best way to do
this is by conducting stakeholder interviews. Take time during the interviews
to draw out the true needs that create real benefits. Often stakeholders will
talk about needs that aren't relevant and don't deliver benefits. These can be
recorded and set as a low priority.
The next step, once you have
conducted all the interviews, and have a comprehensive list of needs is to
prioritis them. From the prioritised list, create a set of goals that can be
easily measured. A technique for doing this is to review them against the SMART principle. This way
it will be easy to know when a goal has been achieved.
Once you have established a clear
set of goals, they should be recorded in the project plan. It can be useful to
also include the needs and expectations of your stakeholders.
This is the most difficult part of
the planning process completed. It's time to move on and look at the project
deliverables.
Step 2: Project Deliverables
Using the goals
you have defined in step 1, create a list of things the project needs to
deliver in order to meet those goals. Specify when and how each item must be
delivered.
Add the deliverables to the project plan with an estimated delivery
date. More accurate delivery dates will be established during the scheduling
phase, which is next.
Step 3: Project Schedule
Create a list of
tasks that need to be carried out for each deliverable identified in step 2.
For each task identify the following:
-
The amount of effort (hours or days) required to complete the task.
-
The resource who will carry out the task.
Once you have established the amount of effort for each task, you
can work out the effort required for each deliverable, and an accurate delivery
date. Update your deliverables section with the more accurate delivery dates. At
this point in the planning, you could choose to use a software package such as Microsoft Project to create your project
schedule. Alternatively, use one of the many free templates available. Input
all of the deliverables, tasks, durations and the resources who will complete
each task.
A common problem discovered at this point, is when a project has an
imposed delivery deadline from the sponsor that is not realistic based on your
estimates. If you discover this is the case, you must contact the sponsor
immediately. The options you have in this situation are:
- Renegotiate
the deadline (project delay).
- Employ
additional resources (increased cost).
-Reduce
the scope of the project (less delivered).
Use the project schedule to justify pursuing one of these options.
Step 4: Supporting Plans
This section deals with plans you
should create as part of the planning process. These can be included directly
in the plan.
Human Resource Plan
Identify
by name, the individuals and organisations with a leading role in the project.
For each, describe their roles and responsibilities on the project. Next, describe the number and type of people
needed to carryout the project. For each resource detail start dates, estimated
duration and the method you will use for obtaining them. Create a single sheet
containing this information.
Communications Plan
Create
a document showing who needs to be kept informed about the project and how they
will receive the information. The most common mechanism is a weekly or monthlyprogress report, describing how the project is performing,
milestones achieved and work planned for the next period.
Risk Management Plan
Risk management is an important part of
project management. Although often overlooked, it is important to identify as
many risks to your project as possible, and be prepared if something bad
happens. Here are some examples of common project risks:
-Time and cost estimates too
optimistic.
-Customer review and feedback cycle
too slow.
-Unexpected budget cuts.
-Unclear roles and responsibilities.
-Stakeholder input is not sought, or
their needs are not properly understood.
-Stakeholders changing requirements
after the project has started.
-Stakeholders adding new
requirements after the project has started.
-Poor communication resulting in
misunderstandings, quality problems and rework.
-Lack of resource commitment.
Risks can be tracked using a simple risk log. Add each risk you have
identified to your risk log; write down what you will do in the event it
occurs, and what you will do to prevent it from occurring. Review your risk log
on a regular basis, adding new risks as they occur during the life of the
project. Remember, when risks are ignored they don't go away.
Congratulations.
Having followed all the steps above, you
should have a good project plan. Remember to update your plan as the project
progresses, and measure progress against the plan.
