PROJECT MANAGEMENT
LESSON 3
THE PROJECT PLAN
OBJECTIVES
• What is a Project Plan?
• Introducing Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)
• Defining tasks
• Work packages
• Project Dependencies
• Sequencing activities
• Estimation techniques
• Network diagrams & Resource planning
• Task lists
• Resource plans
• Developing a project schedule
• Popular software for WBS
PROJECT PLANS
• A document used to guide & control the execution of the project
• Clearly defines the goals of the project – the result that you wish to achieve
• Clearly defines the plan to achieve the goals - the different steps that will need to be accomplished in order
to achieve this goal
• May evolve as the project progresses – a project plan is more of a living document, as your project moves
along, so your project plan will adapt to any changes that are made.
Includes elements such as:
• Task list - break down any big chunks of work into little pieces so we can identify the scope and the time
required for our project
• Work breakdown structure - visually show how they are broken down into smaller tasks
• Dependencies outline - tasks that can start or finish with at the previous tasks starting or finishing
• Resource plan - using your staff members as resources and how to evaluate where they are available and
how much time you will need them for
• Project schedule - how long your project will take and the order in which things will be executed
WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES
DEFINITION OF TASKS
• Identify & document all activities that need to be performed in order to achieve project goals
• This process promotes creating summary task, subtask & work packages
• Activities are typically small segments of work that can be completed in hours or days
WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES
• WBSs are used to break projects down into more manageable sections
o This process promotes creating summary tasks, which are a collection of smaller subtasks annual
subtasks are a combination of different work packages.
o Now your work packages are the smallest amount of work that can be accomplished within your
projects.
• The sections are organised in a hierarchical structure
• The further down a WBS you go more details become available - the biggest tasks or the most important
things are at the top and then it breaks down into smaller subtasks. The further down a work breakdown
structure you go, the more details are available.
• Deliverables are broken down into sub-deliverables & eventually work packages
SUMMARY TASKS
• High-level tasks also known as parent tasks
• Assist in navigating task groups - the sequence in which
things need to happen for your project to be successful
• Present milestones, project phases in an easy to read
manner
SUB TASKS
• Are a more broken-down description of summary tasks
• Sub dependents or child tasks
WORK PACKAGES
• Work packages (WP) allow for large pieces of work to be broken
down into smaller more manageable chunks
• WPs allow multiple teams to focus on different aspects of the project that
inevitably come together
• When reviewing a WBS the work packages are the elements that cannot be
broken down further
• They are often grouped into areas of expertise (technology, human
resources, finance) - one resource can be working on a work package under
one summary tasks and later in the day they can work on another aspect that
falls within their speciality group
WORK PACKAGES RULES
• Should not exceed 10 days of duration
• Should be independent of other work packages in the
WBS
• Unique & should not be duplicated across the WBS
PROJECT DEPENDENCIES
SEQUENCING OF ACTIVITIES
Once activities have been identified & documented the next step is to identifying relationships between
activities
Activity Relationship types:
Finish To Start (FS)
Finish To Finish (FF)
Start To Start (SS)
Start To Finish (SF)
These relationships will then be applied to your Network Diagram
OUTLINE DEPENDENCIES
Dependencies are the relationships of the preceding task to the succeeding task
Tasks may have multiple preceding tasks and multiple succeeding tasks
The most common dependency relationship is the finish-to-start relationship
The least common relationship is the start-to-finish relationship
DEFINITION OF ACTIVITIES
Activities are typically small segments of work that can be completed in hours or days
Identify & document all activities that need to be performed in order to achieve project goals
This process promotes creating summary task, subtask & work packages
Work packages are broken down into activities
ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES
BELL CURVE
“A bell curve is a graph that is considered to be a normal distribution. The top of
the curve shows the most likely event out of the data collected After the mean is
calculated, standard deviations are figured. Standard deviations that depict the
returns of a security are known as volatility” (Investopedia, 2020)
DELPHI TECHNIQUE
Several experts in the field are requested to complete questionnaires individually on the elements of the
project
The answers are collated and then anonymously distributed to all the experts with an opportunity to revise
their estimates
This process can occur many times the final estimate will be based on the average estimate given by the
participants
BOTTOM-UP TECHNIQUE
The Project is broken down into smaller manageable sections
The staff resources that are responsible for the work will provide a time estimate
The overall estimate is calculated as an accumulation of the projects smaller tasks
CALENDARS
RESOURCE CALENDARS
• Details working & non-working time of specific staff members
• Non-working time includes:
o Vacation days
o Public Holidays
o Maternity/Paternity leave
• The resource calendars allow project managers to see:
o Resource availability
o Records of previous work
COMPANY CALENDARS
• Company calendars detail non-working days or segments of time
• These include:
o Weekends
o Public Holidays
o Conferences
o Team Building
o Meetings
NETWORK DIAGRAMS & RESOURCE PLANNING
NETWORK DIAGRAM
RESOURCE PLAN
DEVELOP A PROJECT SCHEDULE
CONTROLLING PROJECT SCHEDULE
Monitoring the status of project activities (RAG)
Implement changes/solutions for activities that have exceeded expected duration estimate
Recognising potential risks & planning a preventative or corrective strategy
SUGGESTED SOFTWARES:
• Lucidchart
• SmartDraw
• Smartsheeet
• Microsoft Visio
