PROJECT PLANNING

Why Project Plan?

A project plan—sometimes called a work plan—is a blueprint of the goals, objectives, and tasks

your team needs to accomplish for a specific project.

Project planning refers to the phase in project management in which you determine the actual

steps to complete a project.

Project planning ensures monitoring of the budget and schedule at every step. The project plan

includes a schedule that guides team members in completing their tasks and helps them in

knowing which tool they will need and when. It also helps the team stay engaged for higher

project performance. The project plan ensures there is the active participation of all the team

members and allows them to have an opportunistic approach towards their work.

Components of a Project Plan.

The following are the components of project planning:

1. Scope.

It is one of the most important components of a project plan. The scope determines what a

project team will and will not do. Defining the project's in-scope requirements make the work

breakdown structure creation process easier. The project manager must define performance

objectives as part of the project scope.

2. Budget

One of a project's most important components is the budget. To determine the project's cost,

project managers consider the amount of labour and other resources needed to complete the

project's objectives. Different phases, tasks, and activities require different budget allocations

depending on their priorities and needs.

The term "timeline" describes how long it is anticipated for each project stage to be finished. It

also entails stating how the project is broken down into tasks and subtasks. The definition of

these timelines, the creation of individual and team schedules, and the selection of project

milestones are all included in the timeline process.

Fundamentals of Project Planning.

Project planning ensures project success and timely delivery, a crucially important function in

any technical organization. Striving toward a perfect plan will help increase the probability of

customer satisfaction and their trust in the organization for future investments. It’s the most

crucial step in the reduction of risk and project failures. After all, every project manager knows

that no one gets points for a brilliant idea if the execution ultimately fails.

Steps Involved in Project planning:

1. Defining Objectives: The definition must include what the project is comprised of, its main

aim, what it intends to accomplish, and what marks its closure

2. Explaining the Scope: The explanation provides details on what the project intends to solve

and who will benefit from the project

how much time a task would take to complete

4. Generating Progress Reports: The document includes the work to be performed, deliverables,

and the intended outcome of the project

Project Planning Fundamentals

1. Determination of Scope, Cost, and Resources

 The process of determining the scope, cost, and resources help estimate the time required

to complete the project, the number of people needed, and the skill set required

 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) helps this process by dividing the whole task into

smaller, manageable segments

2. Identification of the Problem

 A variety of techniques, like surveys or meetings, are used to collect information to

assess problems

 There can be multiple problems; then, the project team selects the issue that requires the

most immediate attention

3. Identification of Stakeholders

1. Identification of stakeholders gives a clearer image of the real problem, specifically

which function or people might be affected by the project

2. Stakeholders work with the project team and contribute to the project's success

4. Definition of Project Objectives

 A plan is made, keeping in mind the various expectations of the stakeholders

 The success of the project entirely depends on how much of the expectations the project

is able to meet
Steps in Creating a Project Plan.

The following steps will ensure that the project will be executed properly:

1. Define Stakeholders

Anyone with interest in the project is a stakeholder. Thus, any person, organisation, or

party interested in a company or its actions' results is considered a stakeholder.

2. Define Roles

Stakeholders have a variety of responsibilities within the business. They may

occasionally participate in making decisions, bringing in money, and performing other

duties.

3. Introduce Stakeholders

It is essential to schedule formal or informal meetings with each team member at various

points throughout the project. Before the project starts, issues like scope, budget, goals,

schedule, and roles should be discussed.

4. Set Goals

Setting goals is essential to prepare for personal change and achieve project goals. It

serves as a basis for managing performance and motivates and focuses attention.

5. Prioritize Tasks

You need to set tasks in order of importance. Also, the more significant task can be

simplified into smaller objectives and tasks.

6. Create a Schedule

You must set up a system to make sure when deadlines are missed, corrective actions are

taken. Your timeline may need to be modified, considering your objectives.

7. Assess Risks
 A risk is a potential issue with your project that may or may not materialise. To avoid

being caught off guard later, it is crucial to identify risks in project management and

mitigate them during the project planning phase.

8. Communicate

Setting up reliable communication lines and expectations for project communication is

essential. Hold a meeting or solicit opinions from each team member regarding the risks

you should take into account.

9. Reassess

You should reevaluate everything once you've reached the halfway point or other

significant milestones. Doing so lets you assess which areas you are doing well in and

which require more effort. Your original plan may need to be modified after revaluation.

10. Final Evaluation

You need to reflect on the project once it is finished. Learn from your areas of weakness

and focus more on improving the ones where you performed better. Your likelihood of

project success goes up as a result.

Phases of a Project.

Following are the essential 5 phases of each project:

1. Initiation: You must create a business plan and define a broad project at this stage. Ensure the

project meets business needs and that stakeholders and project teams agree. Creating the

project success criteria throughout the project life cycle is the main objective of the Initiation

Phase. Also, at this point, the feasibility of the project and its measurement are taken into

account.
2. Planning: Successful project management depends on good project planning. The project

team members focus on specific requirements, tasks, deadlines, and actions during the

project planning phase. The project manager collaborates with every team member to

develop the design, list the tasks, and determine the budget. S.M.A.R.T. (specific,

measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) and C.L.E.A.R. (collaborative, limited,

emotional, appreciable, refinable) are two of the most common approaches to setting project

goals.

3. Execution: To keep the project on track for the remainder of the life cycle, the project

manager attempts to manage every task and aspect of project delivery during this phase.

During this phase, the project manager also must consistently uphold productive stakeholder

collaboration. This ensures everyone is on the same page and everything goes off without a

hitch during the project.

4. Monitoring and Management: By working in parallel with project execution, the project

monitoring and controlling phase guarantees that goals and project deliverables are met.

Along with keeping tabs on task progress, the project manager also looks for problems or

risks, develops a plan to mitigate them with the team, and regularly communicates the

project's status to stakeholders.

5. Closing and Review: The project management process ends at this stage. The final crucial

tasks must be finished to ensure that the client is satisfied. However, the team should conduct

a project retrospective regardless of the life cycle. The project team can consider new lessons

learned and ensure that current project management procedures are improved for a future

project during this post-mortem activity.

Project planning tools help everyone concerned keep track of project requirements and deadlines.

Some of the most popular project planning tools include the following:

1. Gantt Chart:

 Gantt charts are an industry standard that helps in tracking both time and

interdependencies between tasks

 Gantt charts are an essential tool to show different phases, jobs, and resources involved in

project management

2. Critical Path Method (CPM)

 Critical Path Method (CPM) is a crucial tool for determining the progress of the project

to ensure that the project is on schedule

 CPM helps in determining the essential or critical path by finding out the longest stretch

of dependent tasks

3. PERT Chart

 The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) helps in analyzing the tasks to

complete the project and the time required to complete those tasks

 PERT simplifies the planning and scheduling of large and complex projects

4. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a process of organizing the team's work into

manageable sections

 WBS is a hierarchical structure of the deliverables needed to complete the project

5. Project Documentation
 Project documentation is created during the project lifecycle, which involves project

scope, its schedule, and the risk analysis

 Project documents help in better understanding and risk analysis of the project