Project Planning a Step by Step Guide

By Duncan Haughey, PMP

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 prioritise 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.

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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 carryout the task.

Once you have established the amount of effort for each task, you can workout 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 that
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 monthly progress
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.

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 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.

Enjoyed this article? Now read 21 Ways to Excel at Project Management.

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