How To Execute an Effective Plan

Companies often rely on project managers to develop and execute plans to ensure their projects are
successful. A well-executed plan can ensure strategic alignment, provide clear focus and objectives,
increase quality, decrease costs and improve productivity. If you manage a team or projects, then you
may be interested in learning how to executive an effective plan. In this article, we discuss why planning
is important, share key steps to execute an effective plan and provide tips to help you plan your next
project successfully.
Why is planning important?
Having a plan is important because it can provide you with guidelines and action steps to complete a
project. Successful project managers often develop plans to communicate their goals with their team,
stakeholders, clients, sponsors and other people involved with the project. Executing a well-developed
plan can help you stay organized, track your progress and ensure a project's overall success.
It can also provide you with a reference to revisit at the end of the project, which can help you
determine what was successful and where there is room for improvement. This may help you create
even more successful plans in the future.
How to execute an effective plan
Here are some steps you can follow to help you develop and execute an effective plan for your next
project:
1. Gather information
Before you can begin developing a successful plan, you need to make sure you have all the information
necessary. Schedule a meeting with clients, stakeholders or other team members to determine the full
scope of the project. Some questions you might ask include:
 What are the key deliverables for this project?
 What do you consider a successful return on investment?
 Are there any key milestones we should be aware of?
 When does this project need to be completed by?
 What communication channels does your client prefer?
 What are the most important areas of the project we should focus on?
 What is the budget for this project?
 What problem does this project aim to solve?
Take thorough notes throughout your discussion so you can reference them later on when you start to
develop your plan. These notes can also be helpful to share with other team members to ensure
everyone is aligned and working toward achieving the same objectives.
2. Identify key resources
Once you have established what the scope of the project is, consider what key resources you need to
complete it. These resources can vary from project to project, but often include raw materials,
equipment, software, staff and vendors. You can create a list to help you keep track of these resources
or use a project management software tool to help you stay organized. Use a search engine to research
different project management software tools and choose the one that works best for you.
Once you have created your list of necessary resources, you may begin to identify where you can source
them from. Consider including a backup option for each resource to ensure you are well-prepared. By
taking the time to analyze what resources your team needs to complete this project, you can help keep
the project on schedule and increase the likelihood of its overall success.
3. Develop SMART goals
The next step is to develop clear and actionable goals to help your team complete the project. Using the
SMART goal method can help you determine which objectives are the most important to the project's
overall success. SMART goals are objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-
based. You can create SMART goals by focusing on each one of these areas:
 Specific: Use the information you gathered from your client, stakeholders or team to create
goals with specific deadlines and key milestones. Use simple language to clarify what objectives
your team needs to achieve so they can easily determine whether they are successful.
 Measurable: Identify how you plan to measure the project's progress and success. You might
choose to measure the number of sales your team generates, the quantity of items they
produce or the time it takes to achieve important milestones. Make sure the metric you choose
can be easily tracked so you can determine the overall success of the project.
 Achievable: Ensure that the goals you set are realistic. Ask yourself if you can achieve your goals
with the resources, team members and budget you have. If necessary, consider making
adjustments to set your team up for success.
 Relevant: Determine how important the goals you have set are to the overall success of the
project. This can help you prioritize your goals and provide your team with clear guidelines.
 Time-based: Identify a clear timeline for when tasks need to be completed by, when key
milestones must be achieved and when the project needs to be finished. This can help you keep
your team on track and monitor the project's overall progress to ensure your team completes it
on time.
4. Create the framework
Once you have identified SMART goals, consider how you can approach the project by breaking these
goals down into smaller tasks. Create a framework that clearly identifies each step of the project and
when it needs to be completed by. Project managers use frameworks to provide their team with
guidelines, establish fundamental procedures and ensure a common language is used for
communication across the entire team.
Developing a project framework can also help you share best practices with your team and help clients
understand the process. You can research different project management organizational structures and
choose the one that works best for you.
5. Assign tasks
The next step is to assign tasks to different team members. By clearly defining what role each member
of your team can perform throughout the project, you can increase efficiency and get a better idea of
what a realistic timeline is. Before you assign tasks, consider which team members have availability in
their schedule and what their strengths are. Then pair them with responsibilities that match their
availability and skill set to increase the overall quality of your finished project.
Once you have determined who is best suited for each task, schedule a team meeting to discuss the
project details. Let each team member know what they are responsible for and when they need to have
their tasks completed by. Then answer any questions your team has to make sure they have all the
information they need to begin working on the project.
6. Establish regular communication
Determine what method of communication your team may be using and how frequently you expect
status updates. Identifying what channels of communication you plan to use can help your team relay
important information more effectively, encourage collaboration and build trust between team
members. Some of the communication methods you may consider using include:
 Email
 Video calls
 Phone calls
 In-person meetings
 Discussion boards
 Collaboration apps
 Surveys
 Status reports
Check in at least once each week to ensure the project is running smoothly. You may also consider
scheduling a recurring communication checkpoint, such as a biweekly meeting or a weekly status report.
This can help you hold your team accountable and ensure consistent communication throughout the
project.
7. Track your progress
Project managers are responsible for tracking the progress of a project to ensure each task is completed
on time. Before your team begins working on the project, determine what metrics you can use to track
their progress. Here are four types of key performance indicators you can use to track the progress of
your project:
 Timeliness: Establish deadlines for specific tasks, key milestones and when the final project
needs to be completed. You may measure cycle time, planned hours vs. hours spent or the
number of adjustments made to the schedule. This can help you determine whether the project
is on track and give you an estimated completion date.
 Budget: Determine what your goal budget for this project is. You may also create goal budgets
for different departments or team members who are working on the project. Consider
measuring budget variance, the number of budget iterations or the cost performance index. This
can help you determine if the project is projected to stay within the allocated budget or if
additional resources are necessary.
 Quality: The way you measure quality may differ from one project to the next. Identify what key
elements the client or end-user requires to help you determine how you can measure the
quality of your project. You can measure the number of errors, customer satisfaction rate or the
net promoter score. You may also designate people to test the project at different stages. This
feedback can help you determine the overall quality of your project.
 Effectiveness: Measuring the effectiveness of your project and your team's performance can
help you assess whether you are spending your time and money appropriately. You can measure
the number of project milestones completed on time, the number of change requests or the
billable utilization to help you determine how effective your project is.
8. Evaluate performance
Once the project is complete, conduct a full and final evaluation. This can help you determine what parts
of the project went well, where there was room for improvement and how successful the project was
overall. Some key areas you can look at during your final project evaluation are:
 Schedule
 Cost
 Quality
 Stakeholder or client satisfaction
 Performance to business case
Share your findings with your team and discuss what you learned throughout this project. Be open to
their feedback and use your final project evaluation as a tool to improve your ability to execute plans
successfully in the future.
Tips to help you execute a successful plan
Here are some additional tips to help you develop and execute a successful plan for your next project:
 Document important details: Take the time to document the key details of your plan. This can
help you improve communication with other team members and provide you with a reference
to revisit throughout the project. Include the purpose of the project, who is involved, what tasks
need to be accomplished, how your team should approach these tasks and when important
deadlines are.
 Use clear communication: To execute a successful plan, use simple language and clear
communication to convey important details. Check in regularly for status updates and respond
quickly when team members contact you with questions. This can help ensure your team has
the support and resources they need to complete the project effectively.
 Be flexible: Managing a successful project requires the ability to adapt to changes as they arise.
Revisit your project plan regularly and pay attention to your key performance indicators to
identify if certain components of your plan need to be adjusted. This can help you make sure
your team has the resources they need to deliver the project on schedule.
 Invest in the right software and tools: Determine what software and tools may be useful
depending on the size and scope of your project. Investing in the right software can improve
communication, increase efficiency and save time. Research different project management
software platforms and choose one that incorporates all the elements your team needs.
 Have a backup plan: Take the time proactively identify areas of the project that may be
challenging and develop a backup plan. This can provide you with more options and make it
easier to adapt if necessary, which may help you keep the project on track.