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.
Project planning is often ignored in favour of getting on with the
work. Many people fail to realise the value of a project plan
in saving time, money and many problems.
This is a simple practical approach to project
planning. If you follow these steps, 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 funder
- The beneficiary or 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
establish 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 a clear set of goals has been established 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 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/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
- Beneficiary/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 and 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
Published by Working Together Project
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