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Project Planning Template

By Dick Billows, PMP, GCA

We should not try to apply the same project techniques and processes to every project. That leads to burdening small projects with paperwork, meetings and process that contribute nothing to the odds of success. Better to select the techniques and process that will improve the project results. See our suggestions below for projects of various sizes.

Project planning begins with the definition of the project scope which is the basis for the scope statement, work break down structure, the estimates of cost and duration. The extent of our project planning is a function of the scale of the project. On smaller projects we may skip risk & quality management entirely and do minimal work in other areas as indicated below. All project plans should include a scope statement and work breakdown structure

Best Practices Project Methodology

Project Planning Steps

Tier #1
Small Projects

Done within your organization for the manager or your boss

Tier #2
Medium Projects

Affects multiple departments or done for customers/clients

Tier #3
Strategic Projects

Organization-wide projects with long term effects
Text book
Course

Identify Stakeholders

 Usually skipped; this step is not necessary on an in-department project where the manager is the primary stakeholder. Effort to identify stakeholders across the organization so the project team is not surprised by late arriving requirements which must be added and cost more. Elaborate process of surveys and interviews to identify internal and external stakeholders who may be affected by the project so their requirements can be considered.
Project Business Case Often skipped as formal project approval is not needed. Organizations with sound project management processes require a business case to justify a project's priority versus other projects in the portfolio. The scale of financial and human resources almost always requires detailed justification and demonstration of the strategic impact of the project.
Project Charter 1 page broadbrush plan Project charter addresses the project acceptance criteria, business justification and rough estimates of the resource requirements (human and financial). The size of the investment in these strategic projects usually requires extensive documentation of risks, benefits and impacts on other strategic initiatives and the organization as a whole.
Gather Project Requirements Usually limited to a meeting with the boss where we define the project's measure of success (MOS). Stakeholders are surveyed for their requirements, each of which is processed and either included or explicitly excluded from the project. Extensive process of identifying and analyzing requirements gathered from the stakeholders along with an assessment of stakeholders in terms of their interests and their ability to influence the project's success.
Project Scope Statement Short statement of the project result and acceptance criteria. More detailed scope statement that covers assumptions, constraints and the major deliverables. Full scope baseline development with explorations of alternative means of delivering the project scope.
Stakeholder Management & Communications Plan Not necessary with a limited stakeholder group. Communications plan developed taking into account the information requirements of the stakeholders. Planning for stakeholder needs and actively managing all stakeholder issues to ensure their resolution.
Project Change Control Project sponsor approval is the only requirement. Use existing organizational process for change control if it exists or develop a project specific change procedure with analysis and documentation standards and identification of specific individuals authorized to approve change of a specific size. Change control and configuration management often combined handling changes to project baselines as well as changes to the specifications of the deliverables.
Project Schedule Schedule based on work estimates made by the team members. Schedule based on work plus work packages for each assignment. Work based schedules, work packages with estimates and a WBS dictionary.
Project Procurement If necessary, usually handled by purchasing department. Competitive bids on larger purchases; Request for Quotations (RFQ) on smaller purchases. Full competitive bid process.
Project Quality Management Usually skipped Quality control effort to measure deliverables against their quality metrics and specifications. Quality Control plus active Quality Assurance with continuous improvement effort for the processes that produce deliverables.
Human Resource Management Usually skipped Simple resource acquisition plan with limited training provided to team members. Human resource staffing, acquisition and team development plans are full detailed and tied to gaps in the requirements versus capabilities of the team and stakeholders
Risk Analysis 1-2 hours total Qualitative risk analysis with a risk response plan for 5-10 risks. Qualitative and quantitative risk management plan for several dozen risks.

Project Planning in Theory

Project planning on a conceptual level is where we fully detail every step and process we will follow in the project. This project planning effort utilizes 90% of the project sponsor's time that is devoted to the project and as much as half of the project manager's time that is devoted to the project. The intent of this intense project planning process is to make all of the decisions before we start work. That approach of making the plan and then executing it is much more efficient than a "plan as you go" process for projects. It is also difficult or impossible in many organizations. For this approach to work the organization, its executives and the project managers, must all do things correctly. That is, the executives must specify exactly what they want the project to deliver. They cannot make the project assignment in vague generalities where the only thing that is specific is the due date. The organization must have processes for evaluating and prioritizing projects and giving them access to resources based on those priorities. Last, the project managers must know how to do top down project planning where they are able to take the clear acceptance criteria, specified by the executive, and decompose it down to the level of specific assignments for each team member. Most organizations fail to meet one or more of these criteria which is why the project planning ideal is so rarely achieved.

Project Planning in Practice

As a result, in many organizations project planning is a combination of vague generalities in terms of the objective of the project and a rock solid completion date; that is often the only measurable project result that is quantified. Because project managers don't know what the executives want them to deliver, they have no ability to exercise control on the scope of the project and the objectives change weekly. Project team member assignments are vague and are also ever-changing which is why estimating is so inaccurate and why 70% of projects planned this way fail.

Project Planning "Best Practices"In the Real World

Very often, project managers face a difficult organizational environment. The organization lacks the processes to do project management right and the executives don't know how to play at their role correctly. In these situations, the PMs need best practices that allow them to do things effectively even though executives and the organization's processes are obstacles rather than assets..

Supplemental Reading on Project Planning

Project Plan Approval Planning achievements Not Activities Project Estimating
Project Planning: Creative & Political Process Fast Food Project Planning Project Requirements

The Hampton Group, Inc. 3547 South Ivanhoe St. Denver, CO 80237-4320 USA
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