Anyone who’s attempted to assemble furniture without the instruction booklet knows it’s a frustrating process. You can envision the finished product, but you don’t understand the building process or what tools and hardware you need. It’s stressful, exhausting, and best avoided.
Project management is the same way. Your team may be perfectly aligned on the ideal outcome, but the project will still fall into chaos without instructions to reach that goal. That’s where project planning comes in.
5 phases of project development
Before defining the project planning process, successful project managers must understand how it fits into the project lifecycle.
From inception to completion, projects follow a five-stage life cycle defined by the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Book of Knowledge.
1. Initiation
Initiation marks the beginning of an initiative. Key stakeholders gather to review the project’s business case, as established by a feasibility study. From there, they define project objectives and goals.
2. Planning
This phase determines how the project team approaches subsequent lifecycle stages. Once the leadership and stakeholders determine which project management methodology to use, they address the following considerations:
Defining and documenting the project scope
Estimating the project budget and required resources
Determining project timelines and milestones
Outlining the quality requirements of the principal project deliverable
These items are the primary components needed to establish the project plan.
3. Execution
During the execution phase, team members complete project deliverables. The stage begins with a kick-off meeting to align project team members on defined goals, responsibilities, and outcomes. As work advances, teams meet regularly to assess progress, address roadblocks, and provide status reports to stakeholders.
4. Monitoring and control
As work is executed, it’s also measured and compared to performance metrics, ensuring milestone achievement aligns with project goals and timelines.
5. Closure
Once the project is complete and deliverables are shipped, the project manager releases resources and signs off on contracts. The team then gathers for a retrospective meeting to review successes and lessons learned.
What is a project plan?
The project planning process answers who, what, when, and where. It guides a project’s execution, determining means of control and establishing success parameters for the team.
Project planning generates several documents that team members and stakeholders use for reference and to build alignment, including the following:
Project charter
The project charter offers a general overview of the project, outlining its:
Purpose
Goals and objectives
Constraints
Risks
Key stakeholders
Statement of work (SOW)
A SOW defines a project’s:
Scope
Schedule
Deliverables
Tasks
Milestones
Work breakdown structure (WBS)
Teams can more effectively tackle a project once it’s been divided into stages. A work breakdown structure summarizes:
Work phases
Subprojects
Work packages
These elements combine to produce the final deliverable.
Project management plan
A project management plan outlines how team leadership addresses:
Scope and change management
Quality management
Risk assessment
Resource and time management
Stakeholder management
Once company leadership and project stakeholders have reviewed and approved the final plan, the project manager can begin the execution phase.
Why is project planning important?
A project plan guides your team through the steps required to deliver desired outcomes, helps them avoid potential problems or roadblocks, and keeps everyone on track for delivery. In addition, a good project plan performs the following functions:
Ensures on-time and on-budget delivery according to the client’s quality standards
Fosters communication between project team members and stakeholders
Identifies potential risks and challenges before they impact project timelines
Communicates project objectives and vision
Focuses everyone’s efforts on a shared goal
Increases the likelihood of project success
How to create a project plan
Planning can be labor intensive at first, but the effort is worthwhile. A project plan safeguards an initiative from common challenges, such as missed deadlines, scope creep, and budget overruns.
If it’s your first time, or you’re facing a time crunch, you can always leverage a project plan template found online. Whether taking the DIY approach or using a prototype, outlining the project plan should follow these steps:
1. Identify stakeholders
A stakeholder is anyone with an interest in the project, including the end user, outside investors, and company leadership. A project requires buy-in from each of these parties. After identifying each group, foster cooperation by customizing communication strategies and project plans accordingly.
2. Define roles
Each stakeholder has a role to play. For team members, this includes responsibilities and accountabilities. The project plan helps them understand what they need to do and when. Record these decisions in a RACI chart or other responsibility assignment matrix to maintain clarity and accountability regarding team members’ roles.
3. Set goals
Clear communication about project goals throughout planning will keep stakeholders aligned. Generate focus by establishing these facets of the project:
Project scope
Quality baselines
Deliverables
Milestones
Success criteria
Requirements
Document these components using the project charter, work breakdown structure, and SOW.
4. Prioritize tasks
List all the required tasks to complete the project. Then, rank them in order of priority. Teams often visualize the workload using a Gantt chart, PERT diagram, or critical path document, making it easier to spot and address potential dependencies and delays.
5. Generate project timelines
Review the task list with team members and estimate how long each item should take. Log the information in the Gantt chart or a project schedule template. This information will help surface dependencies, generate the project schedule, and establish milestones and deadlines.
6. Identify risks
Complete a risk register to uncover and analyze potential threats while documenting mitigation plans and responsible parties.
7. List resources
Determine which assets the team requires to complete the project, including the following:
Materials
Technology
Personnel
Time
Information
Money
Log them using a resource management plan.
8. Establish change management protocols
Uncontrolled scope creep distracts team members from tasks that move the project toward its defined goals. However, a change in scope isn’t always bad – especially when faced with evolving market conditions.
Project management should establish change controls to evaluate requests and their potential impact on resources and timelines before deciding to move forward.
9. Outline communication strategies
Some stakeholders require more communication than others. Create a communication plan governing update frequency and outlining issues that require contact between stakeholders and team members.
With so many requirements and moving parts, creating a project plan can be overwhelming. Take it one step at a time, and seek out templates or project plan examples from your organization’s archives to help you find your way.
Components of a project plan
Project planning helps define the components required for your team’s success. Once project management has described the project scope, objectives, and timelines, key stakeholders will understand these crucial elements:
Tasks: Tasks are any activity the project team must accomplish within a set time limit. Leadership assigns tasks to team members according to their role and skill set.
People: The project plan identifies personnel, roles, and responsibilities. When team members understand leadership expectations, project managers can focus on their tasks. Clearly defined roles also foster a sense of personal responsibility.
Milestones: Any point within the project schedule that indicates progress is considered a milestone. They generally signify the completion of a deliverable or project phase.
Documentation: Give team members access to documents generated by the project planning process so they can reference them to gain clarity on goals, tasks, or methods. This is particularly vital for dispersed teams working in different time zones.
Time: Project schedules go beyond outlining the duration of the entire initiative. They also establish start and end dates for each task, phase, and milestone. Deadlines help situate the project among competing priorities and ensure access to resources when needed.
Tools for project planning
Various tools can help managers create project plans without getting buried under paperwork. Some leverage spreadsheet software, like Excel, but project planning software is more convenient and automates much of the work.
Here are two common project planning tools:
Gantt charts: Gantt charts visualize project tasks, their completion order, and their expected duration. You can create them manually or leverage software, like Tempo’s Gantt Chart for Structure PPM application, to do the heavy lifting.
Risk register: Use a risk register to document potential threats associated with the project, the probability of their occurrence, their possible impact, and mitigation plans, among other details.
Popular project planning software tools include the following:
Jira: Jira offers project planning and management capabilities for waterfall and agile frameworks. Its robust roster of features includes project reporting and tracking capabilities that make it as flexible as it is powerful.
Wrike: Oversee work throughout the project lifecycle with an intuitive interface and numerous useful features, such as time-tracking and resource management.
Tempo takes the stress out of project planning
Tempo offers many Jira-enabled software solutions to facilitate the successful delivery of project outcomes. Capacity Planner optimizes capacity planning and team management, improving organizational efficiency. With Strategic Roadmaps, you can build project roadmaps to prioritize tasks and ensure team members focus on high-value work that brings them closer to their goals.
Whatever your project planning challenge, Tempo has a solution for you.
Try Capacity Planner today
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