Project Planning -  A Step by Step Guide

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  (e.g. A church organization, a congregation, or an individual)
• The customer who receives the deliverables (Your intended TV audience)
• The users of the project outputs (Viewers, media sales, etc.)
• The project manager and project team

The next step is to establish their needs, by conducting stakeholder interviews. Take time during the interviews to draw out the true needs that create real benefits.

The next step is to prioritise the needs you have identified and create a set of goals that can be easily measured. A technique for doing this is to review them against the SMART principle (See Note 1). This way it will be easy to know when a goal has been achieved.

Record these goals in the project plan. It can be useful to also include the needs and expectations of your stakeholders.

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.

Set up your project plan.  Include all of the deliverables, tasks, durations and the resources who will complete each task.   See attached example of a <media 963>simple project plan</media>

Some tasks may be able to run concurrently, without interfering with each other, while others are dependent on the completion of a previous task.  Be aware of the distinction.

A common problem discovered at this point is when you are given an imposed delivery deadline from the sponsor that is not realistic based on your estimates. If you discover that this is the case,  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 (See Note 2) 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
• 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.

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NOTES

Note 1:  The acronym SMART has a number of slightly different variations, which can be used to provide a more comprehensive definition for goal setting:

S - specific, significant, stretching

M - measurable, meaningful, motivational

A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T - time-based, timely, tangible, trackable

Note 2

Progress Reporting

Progress reporting is a key element of project management. A weekly team meeting is useful to review progress.  Reports should be issued by the Project Manager and circulated to the stakeholders on a regular basis. The following people must be included on the circulation list:

• Project Sponsor
• Budget Holder
• Senior User(s)
• Team Members

The report should be kept brief and sum up the key points in the project. The following simple format is recommended on a maximum of 1-2 pages:

1. Report Date
2. Project Status
3. Project Summary
4. Key Issues
5. Identified Risks
6. Tasks and Next Steps
7. Decisions Required
8. Key Future Dates
9. Budgeted Amount
10. Spend to Date

This ensures that people are kept informed, involved and committed. Regular communication is essential to the well being of any project. Common failings in this area are:

• Poor communication channels
• Lack of honest communication
• Unwillingness to communicate bad news

 

Acknowledgments:  http://www.projectsmart.co.uk     Author: By Duncan Haughey, PMP

 

Adapted by Hope Channel