How do you make a good project plan?

Many people associate a project plan with a project schedule (Gantt chart), in which project tasks are defined, assigned responsibility for their implementation, start and end dates, and links between tasks. However, such an association is only partially justified, as a good project plan is a broader concept. Before we delve into the specifics of a project plan, it’s crucial to understand why it’s necessary and its significance. According to the Prince 2 project management methodologies, every project should have two logical phases – the Planning Phase and the Execution Phase. In essence, effective management of the Execution Phase is impossible without a solid foundation – a project plan.

What is a project plan?

A good project plan is essential because before we spend the first money on a project, we are forced to think about what we want to do. The deeper we are in the planning process, the more new information and details emerge. Included correctly in the plan, they will positively affect the later success of the project. The plan helps to coordinate better and divide work among project team members. The plan allows us to better communicate with project stakeholders. Finally, the plan allows us to determine whether we will complete the project in time and whether we will complete the project in the amounts set; that is, it allows us to manage the project’s implementation phase well. Many project managers prefer to be active and have a sense of “wind in their hair” rather than spend hours and days on tedious planning. In project management, there is a false sense that we are working smart. A poor plan causes several problems of various natures during the project. With an inadequate plan, you can be 100% sure that such issues will occur.

Elements and approach to developing a good project plan

FRAMEWORK DEFINITION OF THE PROJECT

At the outset, we should define the framework (scheme) of the project:

Project outcome/product – defining what we want to achieve due to the project, the end product, key milestones, and scope. When determining the scope of the project, it is also worth saying what is not included in the scope;
The business case for the project – Here, we consider the problems or opportunities of the organization the project is supposed to address. What are the estimated and expected business outcomes of the project? We need more than just knowing precisely what we want to do. It is equally important, if not more important, to know precisely why we want to do it,
stating what strategic objectives the project will support;
defining a framework budget for the project – it is worth thinking about the range within which the budget should fit;
Defining the most critical project risks;
Defining the main phases that the project is to consist of;
defining the resources and competencies required to make the project happen.

The project framework, as defined in this way, is often collected in a Project Charter document. The Project Charter allows the project sponsor to decide whether to initiate the project’s planning phase.

DEFINING PROJECT DELIVERABLES

A good definition and description of the final project product(s) and sub-products required to achieve the final result is one of the essential activities to be carried out while developing the project plan. Developing a so-called Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) and then a Product Flow Diagram (PFD) is an excellent idea. The PBS allows you to decompose the final products into their respective sub-products, and the PFD will enable you to develop a time sequence for their creation. Each product should be described as precisely as possible, so there is as little room for ambiguous interpretation by the project team.

Defining and describing project deliverables is a critical aspect of project management. It involves planning tasks, budgets, resources, and risks. However, if we neglect the importance of precision in product descriptions, it can lead to understatements. These understatements can then affect the accuracy of the schedule, budget, and resource plan. This is because one of the most effective methods for planning these aspects is Product Based Planning. When implemented correctly, this methodology ensures effective execution by aligning the schedule, resources, and budget with the project deliverables.

PRODUCT-BASED PLANNING, CREATING A PROJECT SCHEDULE

With the products and scope of the project well described, we know what we want to do. It is, therefore, time to define how we want to accomplish it. It’s a good idea to start the schedule by building a so-called Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), which is an adequately arranged list of tasks that need to be done to develop the defined project deliverables. Within this list, it’s a good idea to include project milestones. Only after you make sure you have a good list of all the tasks and that they are complete is it worthwhile to move on to determining the responsibility for completing them. Then, define each task’s start and end dates and build interdependencies between them. In this way, we will create the so-called Gantt chart for the project.

DEVELOPING A PROJECT BUDGET

Analyzing each task visible on the Gantt schedule, we consider the expenses incurred to complete the project. In this way, we compile all the necessary budget items and estimate the amounts (there are several methods for estimating quantities, but their description is beyond the scope of this article). Sometimes, it is enough to provide total amounts for each budget item; sometimes, companies require them to be broken down by each month of the project.

DEVELOPMENT OF A RESOURCE PLAN

In the Gantt schedule, we assigned responsibility for implementing tasks; to some extent, we listed the human resources needed to complete the project. This list should be supplemented with all project team members, and then, for each person, the degree of involvement in the project should be determined. We can define the degree of participation in the project in %/days/hours – all depending on the needs and the methodology adopted. When looking at the resource plan, it is worth asking yourself whether the dedicated resources are sufficient and have the right competencies to execute the project well – experience tells us that, in many cases, this is different. If the project requires resources other than human resources for implementation, we plan them similarly to human resources.

DEVELOP A RISK PLAN

At this stage, it is worth identifying all project risks. Then, it is necessary to determine their probability of occurrence and potential impact on the project and assign responsibility for monitoring them.

DEVELOPING A COMMUNICATION PLAN

A communication plan requires defining all relevant project stakeholders, identifying their information needs, and then developing an action plan to address them. Together, all the elements outlined above constitute the project plan. The project sponsor should approve the plan before the project moves into the implementation phase.

5 benefits of project management application

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How can an information system support the creation of a good project plan?

Many companies plan projects using solutions developed in MS Excel. Excel allows you to create a good project plan that includes all its elements. However, there are pretty several programs on the market defined explicitly for this purpose, such as FlexiProject project management software, among others, which support project planning and contain all the necessary functionalities for creating a project plan:

an extensive, ready-made Project Charter, or so-called Project Charter,
the software is adapted to divide the project into any number of phases, i.e., you can easily separate the planning phase from the execution phase; after appropriate system approval of the project sponsor, the project plan can be saved, and the implementation can be tracked against it,
advanced modules for managing project resources and risks – FlexiProject allows you to plan them and then track execution,
the project manager fills out a sewn-in “plan change request” document (so-called Change Request) if there are reasonable circumstances for changing the project plan. Project changes must go through an approval path defined in the system, meaning they take place under complete control.