Project Plan Elementary ...

Clarify Charter:

  • Scope
  • Budget
  • Deadlines
  • Constraints

Produce the Project Plan

The following activities should be performed in order to produce a project plan. The results of this planning effort should be documented into a detailed plan (a narrative document), a detailed schedule as well as an executive summary including a high level plan and a high level schedule:

  • Identify all the deliverables: final and intermediary, explicit and implicit
  • Identify project risks and opportunities
  • Identify the main milestones; the projects have at least two: the start and the end but typically there are important intermediary milestones as well
  • Identify and define the gates, the entry and the exit criteria; the gates divide the project in phases; the gates approval are milestones too
  • List all the activities required to complete the project; the most obvious activities are those needed to produce the deliverables, but ensure to also include other activities, as those necessary to address the risks and opportunities identified, the activities required to satisfy the required processes (due to customer or internal requirements), any support and project management activities, in general, all the activities that will be paid from the project budget
    • The project management activities are grouped into a project management plan, which, depending on the size of the project and the customer or internal requirements, could include multiple specific management plans, e.g. for the management of requirements, configurations, risk, quality etc. For the planning stage, at least a list of the required management plans is needed.
    • Note the difference between a Project Plan (PP) and a Project Management Plan (PMP); The PMP is part of the PP, although the activities of the PMP control how the project is executed and controlled
  • Establish the logical links between the activities; each activity must have at least one link to a predecessor (be it the start of the project milestone if no other predecessor) and at least one link to a successor (be it the end of the project milestone if no other successor)
  • Identify which activities are required to enter each gate of the project
  • Consider each activity:
    • What inputs are needed:
      • Do you need inputs external to the project? Do you need to add activities in the project? Do you need to link to additional activities?
    • What resources you need:
      • Identify and take note of all the resources needed (human, material or other) and identify how you would obtain them. Do you need to add activities to obtain the resources required?
    • What are the outputs expected:
      • Identify the output(s) expected. Are these outputs likely to affect other activities than those already identified as successors? Do you need to link to additional activities?
  • Identify the critical path (or rather paths, as each deadline comes with a critical path)
  • Are all the deadlines met? If not, identify solutions: additional resources, subcontracting or negotiate deadlines rescheduling.
  • If the schedule was not done by the team, review in detail with the team in charge of executing the schedule, make the changes required and ensure everybody buys in
  • Present the plan to the management and ensure the management understands:
    • the project needs and management role in ensuring the project has all the resources available
    • the project deliverables, milestones and deadlines
    • highlight important links to activities external to the project (e.g. delivery of a testing facility)
  • Implement any changes/recommendations agreed with the management and obtain management buy-in
  • Baseline the plan