No matter how hard you try to cover all of your bases, hiccups will inevitably surface in any project. You must also take into account your other valuable resources, such as time and manpower. What is more important here? Step 2: Define roles and responsibilities. Baseline management plans. Polish up your document, add some branding elements, and you’ll be ready to share it with your team. This official plan will be the one you’ll send to stakeholders so it’s important to take your time here. A common misconception is that the plan equates to the project timeline, which is only one of the many components of the plan. Step 8: Develop the staffing plan. To help strike the right balance, create a project scope that is crystal clear and outlines all of the details — both big and small. Let your team know what’s expected of them and when. Baselines are sometimes called performance measures, because the performance of the entire project is measured against them. You should also compare how your results fared with your initial plan. The other work products linked to the project plan and part of project management plan include a quality plan, risk management plan, procurement plan, and communications plan. Your project scope should also include your, For more on keeping your project's scope within bounds, check out our definitive. Easy peasy. Step 2: Draft an initial plan. After you nail down your “why” and meet with both your team and all prominent stakeholders, you’re ready to set your priorities and goals. Stakeholder List 10. Determine which tasks are dependent on other tasks, and develop critical path. What doesn’t work? If you were to compare your project management plan to building a house, your first step is the concrete foundation. The Scope Statement should include: It can be treated like a contract between the project manager and sponsor, one that can only be changed with sponsor approval. As part of your project plan, you’ll want to consider these factors: Project scope Conception and initiation of the project. Almost no stage in this complicated sphere can go without risks. At this point, you need to draft the key points of each subsidiary plan (e.g., Scope Management Plan, Risk Management Plan, etc. You also want to highlight what went well and give your team the kudos they deserve for a job well done. Step 3: Execute the plan. Identifies all the deliverables produced on the project, and therefore, identifies all the work to be done. The staffing plan is a chart that shows the time periods, usually month, quarter, year, that each resource will come onto and leave the project. Therefore, it is highly recommended to define what can go wrong on every step. These plans include documentation on how variances to the baselines will be handled throughout the project. Don’t miss out on our best deals! Crafting fluff-free content is Devan’s jam. Change Management Processes include a sequence of steps or activities that move a change from inception to delivery. Once you’ve tackled all of that, you’re ready to set specific, measurable goals. It shows only the time period and resource and the length of time that resource is expected to remain on the project. Follow these 8 steps and you’ll have everything you need to make your project a success starting today! So when you account for all the deliverables you’re responsible for, your next task is to plot out your deliverable schedule. Develop schedule, which is a calendarization of all the tasks and estimates. The plan, then, becomes the foundation for all the quality reviews and inspections performed during the project and is used throughout project execution. Project success is usually directly related to the amount of planning that has been performed.The primary project management document created during this phase is called a Project Management Plan, and it contains the following information: 1. Consider resource constraints, or how much time each resource can realistically devoted to this project. Figure out the real the problem at hand and gain a deep understanding of the current mechanics before you try to improve them. Who on the project wants which reports, how often, in what format, and using what media. Success Factors. It is the basis for getting the buy-in and agreement from the sponsor and other stakeholders and decreases the chances of miscommunication. As with setting goals, it’s important to stretch your project to the right limits. Once the project plan is complete, it is important not just to communicate the importance of the project plan to the sponsor, but also to communicate its contents once it's created. This will help keep the positive momentum moving right into your next project. Take your project management skills to the next level with our comprehensive (and free) ebook! That is, they are used to determine whether or not the project is on track, during the execution of the project. Not all key stakeholders will review all documents, so it is necessary to determine who on the project needs to approve which parts of the plan. Many things can go wrong on a project. In the risk management plan, the project manager identifies risks to the project, the likelihood those scenarios will happen, and strategies to mitigate them. The first of our project management steps is to settle on the idea of a project; to scratch out the concept and agree that it will be taken further than the drawing board. Are there enough resources available? These provide the 'stakes in the ground.' Estimate cost of each task, using an average hourly rate for each resource. If you’re worried that your stakeholders will be concerned about the amount of time needed, reassure them that to do the job right the first time, it needs to take that much time. Before you get too excited and send your document to every one of your stakeholders, you need to finalize it with your team beforehand. Learn effectively via bite-sized video tutorials taught by award-winning instructors. Become a Project Manager, Business vision and strategy (from sponsor), How large the group should be and whether sub-groups are necessary, Project objectives, stating what will occur within the project to solve the business problem, Benefits of completing the project, as well as the project justification. Step 2: Project planning. It’s also smart to add a buffer to any areas you’re not sure of, just to be safe. This article provides a 10-step approach to creating the project plan... not only showing how it provides a roadmap for project managers to follow, but also exploring why it is the project manager's premier communications and control tool throughout the project. Identify your priorities before moving on to finalizing your goals. Loved this? This gives your project and your team the breathing room needed to get the job done correctly. Skills for career advancement, Step 4: Share this initial idea with your team, Step 6: Use a Gantt chart to keep things organized, Step 7: Distribute your project management plan, deliverables and the deliverable schedule. You may already have a good idea of why you’re creating this project, but it’s essential to back this up with research. It’s also ideal to assign roles during this phase of the project plan so stakeholders know how to get in touch with your points of contact during each step. And like the traveler, the project manager needs to set the course for the project, which in project management terms means creating the project plan. Twitter Project management plans document what the project team will do when variances to the baselines occur, including what process will be followed, who will be notified, how the changes will be funded, etc. Related Article: The Project Plan: How Much Detail is Enough? Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest news and You’ll have an idea, do a little research to see how it would be completed, then pitch it to the relevant powers for examination and approval.This stage will change a lot depending on the idea which is being developed. The Project Plan: How Much Detail is Enough? Some of the key players are: Step 3: Hold a kickoff meeting. It helps document the project team's agreed-on method for communicating various aspects of the project, such as routine status, problem resolution, decisions, etc. Bad news: It’s this step, actually creating the plan, that trips many managers up. A project plan, also known as the project management plan, is the document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled, and closed. Media: media@goskills.com, Facebook The output of the project planning process is a project management plan. The Scope Statement is arguably the most important document in the project plan. Before narrowing things down, be sure to speak with any employees who will be involved in this project. Everything about project management revolves around building a plan and executing it, which is why I've put together an essential list of project management steps to … Process for changing the contents of the plan. You don’t want to go so far that your team can’t reach its targets, yet you also don’t want to create a project that doesn’t accomplish much. When she’s not writing for GoSkills, you’ll find her outside reading, soaking up the sun, or hiking her next adventure. We help you learn essential business skills to reach your full potential. Creating the Quality Plan involves setting the standards, acceptance criteria, and metrics that will be used throughout the project. Once that’s taken care of, you can then meet your stakeholders with confidence. Step 6: Develop the schedule and cost baselines. Project management consists of risk management – it is one of the most crucial steps for planning a project. Next steps—executing and controlling the project plan and key stakeholder roles/responsibilities in the upcoming phases. But, we normally perceive risk in the most negative connotation at all times and always plan to mitigate this negative risk that we anticipate. Step 7: Create baseline management plans. The project plan is the major work product from the entire planning process, so it contains all the planning documents for the project. When your plan is ready to send out to stakeholders and everyone else on your team, you’ll be able to answer questions and start putting your plan into motion. Since one of the most important and difficult aspects of project management is getting commitment and buying, the first step is to explain the planning process and the project plan to all key stakeholders. 4. Different approval levels are usually needed for different types of changes. Keeping team members informed about change in project schedule 3. A project management plan is scalable: from a note in Evernote to an 80-page Word document. • Develop Program Management Plan is an iterative process and the Program Management Plan is a living document (i.e. In the PMBOK, it contains all 10 project knowledge areas. Here are some of the topics that might be included in a kickoff meeting: Step 4: Develop a Scope Statement. Develop the cost baseline, which is a time-phased budget, or cost by time period. Deliverables 4. While this is only a first draft at this point, it pays to finalize as much as you can (as if it were the real thing) so you can avoid multiple rounds of revisions. What can take a backseat? Step 10: Communicate! This next step is the blueprint for how things will get done and what your project will look like once it’s in motion. How to create a project management plan. Project planning is the process of establishing the scope and defining the objectives and steps to attain them. Following are the key steps involved in successful project planning. Dr. Alexis is a scholar-practitioner with a unique combination of expertise in business economics, general management, portfolio, project, and operations management.He has nearly two decades of experience managing major programs and projects within the manufacturing and power generation industries. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); One of the critical factors for project success is having a well-developed project plan. Communication strategy and plan is crucial for greater project visibility and ultimately for project success. The lowest level is called a "work package" and can be numbered to correspond to activities and tasks. This step is one that many project managers overlook for time’s sake — and it’s a crucial and costly mistake.