A project plan is a critical project management step, and skipping it will put your project’s success in jeopardy before it even kicks off. A project plan can show you the resources required, how long it will take to achieve, and help you avoid roadblocks that could throw you off schedule.
To help you create a foolproof project plan, we’ve put together the six steps you’ll need to follow in order to ensure your project plan results in project success, and we’ll share how to create your project plan with our project scheduling template.
Step 1: Identify and meet with stakeholders
A stakeholder is anyone who is affected by the results of your project plan. That includes your customers and end-users. Ensure you identify all stakeholders and keep their interests in mind when creating your project plan.
Meet with the project sponsors and key stakeholders to discuss their needs and project expectations, and establish a scope baseline, budget, and timeline. Then create a scope statement document to finalize and record project scope details, get everyone on the same page, and reduce the chances of costly miscommunication. Cost control, in particular, is also critical during this stage of the process.
Tip: Look beyond the stakeholders' stated needs to identify the underlying desired benefits. These benefits are the objectives your project should deliver.
Step 2: Set and prioritize goals
Once you have a list of stakeholder needs, prioritize them and set specific project goals. These should outline project objectives or the metrics and benefits you hope to achieve. Write your goals and the stakeholder needs they address in your project plan so it's clearly communicated and easily shareable.
Tip: If you're having trouble prioritizing, start ranking goals based on urgency and importance, or check out these helpful decision-making tips.
Step 3: Define deliverables
Identify the deliverables and project planning steps required to meet the project's goals. What are the specific outputs you're expected to produce?
Next, estimate the due dates for each deliverable in your project plan. (You can finalize these dates when you sit down to define your project schedule in the next step.)
Tip: Set firm milestones for essential deadlines and deliverables. You'll be able to track your progress once work begins to ensure you complete tasks on time and keep stakeholders happy.
Step 4: Create the project schedule
Look at each deliverable and define the series of tasks that must be completed to accomplish each one. For each task, determine the amount of time it will take, the resources necessary, and who will be responsible for execution.
Next, identify any dependencies. Do you need to complete certain tasks before others can begin? Input deliverables, dependencies, and milestones into your Gantt chart, or choose from the many online templates and apps available. Be sure you also understand how to write a project management report for a summary overview of the project status.
Tip: Involve your team in the planning process. The people performing the work have important insights into how tasks get done, how long they'll take, and who's the best person to tackle them. Draw on their knowledge. You'll need them to agree with the project schedule and set expectations for work to run smoothly.
Step 5: Identify issues and complete a risk assessment
No project is risk-free. Crossing your fingers and hoping for the best isn’t doing you any favors. Are there any issues you know of upfront that will affect the project planning process, like a key team member's upcoming vacation? What unforeseen circumstances could create hiccups? (Think international holidays, back-ordered parts, or busy seasons.)
When developing a project plan, you should know how to manage risk in a project and consider the steps you should take to either prevent certain risks from happening or limit their negative impact. Conduct a risk assessment and develop a risk management strategy to prepare.
Tip: Tackle high-risk items early in your project timeline, if possible. Or create a small time buffer around the task to help keep your project on track in the event of a delay.
Step 6: Present the project plan to stakeholders
It's important you understand how to present a project effectively. Explain how your plan addresses stakeholders' expectations, and present your solutions to any conflicts. Make sure your presentation isn't one-sided. Have an open discussion with stakeholders instead.
Next, you need to determine roles: Who needs to see which reports and how often? Which decisions will need to be approved, and by whom?
Make your project plan clear and accessible to all stakeholders, so they don’t have to chase you down for simple updates. Housing all project plan data in a single location, like a collaboration tool, makes it easy to track progress, share updates, and make edits without filling your calendar with meetings.
Communicate clearly. Ensure stakeholders know exactly what's expected of them and what actions they need to take. Just because it's obvious to you doesn't mean it's obvious to them!
Not looking forward to having an open discussion with your stakeholders? Here are some strategies to arm yourself against difficult stakeholders to keep the project planning process moving forward.
Tip: If your plan or schedule doesn’t align with stakeholders' original expectations, communicate that now to avoid any nasty surprises or tense conversations down the line.
Rather than telling stakeholders their expectation or request is unrealistic, tell them what's required to make it happen, including how much time, money, or manpower. Let them decide if it's worth dedicating the extra resources.
How Wrike can help you create your project plan
Wrike's project management software makes creating your own project plan effortless by keeping your plans in a single, accessible location, giving you the ability to visualize your project timeline in a variety of ways, and ensuring your entire team can view the project plan and stay on track.
To make creating your project plan even easier, we’ve created a project scheduling template that will help you break down the project into manageable parts, develop a checklist to assign work to your team, and track that work to monitor progress. From dynamic calendars to streamlined approval processes and real-time, interactive reports, Wrike makes kicking off your project seamless.
Click here to start your free two-week trial and kick off your project plan today.
