Creating a Project Management Plan for Success

Having a well-thought out project plan makes even the simplest of tasks easier to complete. Writing a grocery list before you head to the supermarket can help you stay in budget and efficiently get everything you need.

When a task is more complex, a comprehensive project management plan becomes even more necessary. Project management professionals know this better than anyone. As the person in charge of organizing large-scale, often expensive projects from inception through completion, project managers understand the importance of a well-developed plan.

A project management plan is more than a mere timeline of events on the path to project completion. Project management professionals use the project plan to guide and explain every detail of a project to ensure the finished product meets or exceeds expectations and fulfills its purpose.

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, and Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, two experts from leading project management training provider Watermark Learning, have outlined 10 critical steps to creating an effective project plan. By following the below steps, a project manager can create a clear, well-defined project plan that generates results.

Deliver a Full Explanation: Be sure that all project stakeholders have a good understanding of the project plan. Stakeholders will need to approve and interact with various aspects of the plan throughout a project, and this will go more smoothly if they fully comprehend its purpose.

Delegate Responsibilities: Determine who is responsible for reviewing which parts of a project plan in advance. Each stakeholder then only weights in on aspects of the project plan that pertain to them, resulting in efficient approvals.

Host an Inclusive Kickoff: Start the project plan off right by bringing all stakeholders together to initiate the planning process. In this way, everyone's voice can be heard and the project plan becomes more of a collaborative effort.

Create a Scope Statement: Write a clear description of the project and its intended outcome. This ensures all stakeholders and the project sponsor are on the same page with regards to the project plan.

Develop a Work Breakdown Structure: Identify all the deliverables produced on a project in order to outline the necessary work to be done, from the highest level deliverables down to the lowest level of detail.

Schedule and Budget: For each task to be completed, identify a reasonable time frame and cost. Keep in mind which tasks are dependent on others, and understand that this schedule may change over time.

Identify Management Steps: As many aspects of the project plan will undoubtedly be altered, a plan should be created to manage any variances and determine their impact on the project as a whole.

Chart a Staffing Plan: Organize a Gantt chart detailing which outside resources will be needed for the project and its expected length of time. This will show when a given resource can be expected to enter and leave the project.

Manage Quality and Risk: Set standards for quality and analyze potential risks a project may encounter over its course. This helps to eliminate errors throughout the process and create a crisis management plan before problems arise.

Communicate Effectively: Identify who will require project updates and reports and when, as well as specifications for project information storage. This information creates a communications plan that ensures all stakeholders are current with the status of a project and their role.

The above ten steps can help any project manager navigate the complex undertaking of creating a project management plan. Visit Watermark Learning for additional articles and information on project management training.