Project Planning

Project Planning Phase

The Project Planning phase is the second phase of the project management lifecycle, and is the most important phase in project management. The purpose of this phase is to develop a detailed project plan, which outlines how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled, and closed. A well thought-out project plan will provide the team with a clarity on approach, success criteria, and how they will contribute.

The project manger drives the creation of the project plan, particularly to establish the necessary deliverables, milestones, and estimates for tasks and costs.

Key Objectives:

1. Develop a detailed project scope statement, including all project deliverables - what we call “objects.”

2. Create a detailed project schedule, including all tasks, dependencies, and timelines.

3. Clearly define project roles and responsibilities

4. Establish a detailed project budget, including all costs and resource allocation.

5. Identify and assess potential risks, and develop mitigation strategies.

6. Develop a quality management plan, including quality objectives and standards.

7. Plan for project communications, including stakeholder engagement and reporting.

8. Develop a procurement plan, including vendor selection and contract management.

Key Activities:

1. Develop a detailed project scope statement, including all project deliverables.

2. Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to decompose the project into manageable tasks.

3. Estimate task durations and resource requirements.

4. Develop a project schedule network diagram, including dependencies and critical path.

5. Establish a detailed project budget, including all costs and resource allocation.

6. Identify and assess potential risks, and develop mitigation strategies.

7. Develop a quality management plan, including quality objectives and standards.

8. Plan for project communications, including stakeholder engagement and reporting.

9. Develop a procurement plan, including vendor selection and contract management.

10. Develop a resource allocation plan, including team member roles and responsibilities (RACI).

11. Hold project Kick-off meeting to review project objectives, scope (in and out of scope), critical project success factors

Deliverables:

1. Project Management Plan (PMP)

   1. Resource Allocation Plan (RACI)

   2. Risk Management Plan

   3. Quality Management Plan

   4. OCM Plans

      1. Training

      2. Resistance Management

      3. Service Transition

   5. Procurement Plan (if applicable)

2. Project Scope

3. Object Task List (OTL), or what is known in industry as Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

4. Project Schedule

5. Project Budget

Large system implementation projects also typically include:

• Data Migration and Conversion Plan

• Environment Management Plan

• Reporting Plan

• Cutover Plan

• Deprecation Plan

Outcome:

The Project Planning phase culminates in the development of a comprehensive project management plan, which outlines how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled, and closed. The project manager and team can then begin to execute the project, using the project plan as a guide.

A key objective of this phase is to refine and document the project requirements and scope into objects (deliverables) with the associated tasks, or Object and Task List (OTL).

The Planning Phase answers the questions of:

• What, exactly, is the work to be done?

• How will the work be accomplished?

• Who will perform the work?

• When will the work be done?

At the end of this phase, the team should be OBJECT LIST COMPLETE. Please track object completion in the project record.