The project plan is a document enabling you to approach the project in its entirety. There is no such thing as the ‘perfect’ project planning template, but there are a few best practices that can make the work of PMOs and project managers easier.
Definition of project planning
Project planning is a crucial stage in project management, intended to define and structure objectives, deliverables and tasks. It involves creating a clear action plan to better manage the project, with the emphasis on controlling deadlines and monitoring. The steps include professional planning, cost control, risk and resource management. The ultimate aim is to respect the deadlines and costs initially planned in close collaboration with the project manager.
Good planning is crucial and has a significant influence on the success of the project. It enables tasks to be prioritised, the necessary resources to be allocated and gives an overall view of how the project is progressing. This means that the project can be even better controlled, unforeseen events and delays avoided, resources and deadlines optimised and work overload prevented.
Generally speaking, project planning is a method of organising tasks and time to achieve objectives, ensuring long-term efficiency. It enables costs, resources and the best way of carrying out tasks to be defined, providing a clear, overall vision of the project. It clarifies the roles of the stakeholders, makes it easier to monitor progress and encourages greater responsiveness throughout the project.
Project planning techniques
As explained above, there are several possible methodologies for project planning. However, it is a good idea to take a look at them all first to choose the one that is best suited to the project in question: agile methodology, predictive approach, hybrid method, in-house method, etc. The key is to ensure that it is aligned with the project. It is advisable to consult the teams, in particular to find out whether the staff have experience in the chosen methodology or if training and support will be required.
- Traditional method: i.e. drawing up a list of tasks to be carried out, including the estimated time for each one and the people responsible for carrying them out. This method is most suitable for small projects and small teams capable of working completely independently.
- Agile method: Here, the various stages are divided into ‘sprints’ lasting from two to four weeks. At the end of a sprint, the deliverables must be validated and the next stage planned. This method is suited to projects requiring flexibility and speed.
- Waterfall method: in this case, the tasks are interdependent. You have to wait until the first one is finished before starting the second. This means that the order of tasks needs to be clearly established beforehand, and that team members need to communicate perfectly with each other. Regular monitoring is also necessary.
- PERT method: the PERT method presents tasks in the form of a chart, highlighting the dependencies and chronology of the project, and enables the time required to complete the project to be calculated. Three time estimates are calculated (the shortest, the most probable and the longest). This methodology requires a great deal of organisation.
- SCRUM method: this agile method also uses sprints to divide the project, each sprint lasting 30 days. A Scrum Master, in charge of the project’s progress, is appointed, along with a Product Owner (working closely with the customer) and a team of developers. Each day, the scrum meets to define the tasks and sort them into three columns (planned, in progress, completed).
- Crystal Clear method: this is another agile method, but unlike the others, it puts the team, skills and interactions at the centre of the method. This brings a great deal of flexibility and speed to the project, but also makes it a method that is ‘unique’ to the project.
- Unified process: this iterative process, widely used in IT, is divided into four phases: needs analysis, elaboration, construction and transition. Transition stages are set up at each phase to adjust the roll-out of the project according to feedback from users.
- Adaptive method: this method is distinguished by being extremely flexible in terms of duration, budget and objectives. Sometimes considered risky, this method is well suited to projects characterised by a degree of uncertainty.
- Critical path: critical path is recommended for large projects with numerous interdependent tasks. The project is broken down into critical and non-critical tasks, and the time required for each task is calculated. `
- Critical chain: this is a combination of the critical path and PERT methods. It focuses on time management by identifying critical tasks that may cause delays to the project as a whole, but also on cost management to increase profits.
- Extreme Programming (XP): this method applies the principles of the agile method, but takes them to the ‘extreme’. It is based on five values: communication, simplicity, feedback, respect and courage. This method works on all types of projects.
Other project planning best practices
Involvement of the project team
The involvement of the project team is crucial to good planning: the earlier they are involved in the process, the more likely they are to support it. Whenever a new problem arises or an important decision has to be made, it is essential to bring the project team together to ask questions and listen to everyone’s suggestions. Employees always appreciate it when their voice is heard. It’s also important to clearly define everyone’s roles and responsibilities to improve efficiency and avoid certain tasks being overlooked. The involvement of the team helps to maintain a high level of trust and commitment.
Customer involvement
Another good practice to consider is customer involvement. All too often, once the project and the broad outlines have been defined with the customer, they are left out of the equation. The customer’s commitment can influence the whole project, and their choices can have a considerable impact on the budget, schedule and resources, as well as identifying potential risks. Close collaboration not only makes it easier to achieve the objectives set, but also to obtain a higher level of customer satisfaction, because their vision is made more concrete. The whole process results in high added-value deliverables.
Project planning with PROPRISM
Project planning is therefore a crucial stage in ensuring the smooth running and success of a project. It enables all the actions that will be undertaken to be structured and organised, the deliverables to be defined, the resources and risks to be managed, and the progress of the project to be monitored regularly. With rigorous planning, it is possible to optimise project progress, meet deadlines and achieve objectives.
However, companies and organisations do not always have the time or skills needed to carry out effective project planning. PROPRISM thus offers support to companies in the planning of their project, to ensure excellent control of the constraints to be met (deadlines, costs and scope) as well as better monitoring throughout the process.
