I think having a well developed project plan can save a lot of time and headache for the entire team involved in a project. With well defined steps and guidelines team members can stay more focused on their individual task and accomplish more in less time.
As I was trying to figure out what my second post should be about, I turned to our lecture topic from October 17th. Developing a project plan sounded like a perfect subject to focus on. I wanted to read and learn more about this topic as I hope to be managing projects in the near future.
I came across this great article written by Elizabeth and Richard Larson, titled “10 Steps to Creating a Project Plan”. What caught my attention is the article’s first sentence “One of the critical factors for project success is having a well-developed project plan”. I agree with the authors 100%. Without a well developed project plan lots can go wrong and the entire team may suffer unwanted consequences.
Authors of the article describe 10 steps to creating a project plan:
- Explain the project plan to key stakeholders and discuss its key components.
- Define roles and responsibilities.
- Hold a kickoff meeting.
- Develop a Scope Statement.
- Develop scope baseline
- Develop the schedule and cost baselines.
- Create baseline management plans.
- Develop the staffing plan.
- Analyze project quality and risks.
- Communicate!
I decided to pick three steps that I consider to be the most important. I find all these steps to be vital, but explaining the project plan, defining responsibilities, and communicating rank the highest on my list.
In my opinion, explaining the project plan is crucial to a project’s success. Most project components will change over the life of a project. The delivery date may change, the team may get smaller or larger, and the budget may change as well. Project manager has to be prepared and create/adjust the project plan as needed.
Defining responsibilities and often re-assigning earlier assigned responsibilities from one team member to a different team member is essential. As project’s requirements may change, the team has to adapt to changes, and project manager has to plan accordingly. The project manager should be the one to determine who on the project is responsible for what part.
Communication, communication, communication!!! Without an effective communication project’s success will be in jeopardy. Team member should be well informed about not only who on the team is responsible for what, but also how team members can assist when challenges arise. I think communication is a key to a successful project.
To read more about the remaining 7 steps to creating a project plan click the link below.
http://www.projecttimes.com/articles/10-steps-to-creating-a-project-plan.html
In your opinion, what are the three most important steps in creating a project plan?
Thank you for sharing the article, Marzena! The 10 steps that the authors outline are definitely important in successfully creating a project plan. I also agree with the top 3 most important ones you selected (explaining the project plan, defining responsibilities and communication). Developing a scope statement is another component I believe to be critical as in many instances ideas come up throughout the process which might steer the team in different directions not part of the initial project objective. Being aware of scope creeps will prevent the team from adding unrelated tasks and possibly jeopardizing the timely completion of the project at hand.
Marzena, I enjoyed reading your article. Constructing a project plan is the first step of understanding and focusing on a project tasks. I think all the steps the author mentioned are very important steps for project planning, but if you want me to choose the top three I would choose communication and set up a plan for communication tools. Then I would choose risk management as it is the essence of project management, by monitoring project risk the company would reduce the number of surprises and that will leads to project success. Third, I would choose develop a scope statement to avoid scope creeps as Vel mentioned.
Marzena, great topic of choice. I agree with every step the author mentioned for project planning. Explaining the project plan, defining the project plan, and defining responsibilities are critical! In discussion with team members ideas come up throughout the process of creating a project plan and having a focus. Being able to stay focused and on top of the overall project plan is key for a successful project plan.