Read Breif Overview of the 10 Steps for Creating a Project Plan

 

Step 1: Explain the project plan to key stakeholders and discuss its key components.

 

Components of the Project Plan Include:

 

Baselines. Baselines are sometimes called performance measures, because the performance of the entire project is measured against them. They are the project's three approved starting points and include the scope, schedule, and cost baselines. These provide the 'stakes in the ground.' That is, they are used to determine whether or not the project is on track, during the execution of the project.

 

Baseline management plans. These plans include documentation on how variances to the baselines will be handled throughout the project. Each project baseline will need to be reviewed and managed.

 

Other work products from the planning process. These include a risk management plan, a quality plan, a procurement plan, a staffing plan, and a communications plan.

 

Step 2: Define roles and responsibilities. Not all key stakeholders will review all documents, so it is necessary to determine who on the project needs to approve which parts of the plan. Some of the key players are:

 

 

Step 3: Hold a kickoff meeting. The kickoff meeting is an effective way to bring stakeholders together to discuss the project. It is an effective way to initiate the planning process.

 

It can be used to start building trust among the team members and ensure that everyone's idea are taken into account.

 

 

Step 4: Develop a Scope Statement. 

 

The Scope Statement clearly describes what the outcome of the project will be. It is the basis for getting the buy-in and agreement from the sponsor and other stakeholders and decreases the chances of miscommunication. 

 

It can be treated like a contract between the project manager and sponsor, one that can only be changed with sponsor approval.

 

Step 5: Develop scope baseline. Once the deliverables are confirmed in the Scope Statement, they need to be developed into a work breakdown structure (WBS), which is a decomposition of all the deliverables in the project.

 

Step 6: Develop the schedule and cost baselines.

 

Step 7: Create baseline management plans. Once the scope, schedule, and cost baselines have been established, you can create the steps the team will take to manage variances to these plans.

 

Step 8: Develop the staffing plan. The staffing plan is a chart that shows the time periods, usually month, quarter, year, that each resource will come onto and leave the project. 

 

Step 9: Analyze project quality and risks.

 

• Project Quality: Project quality consists of ensuring that the end product not only meets the customer specifications, but is one that the sponsor and key business experts actually want to use. The emphasis on project quality is on preventing errors, rather than inspecting the product at the end of the project and then eliminating errors. 

 

• Project Risks: A risk is an event that may or may not happen, but could have a significant effect on the outcome of a project, if it were to occur. 

 

Analyzing risks includes making a determination of both the probability that a specific event may occur and if it does, assessing its impact. 

 

Step 10: Communicate! One important aspect of the project plan is the Communications Plan. This document states such things as:

 

For complex projects, a formal communications matrix is a tool that can help determine some of the above criteria. It helps document the project team's agreed-on method for communicating various aspects of the project, such as routine status, problem resolution, decisions, etc.

 

(See Entire Process in Tool's and Resources Below)