1.1)The first step in any project is to define the “what” and “why”. Key stakeholders have the influence and authority to determine whether a project is successful, and their objectives must be satisfied. Even if the project comes from the CEO himself, you still need their buy-in.
1.2)Use this initial conversation to get aligned, define goals, and determine the value of the project. In this part of the project planning process, discuss needs, expectations, and establish baselines for project scope, budget, and timeline. This creates a solid base for your project work plan.
1.3)Questions you should consider reviewing with stakeholders:
1.3.1)How do we write a project plan that aligns with company goals?
1.3.2)What do stakeholders expect? What will be expected from them?
1.3.3)How will you measure success?
1.3.4)What are your resources?
1.3.5)What assets or deliverables are expected out of this project?
Step 2: List out goals, align Objective and Key Results (OKR), and outline the project.
2.1) According to executive leaders, a lack of clear goals accounts for 37% of project failure. Without clear goals, you’ll find that the requirements, tasks, and deadlines you set for your project work plan have nothing anchoring them. But now that you have a list of key stakeholders needs and their buy-in, begin to assign them to goals and OKR.
2.2) OKR are a planning and goal setting technique made famous by Intel and Google. Your project should align with your team and company’s OKR.
2.3) Try writing down the project goals in a project plan board and connect them to the stakeholder requirements they address.
2.4) From there, build out the structure, milestones, and tasks it takes to reach those goals. Milestones can define check-in points throughout the project so that everyone is clear about what progress looks like, what the expectations are, and when they’ll be measured.
Step 3: Create a project scope document
3.1) Now that you have the project outlined, your tasks aligned with goals, and buy-in from the team, it’s time to create a project scope document detailing the project elements you’ve listed in step 2.
3.2) Look at each deliverable and define the series of tasks that must be completed to accomplish each one. For each task, determine the amount of time it’ll take, the resources necessary, and who will be responsible for execution.
3.3) Finalize and record the project details so that everyone has a single source of truth.
3.4) Make the document easily shareable, like in your project management tool, in order to reduce the chance of costly miscommunication.
3.5) While preparing project scope documentation and calculating earned value should be standard practice.
Step 4. Craft a detailed project schedule
4.1) With your goals, tasks, and milestones already outlined for you, it’s time to start plugging your project into a schedule.
4.2) A Gantt Chart is a handy tool that helps you easily visualize your project timeline easily visualize your project timeline.
4.3) It’s an interactive timeline that gives you a complete view of the project’s progress, work scope, and dependencies.
4.4) Dependencies are tasks that need to be completed before other tasks can begin.
4.5) As you plot out tasks, use sub tasks to help you break up larger ones into smaller ones.
4.6) This can make reporting. Let’s define each:
4.6.1) Tasks: The individual tasks that people need to carry out to achieve your goals.
4.6.2) Subtasks: No longer than a few days each, these help you take a task and break it down into the smaller steps that will complete the larger task.
4.6.3) Milestones: Major phases or events in your project that help break up the project. Use milestones as check-in points throughout the project.
4.6.4) Pro tip: Want in on a little secret? As you set them up, add cushions to key tasks, so you have wiggle room for fire drills or unexpected bottlenecks — for example if a client needs extra time to review or a team member calls in sick.
4.6.5) In a perfect world, some tasks might take a day. So maybe you make it two in your plan. No need to give every task a cushion though. Weigh the risks and add it where it makes the most sense. Future you will thank you.
Step 5: Define the roles, responsibilities, and resources
5.1) Resources are the people, equipment, or money needed to complete a project. Once you’ve selected your tools and gotten a budget, don’t forget about your people. Even folks who already know how to write a project work plan and have done so a hundred times can underestimate their labor needs.
5.2) A Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed (RACI) chart helps you determine specifically who will do what for your project. It's a matrix of all a project’s tasks, paired with who's responsible (assigned to complete the work), accountable (has yes/no/veto power), consulted (needs to approve or contribute), and informed (needs to know about the action or decision).
5.3) As you begin to assign tasks, make sure you take into consideration bandwidth.
5.4) Clarify the responsibilities and expectations of each person. Keep in mind that 95% of workers report working on more than one team or project concurrently and if projects aren’t aligned, workloads become too stressful for teams.
5.5) Stress causes about 50% of workers to start looking for another job, and 25% to quit their current jobs altogether, due to The Stress Epidemic.
5.6) As you plan your project, consider how you’ll filter incoming requests that impact the project’s timeline or budget.
5.7) Knowing how to calculate earned value to monitor the level of work completed on a project against the plan is imperative.
Step 6: Define the communication and check-in process
6.1) Employees spend nearly 20% of the work week searching for and gathering information.
6.2) Adding to that, inefficient communication and collaboration are two of the top causes of stress in the workplace.
6.3) When stakeholders have to dig through pages of emails or constantly ask for updates, they get frustrated and motivation dips.
6.4) Mitigate frustration by housing all project pieces — like assets, conversations, tasks, due dates, updates, reporting — in a single location, like a collaboration tool.
6.5) This makes it easy to track progress, share updates, and make edits. Define how everyone should communicate throughout the project and keep it in one tool so everyone can access information.
Step 7: Plan for it not going as planned
7.1) Even if you’re an expert and already know how to write a project plan, the truth is that all projects have twists and turns — that’s what makes them fun. You’ve given yourself some breathing room during the scheduling process, you’ve made sure everyone knows their role, and you’ve set up communication.
7.2) But before you launch, sit down and identify potential issues like upcoming vacations for team members, holidays, or external teams that might be involved.
7.3) Set up a clear chain of command and list key contacts within the project. Communicate upfront about risks so the whole team can be prepared to tackle them together.
Step 8: Throw a launch party!
8.1) Every successful project needs a kick-off. Set a quick meeting with key stakeholders and have a clear agenda. Your goal should be to get everyone on the same page with goals, roles, process, and timeline. Your agenda should include everything you’ve focused on in the steps above:
8.1.1) Define the project goals and value they bring.
8.1.2) List out the assets the project is expected to deliver.
8.1.3) Draw the connection between stakeholder requirements and the project tasks.
8.1.4) Show the timeline (Gantt Chart) of the project so everyone can see dependencies and know the expected dates.
8.1.5) Describe the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder.
8.1.6) Review how and where everyone will communicate throughout the project, where they can go for information — like your scope document — and who to call for questions
8.1.7) Discuss risks and ensure the team is prepared.
8.1.8) Get that final commitment!
SHARED BY: MKR
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