What is project planning? Guide and best practices.

The project planning phase of the project management life cycle defines the scope and objective of a project. Proper project planning is one of the most important steps in ensuring everything is delivered on time and on budget.

It can help smooth out the planning phase, helping bring together complex workstreams. Whether your project is still in the idea stage or you’re managing an ongoing project, use this guide to the planning phase in project management to familiarize yourself with key concepts.

This post will cover:

• What is project planning?
• What is the purpose of project planning?
• Pre-planning: Meeting with stakeholders
• How to create a project plan
• What happens after a project plan is approved?
• Techniques for effective project planning
• Best practices for the project planning phase

The project planning phase of project management is where a project manager builds the project roadmap, including the project plan, project scope, project schedule, project constraints, work breakdown structure, and risk analysis.

It doesn’t matter if the project is a new website or a new building — the project planning phase serves as a roadmap and acts as a control tool throughout the project. Project planning guides by answering questions like:

• What specific products, services, or outcomes will be delivered, and for whom?
• How will objectives be achieved, including detailed steps and resource allocation?
• When will key milestones be met, defining the overall project timeline?
• How much will the project cost, and how will the budget be managed?
• What are the potential risks, and how will they be mitigated?
• How will success be measured, including acceptance criteria for deliverables?

Project planning communicates deliverables, timing, and schedules, along with team roles and responsibilities. During the planning phase of a project, the project manager must consider potential risks and challenges that could arise during the project.

These early considerations can prevent future issues from affecting the project's overall success or, at times, cause a project to fail. Too little planning leads to chaos and frustration, while excessive planning results in unwarranted administrative tasks, leaving insufficient time for creative work.

Ultimately, the planning phase of project management determines how smoothly projects progress through their life cycle. That’s why it’s so important to spend ample time at the beginning of a project and get your planning right.

Before developing a project plan, the project manager should explain the purpose of the plan to key stakeholders. These are the individuals who are affected by the project, and they need to understand what goes into planning their project, a key component of good stakeholder management.

Examples of stakeholders include:

• Project sponsors
• Business experts
• Project team
• End users

Gaining buy-in from all stakeholders can be one of the most challenging components of project planning, yet it’s central to the project’s success. Projects fail when management isn’t supportive or there is limited stakeholder engagement.

The project manager should host a project kick-off meeting for stakeholders. The meeting may be used to discuss the project's vision statement, roles and responsibilities, team dynamics, decision-making processes, and other ground rules.

Creating a project plan involves a few core steps to ensure a clear roadmap for your work.

1. Define the scope: Clearly outline what your project will deliver and what it will not deliver in a scope statement. This sets boundaries and prevents unexpected additions.
2. Create a statement of work (SoW): Detail project timelines, requirements, and components in this document. The SoW is crucial for setting expectations and preventing scope creep.
3. Conduct key research: Gather essential information on project ownership, decision-making, critical dates, communication preferences, and team dynamics to assign responsibilities effectively.
4. Identify risks: Conduct a thorough risk analysis to anticipate potential problems and develop effective mitigation strategies.
5. Draft the project plan: Outline deliverables, signoffs, resources, deadlines, and stakeholder feedback. Please share this initial draft for team input and make any necessary adaptations.
6. Develop a project schedule: Break down tasks, assign responsibilities, and map them to deliverables with specific start and end dates and dependencies.
7. Review and approve: Gain stakeholder approval by demonstrating that risks are managed and the plan aligns with the project vision.

What happens after a project plan is approved?

When your plan is in the books, you’re ready to start executing those strategies and proposals that have been put together. Here’s what you need to do once your project plan has been approved.

Assign team roles and ongoing responsibilities.

Throughout a project, a project manager should continually assess project quality, monitor risks, and communicate effectively to ensure overall project success. The plan may have been mapped out, but your project’s wheels start turning only when tasks are assigned.

Define responsibilities clearly, either by individual, group or department, depending on project scale. Ensure systems are in place for each task and line of communication to flow smoothly from one to the next.

Monitor project quality.

The project manager is responsible for monitoring project quality to ensure the result meets expectations. Project quality is proactive, involving error prevention and risk management.

A quality plan aids in this ongoing responsibility by outlining standards, acceptance criteria, and project metrics. It is used to guide reviews and inspections during the project.

Communicate effectively.

Effective communication is central to the success of a project. Project communications can be guided with a communications plan. This document clarifies:

• Who receives which reports
• How issues will be handled
• Where project information is stored
• Who has access to it

Utilizing the proper techniques can significantly enhance the effectiveness of project planning.

Collaboration and Input Gathering

• Meetings and workshops: These are excellent for brainstorming, fostering open discussion, and receiving immediate feedback. Structured agendas can keep them productive.
• Surveys and interviews: Use surveys to gather broader input from multiple stakeholders or conduct interviews to obtain more detailed and nuanced perspectives from key individuals.
• Open-ended questioning: Instead of "Is this timeline okay?" try "What potential challenges do you foresee with this timeline, and how might we address them?" This encourages richer, more actionable insights.

Visualization and Structuring

• Work breakdown structure: This powerful technique involves deconstructing your project into smaller, more manageable tasks. It makes large projects less daunting and easier to assign.
• Gantt charts: These visual timelines are invaluable for quickly seeing task durations, dependencies, and overall project progress.
• Project management software: These tools are game changers for organizing, tracking, and collaborating on your project plan. They often include features such as color-coding and intuitive tabs that make complex plans easier to understand.
• Flowcharts/tree Diagrams: These are great for mapping out processes, decision points, or the hierarchical breakdown of a project.

Advanced Planning Techniques

• PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique): This helps with timing estimates, especially when uncertainty is involved. It uses statistical analysis to manage probabilities, providing a clearer picture of how various scenarios might impact your project timelines.
• Critical Path Method (CPM): This technique identifies the most extended sequence of tasks that must be completed on time for the project to meet its deadline. Understanding your critical path is crucial for managing delays.
• Scenario Planning: Don't just plan for one ideal outcome. Consider various "what if" scenarios (e.g., resource shortages or unexpected market fluctuations) and how your plan would respond.

Even with great tools and techniques, a few best practices can elevate your planning:

• Start early and be thorough:  Don't rush this phase. Time invested here pays dividends later.
• Involve key stakeholders:  Their buy-in is paramount. Collaboration ensures the plan is realistic and supported.
• Be flexible and adaptable:  Plans are living documents. Build in room for adjustments as new information or issues arise.
• Communicate clearly and continuously:  Keep everyone informed about the plan, its changes, and their roles.
• Use the right tools: Leverage technology to streamline organization, tracking, and collaboration.
• Review and refine regularly: Don't just set it and forget it. Periodically review your plan against actual progress to ensure it remains aligned with your goals.
• Learn from past projects:  What worked well? What didn't? Incorporate those lessons into your current planning.

Successful project planning.

The project planning phase serves as the strategic roadmap for project managers, guiding them from pre-planning and stakeholder meetings to research, drafting, scheduling, and final approvals. Every one of these steps and subtasks is vital for a successful project that aligns with the sponsor's vision and overall objectives. This is where powerful work management platforms, such as Adobe Workfront, can help.

Workfront centralizes all planning activities, streamlining processes like gathering stakeholder input, managing document versions, and building detailed schedules with resource allocation. It also automates approval workflows, ensuring that every step is meticulously planned, visible, and contributes to a project's successful completion.