How to Plan a Project

Project planning is important. It ensures that you have the necessary resources to successfully complete your project, understand what needs to be done, complete the project on time, etc. This article provides the basic steps for planning a project.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Write a short project description. This ensures that you understand your project ans what you need to accomplish.

2. Break larger projects into smaller subprojects.

3. Write the necessary steps to complete each subproject.

4. Give each step a start and completion date.

5. Review the start and end dates. Some steps require that a previous step complete before the next step starts. These are called dependencies. Make sure these steps are scheduled correctly.

6. Take notes after completing each step. Note what worked and didn't work. Specifically, make notes for those steps that took longer to complete than planned.

7. Review these notes. This will help you better plan your next project.

[w1z111]

on 5/6/2008 Good article for project planning. I was a project planner (in my working life), and I'd say "you've got it"! Also, MSProject (or equivalent) software is wonderful for making this a lot easier.