How to Develop a Project Plan
Business is a cycle of projects---creating, managing, completing them and then starting all over again. Although project goals may vary in content, planning for a project is the same process applied to different situations. Here are some considerations for developing a project plan.
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Instructions
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Create a section titled "Purpose" or "Objective." Describe the goals for the project, taking into consideration any events or issues that may have shaped the need for this project.
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Create a section titled "Key Staff and Responsibilities." List all staff members who are essential to the completion of the project and a brief description of their roles.
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Create a section titled "Resources." List material resources you will need to complete the project and their quantities (if applicable). For example, promotion at an event would require collateral materials such as brochures to give to guests of the event. Do not list financial needs in this section.
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Create a section titled "Timeline." In one to two sentences, outline each step necessary to complete the project and an associated completion date.
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Create a section titled "Budget." List the costs of all items in this section. Think about what is listed in the resources section as well as what steps are listed in the timeline section. For example, if online promotion for two weeks is in the timeline, you will require financial resources for development of content and online advertising.
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Tips & Warnings
Think of your project plan as a perpetual draft---it is bound to be changed and edited. Your team members can be extremely helpful in fine tuning components of the project plan as well as being more realistic about what can get done in a specified amount of time. Your project plan can be as basic or as expansive as you like. See Resources for an example of a more comprehensive project plan.
Timeline tactics are like dominoes---if one doesn't happen, it will inevitably affect the remaining steps. Be prepared to adjust where necessary. If you are managing a new project, start small. Completing the project once will give you better insight and new ideas for how to improve upon it in the future. To capture feedback from the completed project cycle, consider adding a section titled "Lessons Learned" to capture that feedback before starting the project again.
