How to Start a Project Plan
Project plans are a fixture of any business environment, where planning is key to a successful business project. However, project plans are useful in all aspects of life, from do-it-yourself home renovations to deciding on an education path to planning your dream vacation. All project plans have a similar structure and framework; the differences are in the details of the project. Once you know what a project plan should contain and the questions to ask to obtain that information, you can successfully plan any project.
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Instructions
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Determine why you will carry out the project. Identify the problems that the project will solve. Be specific and give details. For example, instead of saying that the front door doesn't work, state that the front door doesn't close properly and that there is a gap between the door and the frame that lets in the cold air.
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Write down the desired result of the project. This is your project deliverable. Again, be specific. For example, the front door will fit into the frame without any gaps and the lock will turn smoothly. List any smaller results that you will achieve along the way -- putting all the tools in one place or buying all the supplies. These smaller results are your smaller deliverables.
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Plan the physical locations of where you will do the work. Do you have enough space or the required physical facilities to do the work or do you need to go somewhere else? This is your logistics plan.
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Decide who can or should be involved in the project. Name the person or people doing the work, include anyone who will be providing any tools or knowledge and also the person who will be inspecting or using the finished product. Identify the roles needed and who will be in each one. If you have a role without a person associated with it, then consider hiring someone to do that work or develop a training plan for acquiring that expertise. This is your human resources plan.
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Decide on a date for completion of the project. Explore how many hours in total are required and at what times each of the workers can work on the project. Are there any time constraints, such as the opening times of stores where you need to purchase supplies?
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For each deliverable, list the tasks that you need to do to complete it. If someone else will be doing a task, consider writing down instructions on how to do it. Identify who will do each task and with what tools and materials. Include the start and finish date of time for each task, as well as how many hours it will take. This is your project schedule.
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Calculate a budget for your project. Include all the materials that you will need and the costs of labor, tool rentals and any training time or materials. This is your project budget.
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Write all your information in a project plan. There are project management software packages that you can use and free templates are available on the Internet.
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Tips & Warnings
A project plan is only useful if you monitor the progress of the project and make changes to the plan as needed, especially to the project schedule and budget.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit project plan image by Christopher Hall from Fotolia.com
