How to Plan a Large Project

Clear your mind and think of what the project means to you. What is its scope? If you are planning a wedding, what outcome do you want? Is it to be peaceful or a great wild party? If your project will be a new product, what objectives should the product meet?

Write down a list of objectives that your project will deliver. Be very specific in this step.

Next, determine the overall time frame you will need to deliver in. If your project is creating a new product, you will need to know the market window in which you are operating. If you have an event such as a tradeshow or baby shower to plan, then your date is set.

Take a clean sheet of paper and write down the time frame, and list each objective separately. You now have a good start.

If your office or home area is noisy, go somewhere quiet so that you can think effectively. Or simply take the phone off the hook.

On a sheet of paper, list out all the steps to your project as they occur to you. At this stage, they don't have to be in any particular order. Just brainstorm!

When you are finished, review all the steps and include any that you have missed. If any steps are too broad, break them down into smaller bite sizes.

Now, take a clean sheet of paper and rearrange each step so that it is in the proper order of completion. If any steps are dependent on each other, draw a dark arrow between the two so you can see the critical path.

If you have a complex list with lots of dependencies, enter each step and its dependency into Microsoft Project. Just list tentative dates and budgets into the program for now.

Taking all the steps you detailed in Section 2, review each one carefully and estimate a cost for each step. If necessary, get materials prices and estimates from suppliers.

Add up the total amount and include 10 percent on the top for Murphy's Law! Does it fit within the amount you have determined as your upper limit? If yes, then you are done. If no, see Step 3.

If you are already over budget, it is time to review each step and see where costs can be trimmed. Can you use a slightly less expensive florist for the wedding? This step will take some research, but will be well worth it in the end as long as you don't sacrifice quality for cost.

Once you are well within your upper limit, you are ready to go on to the next section. Microsoft Project users can now enter the dollar amounts into the program as exact.

Looking at each step you created, estimate how long it will take to complete it. Write this on a separate sheet of paper as you will revise it as you go through the process.

Take a clean sheet of paper and list what could possibly go wrong for each step. Estimate how much time each problem would cause.

Add these times to the estimated times you created in Step 1.

Add them all up and see if you are within your time budget.

If not (and this will be the case most of the time), go back to your possible problems sheet and brainstorm methods of prevention. Assign a confidence factor to each method of prevention. If the confidence is high, then you can remove the extra added time. If not, then it must stay in as a buffer.

If you are still over your time budget, you have several options available. One is to negotiate for more time with your boss if it is a work-related project. Another is to add more people, although this doesn't always solve the problem. Yet another option is to see if any steps can be eliminated, such as elaborate home crafts for weddings or features for products. This is the trickiest step of the project plan!

Once you have a workable plan, enter all this new information into your Microsoft Project file (if you have one).

Manage the project to make sure it stays on budget and on time! Easier said than done!