How to Prepare a Project Management Plan

Project planning is the process of establishing the scope, defining the objectives and steps to obtain them. It is one of the most important of the processes that make up project management. The output of the project planning process is a project management plan.

When it comes to planning your very first project, you may not know exactly where to begin. How do you accurately predict how long tasks will take? How do you translate stakeholder expectations into concrete deliverables? What if something goes wrong?

A project plan, also known as a project management plan is a document that contains a project scope and objective. It is most commonly represented in the form of a Gantt chart, to make it easy to communicate to stakeholders.

Learning how to develop a project plan doesn’t need to be complicated. Keep reading to learn what project planning steps to follow to create a project plan that your team will love.

It’s not rocket science, as they say, to create a project management plan, though you can bet the bank that rocket scientists are planning ahead before lighting the fuse on their rockets. Even NASA uses project planning software. In fact they use ours, so here’s a simple process to gather all the data you need and how to organize it to start off your project right.

Identify & Meet with Stakeholders

It's important to remember that stakeholders aren't only the people who hired you to manage the project; a stakeholder is anyone who's affected by the results of your project. That includes your customers and end users, too. Make sure you identify all stakeholders and keep their interests in mind when you create your project plan.

Meet with the project sponsors and key stakeholders to discuss their needs and expectations, and establish baselines for project scope, budget, and timeline. Then create a Scope Statement document to finalize and record the details of the project scope, get everyone on the same page, and reduce the chances of costly miscommunications. Here's a Scope Statement Template to get you started.

Understand the scope & value of your project

At its core, a project plan defines your approach and the process your team will use to manage the project according to scope. Every project needs a plan; not only does it go a long way toward keeping teams honest in terms of scope and deadlines, a plan communicates vital information to all project stakeholders. If you approach it as something more than a dry document and communicate that aspect of it differently to everyone involved, it can and will be seen as integral to your project’s success. The fact is, a plan is more than dates. It’s the story of your project and you don’t want it to be a tall tale! Like any well written story, there are components that make it good. In fact, any solid plan should answer these questions:

    What are the major deliverables?
    How will we get to those deliverables and the deadline?
    Who is on the project team and what role will they play in those deliverables?
    When will the team meet milestones, and when will other members of the team play a role in contributing to or providing feedback on those deliverables?

If your plan answers those questions and educates your team and clients on the project logistics, you’re creating a viable, strategic game plan for your project. Feel like you’ve written a work of fiction? Use those questions as a gut check after you’ve created your plan, and keep reading. There are a few steps you can take to ensure that your project plan goes down in history for being well-written and on target.

Set & Prioritize Goals

Once you have a list of stakeholder needs, prioritize them and set specific project goals. These should outline the objectives of the project — the benefits you hope to accomplish. Write out your goals (and the stakeholder need met by each one) in your project plan so it's clearly communicated and easily shared.

Start With Research

Before you start creating a project plan, you have to stop yourself and make sure you know all of the facts. Take a deep breath, then dive into the documents and communications relevant to the project. Print the scope of work and all details that come along with it (maybe an RFP or notes from sales calls or meetings with your client team) and read them end to end. Be thorough. Understand the details and ask thoughtful questions before you commit to anything. A good project manager is well-informed and methodical in the way he or she decides to write a project plan. At a minimum, you’ll be responsible for possessing a thorough understanding of:

    The goals of the project
    Your client’s needs and expectations
    The makeup of your client team and their decision making process (i.e. How they’ll review and approve your team’s work), which might answer:
        Who is the Project Sponsor and how available is he or she?
        Who is the PM and will he or she plan on being in constant contact with you (they need to be)
        Who are the additional stakeholders your team should be aware of?


Define Deliverables

Identify the deliverables you need to produce in order to meet the project's goals. What are the specific products you're expected to complete?

Next, estimate due dates for each deliverable in your project plan. (You can actually finalize dates when you sit down to define your project schedule in the next step.)

Create the Project Schedule

Look at each deliverable and define the series of tasks that need to be completed in order to accomplish each one. For each task, determine the amount of time it will take, the resources necessary, and who will be responsible for its completion.

Next, identify any dependencies. Do certain tasks need to be completed before others can begin? Input deliverables, dependencies, and milestones into your Wrike Gantt chart, or choose from the many online templates and apps available.

Identify Issues and Complete a Risk Assessment

No project is risk-free, and you won't do yourself any favors by crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. Are there any issues that you know of upfront that will affect your project, like a key team member's upcoming vacation? What unforeseen circumstances could create hiccups? (Think cold & flu season, backordered parts, or technical issues.)

Consider the steps you could take to either prevent certain risks from happening, or limit their negative impact. Conduct a risk assessment and develop a risk management strategy to make sure you're prepared.

Present the Project Plan to Stakeholders
Explain how your plan addresses stakeholders' expectations, and present your solutions to any conflicts. But make sure your presentation isn't one-sided; it should be a discussion.

You'll need to determine roles: who needs to see which reports, and how often? Which decisions will need to be approved, and by whom?

Communicate clearly. Make sure stakeholders know exactly what's expected of them, and what actions they're responsible for. Just because it's obvious to you, doesn't mean it's obvious to them.