Project planning is a crucial aspect of project management. The amount, timing, and frequency of planning vary depending on several factors. Some of the key variables that influence project planning include the development approach, project deliverables, organizational requirements, market conditions, and legal or regulatory restrictions.
The development approach can significantly impact how, how much, and when planning is carried out. In some cases, there may be a specific phase for planning or organizing at the beginning of the project life cycle. In other cases, the project team may conduct high-level planning upfront, followed by a design phase. Some projects may adopt adaptive approaches where the team conducts iterations, with some planning performed at the start of each iteration.
The project deliverables also play a crucial role in determining the way planning is conducted. For example, construction projects require substantial up-front planning, while product development or high-technology projects may rely on continuous and adaptive planning. Organizational requirements such as governance, policies, procedures, processes, and culture may also require project managers to produce specific planning artifacts. In highly competitive markets, the emphasis may be on speed to market, resulting in a minimum amount of up-front planning. Legal or regulatory restrictions may also require specific planning documents before granting authorization or approval to release the project deliverable.
Planning begins with an understanding of the business case, stakeholder requirements, and project and product scope. Project scope refers to the work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with specified features and functions. Product scope is the features and functions that characterize a product, service, or result. Predictive planning approaches focus on high-level project deliverables up front, decomposing them into more detail, while projects that use iterative or incremental approaches may have high-level themes or epics that are further decomposed into features and user stories.
The concept of last responsible moment is also an essential aspect of project planning. This approach allows the project team to defer a decision until the cost of further delay exceeds the benefit, reducing waste by not expending time on developing plans for work that may change or not be needed.
Project planning is a crucial aspect of project management, and the way it is conducted varies depending on several variables such as the development approach, project deliverables, organizational requirements, market conditions, and legal or regulatory restrictions. Effective planning helps project teams understand the business case, stakeholder requirements, and project and product scope. It reduces waste by not expending time on work that may change or not be needed.
Key concepts:
- Project planning is a process of defining and organizing the project activities and resources required to meet the project's goals.
- A Development approach is the method used to guide the development of a project, which can influence the amount, timing, and frequency of planning.
- The Phased approach is a specific phase for planning or organizing early in the project life cycle, where much of the planning is performed up front and progressively elaborated with more detail.
- Adaptive approach An approach where the project team conducts iterations and some planning occurs up front to establish release plans, followed by further planning at the beginning of each iteration.
- Project deliverables are specific outputs of the project that are required to meet stakeholder requirements and business goals.
- Organizational requirements are the governance, policies, procedures, processes, and culture of an organization that may require specific planning artifacts from project managers.
- Market conditions are the competitive environment of the market, which can influence the amount of up-front planning required for a project.
- Legal or regulatory restrictions are the restrictions imposed by regulatory agencies or statutes that may require specific planning documents for project authorization and approval.
- A Business case is the justification for a project, which outlines the benefits, costs, and risks associated with a project.
- Stakeholder requirements are the needs and expectations of stakeholders, who are invested in the project and have an interest in its outcome.
- Product scope is the features and functions that characterize a product, service, or result.
- Project scope is the work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.
- Predictive planning is a planning approach that starts with high-level project deliverables and decomposes them into more detail, using a scope statement and/or a work breakdown structure (WBS).
- Iterative or incremental planning is a planning approach that uses high-level themes or epics, decomposed into features, and further decomposed into user stories and other backlog items.
- Last responsible moment is a project planning approach that defers a decision until the cost of further delay would exceed the benefit, reducing waste by not expending time on plans for work that may change or may not be needed.