project planning

project planning and the hierarchy of plans.
At the start of a project it is usually very difficult to undertake project planing in detail, and therefore to estimate accurately all of the activities and resources that will be required. However, to justify the underlying business case it is necessary to produce overall estimates in terms of duration and cost. For most projects, four levels of plan should be sufficient to address the needs of the different levels of management involved. In order to be effective, every plan should be formally documented in a clear and recognizable format. This course recommends contents standards, which can be adopted by those organizations that do not apply their own internal standards. The project plan is designed to provide an overview of the project, enabling the project owner and the project manager to assess its continuing viability. The project plan should highlight the sub-projects, and within each sub-project, the major activities, resources and costs. This plan should be prepared by the project manager, with assistance as necessary. It forms the basis on which approval to proceed is granted and therefore a copy of the original should be stored.

The sub-project plan is designed to provide a detailed view of each sub-project, enabling each sub-project manager to apply control on a day-to-day basis. The sub-project plans highlight the end-products, activities and resource requirements at a more detailed level than the project plan. These plans should be prepared by the sub-project manager prior to the start of their sub-project, with assistance as necessary. Detailed plans are designed to provide greater detail about a specific activity than that shown in the sub-project plan, from which they are normally derived. They should be prepared as and when required, although it is normal to consider them at the same time as the sub-project plan is produced. Detailed plans are normally produced by the sub-project manager or a designated task leader. Individual work plans are used to define the tasks and responsibilities of a specific team member. They normally cover a short period, for example, a series of activities spanning one or two weeks or the development of a single product. They are normally created by task leaders, with reference to the appropriate sub-project manager.

Resource & Technical Plans.
With the exception of the individual work plan, it is advisable that the plans all follow a similar format; each having two major components: The technical plan schedules the required activities in relation to the production of the required products. This is usually shown as a bar chart detailing activities against time. The resource plan details the amount and cost of each resource type needed to carry out the technical plan. This is usually shown as a table of the major products required against the resources needed for their production. The project technical plan should show a breakdown of the major products to be delivered by the project and the activities required for their delivery. The project resource plan shows the breakdown of the major resource types the project will utilize and summarizes both the amount and cost of each.

The sub-project technical plan should show a detailed breakdown of the products and activities specific to the sub-project, showing target dates at this more detailed activity level. The sub-project resource plan highlights the financial and resource information specific to the sub-project, normally reflecting monthly or four-weekly periods. The detailed technical plan shows a detailed breakdown for a specific activity, whilst the detailed resource plan shows the resources required for that activity. Remedial plans are designed to address situations where costs or timescales have, or are anticipated to, exceed the tolerance limits. These plans have the same format as the sub-project plans, which they are designed to replace.

Blind Project Planning?
Projects often operate in poorly defined areas and therefore require an evolutionary approach to the planning process. This involves defining areas in more detail as and when the necessary information becomes available. The production of a complete set of plans relating to a project can rarely be completed ahead of the formal start of the project. The majority of projects do not exhibit the prerequisites for clear and accurate pre-planning. However, projects do require the production of high level plans - to define their overall size, cost and duration. These are necessary to seek the formal approval required for their initiation. This raises the question 'How can projects be quantified and approved ahead of a detailed understanding of the resource and cost implications?' This question has no simple answer. However, the planning process should call upon both planning and domain experts in defining the overall size and cost of the project. It should be recognized that best estimates will often have to be used in the early stages of planning, but that areas of uncertainty should not be 'glossed over'. Rather they should be highlighted, so that contingencies can be factored in and so that planning of these areas can be refined at a later date.

Attention to Resources.
In addition to representing the expected development of the project, the plans should also provide a basis for recording actual achievement. The preparation of the project plans should involve: The identification of the resources required, including those needed for quality reviews and the updating of this information on the resource plan. This plan should also be updated to show the cost of any bought-in products and include a calculation of the total costs for each planning period. The tolerance, normally expressed as a percentage, should be recorded on the resource plan. The tolerance, expressed in time units, should be recorded on the technical plan. The planned timings for all control points should also b entered on the technical plan, including the details of quality review meetings and the planned finish date for each activity. It should be noted that the project plan is not to be redrawn to reflect subsequent delays or early finishes.

TOP <PREVIOUS NEXT>