Planning Process

I. OVERVIEW

Planning is of major importance to a project because the project involves doing something that has not
been done before. As a result, there are relatively more processes in this section. The project plan
includes details about how the project work will be carried out, how it will be monitored and controlled,
how communication will be facilitated and information about costs and timescales.

II. LEARNING OUTCOMES

After successful completion of this module the students should be able to:

1. Enumerate the critical elements in a project plan.

2. Define core planning processes.
3. Define facilitating planning processes.

III. COURSE MATERIALS

What is project plan?

 Project plan is an “approved document to manage executions” (PMBOK)
 Can and will change over time as the environment, output scope, inputs, resources change
 A good project plan will help the project manager and the project organization respond to
changes with least delivery (time, cost) risk.

Critical Planning Elements:

1. Time: - Time is always short. “Time needed” tends to expand towards “time available”. Hence need
to keep buffers low.
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 Project timeline - show the delivery dates if phases and sub-phases of the project.
 Flow and timing/completion of prerequisite activities will deternine the critical path in terms of
time.
 Critical path is the sequence of project tasks which add up to the longest overall duration.
 Buffer or additional time to cover unexpected external events (such as resources getting sick,
typhoons, floods, etc.)

3. Resources:
 Resource is always scarce. Mostly people.
 Project plan help visualize realistic assignment of scarce resources across multiple activities
(and projects) .
 Resource plans surface potential contention for resources up front than to face the later
problem of unrealistic deadlines due to lack of resources.

In estimating resources, determine the following:

* What resources is needed
* Quantity of each resources
 * When it is available

3. Cost: - Money is always not enough (generally). But between time and resources (people, money is
often easier to get.
 In global projects, resource costs account for the bulk of project budget.
 Project cost management includes the processes involved in planning, estimating,
budgetting and controlling costs.

What are the core planning processes that must be done for all projects?

 Scope: The practice of Project scope planning is a key management practice for planning and
delivering projects successfully Includes high level features or capabilities that the business
team has committed to delivering to a customer as well as those they have not committed to
delivering.
 Activity Plan: Includes all the activities required to select a systems analysis team, assign
members of the team to appropriate projects, estimate the time required to complete each task,
and schedule the project so that tasks are completed in a timely fashion
 Resource: To ascertain the required resources to achieve the defined activities to complete the
project work. Resources include people, equipment, and materials. Its aim is to maximize
resource efficiency as well as to give an overview of resource availability and capacity.
Resources can be anything your company utilizes to get tasks done. They range from humans
to machines, and meeting rooms to computer software.
 Cost: It's generally the case that cost is one of the major factors in determining the success of a
project – and no one wants to be responsible for a cost overrun. With that in mind, how do you
make sure that you keep "on budget" with your project? The definition of project success often
includes completing the project within budget. Developing and controlling a project budget that
will accomplish the project objectives is a critical project management skill. Although clients
expect the project to be executed efficiently, cost pressures vary on projects. The cost of the
project is tracked relative to the progress of the work and the estimate for accomplishing that
work. Based on the cost estimate, the cost of the work performed is compared against the cost
budgeted for that work. If the cost is significantly higher or lower, the project team explores
reasons for the difference between expected costs and actual costs.
 Risk Management: Accurate risk management procedures can save money and time over the
length of any project. Documenting the risk management process for a project supports good
communication strategies with stakeholders and clients. Risk exists on all projects. The role of
the project management team is to understand the kinds and levels of risks on the project and
then to develop and implement plans to mitigate these risks. Risk represents the likelihood that
an event will happen during the life of the project that will negatively affect the achievement of
project goals.

Facilitating Planning Process

 Organizational planning is the continuous process of systematically making plans with the
greatest possible knowledge of the future; organizing the activities needed to carry out the
plans; and monitoring the results of the plans through feedback. It is a basic premise that
shared strategic thinking and behaving are more important than the completed, written plans
themselves. The written plan becomes the reminder of the agreements and shared strategic
thinking. There are many benefits for an organization to invest time and resources in a planning
process. Organization planning constitutes of all the activities which are utilized to set priorities,
focus energy, resources and assets, reinforce tasks, guarantee that employees and different
 stakeholders are moving in the direction of a common objective, set up agreement around
expected results, and evaluate plus modify the organization’s path with respect to the changing
environment.
 A staffing plan is a strategic planning process by which a company (typically led by the HR
team) assesses and identifies the personnel needs of the organization. In other words, a good
staffing plan helps you understand the number and types of employees your organization
needs to accomplish its goals. Additionally, a staffing plan helps your business to:
 Reduce labor costs and maximize productivity.
 Eliminate skills gaps.
 Increase employee engagement.
 Increase employee retention and reduce turnover.
 Improve customer experience.
 Streamline business growth.
Having a clear staffing plan helps prevent issues that could delay growth or hinder the quality of
your products and services that could result in unhappy customers and lost business
opportunities. Not only do staffing plans help companies effectively recruit, hire, and develop
employees, but they also help guide budgeting and financial decisions within the organization.
The staffing plan specifies what positions, jobs and/or roles will be needed by the organization,
usually over the next year, along with how they will be organized into the organization, including
who they will report to and how they will work together.

Procurement Plan

The procurement plan is a document which defines the products and services that a Public Body will
obtain from external suppliers. It also describes how items will be procured during the project and the
approach you will use to managing vendors on the project. A sound procurement plan helps a Procuring
Entity to define their procurement requirements and to decide where and when to procure.

4 Components Of a Procurement Plan:

Procurement process – this section provides a brief overview of the process requirements necessary to
manage procurement of the identified needs. This process should include:
• initiating a request
• development of the requirements (technical timing, quality, constraints)
• request approval
• purchasing authority
• bid/ proposal review
• contract management responsibility
• contract closure requirements
• procurement process flowchart

Roles and Responsibilities

Identified procurement needs – this section details the material, products or services identified for
outside procurement. Each listed item should include a justification statement explaining why this
should be an outside purchase if there is the possibility of inside sourcing (make vs. Buy decision)
Timing – this section will describe the time frame that resources are needed. This will provide a better
sense for when the procurement processes needs to be started for each item.
Change review and approval processes – describe how changes are made to procurement documents
to
ensure the changes are valid, understood and approved by the appropriate people.
Vendor processes – describe the processes that the vendor should use for time sheet
approval, invoice processing, contract renegotiation, status reporting, scope change
request, etc.

Quality Plan

A quality plan is a document, or several documents, that together specify quality

standards, practices, resources, specifications, and the sequence of activities relevant to
a particular product, service, project, or contract.
Components of Quality Plan

 goals/objectives – this should include the product specifications, use, aesthetics, cycle,
time,
 materials, and cost.

 Process steps or procedures

 distribution of responsibilities - who does, what, when?

 Standards – what are the practices and procedures that need to be applied?
 Testing requirements – when does testing take place? Who performs it? And where?
 change/modifications documentation procedure – gives you a way to track
changes to the project or processes.
 Quality process measurement – a way to measure the value of the quality document
itself.
 Other actions as needed – to meet the objectives.

Communication Plan

A communication plan is a policy-driven approach to providing stakeholders with

information. The plan formally defines who should be given specific information, when
that information should be delivered and what communication channels will be used to
deliver the information.

An effective communications management plan anticipates what information will need to

be communicated to specific audience segments. The plan should also address who has the
authority to communicate confidential or sensitive information and how information should be
disseminated.

Components Communication Plan

• event – what expected or unexpected events warrant the need to communicate?
• message – what information needs to be communicated?
• communicator – who is responsible for preparing, delivering, verifying receipt
of and ensuring the comprehension of the information?
• Audience – who needs the information?
• Timing – when should the communication occur?
• tools & format – how will the information be communicated?
• Follow-through – how will receipt and comprehension of information be verified?
• Maintenance – how will the communication plan and tools be updated?
• Accountability – who is ultimately responsible for implementing the communication plan?