How to Create a Project Plan Template

A Project Plan Template

As seen in the video, the template below can be useful for planning a project.

Why & What

An introduction to the project should explain the project’s aim and goals, and background. If the goals are not possible to specify in the beginning of the project, to state a vision can be suitable for commit the team and stakeholders to the project. To get an overall picture of the work that must be done, i.e. the scope, the method of Work Breakdown Structure is a systematic way to identify major work packages.

How

To plan the project in an effective and efficient way, the work packages in the scope have to be set in time-order, and with any relations between them clarified. That is in order to develop a project process, many times called a Net plan.

Project Plan Fundamentals

In the project organisation, roles and responsibilities emerge. Besides the formal project organisation, project stakeholders and their needs and expectations have to be identified and managed.

In the project plan, the overall management approach should be stated, including different control and follow-up functions. For example, is it an agile or Stage-gate management approach, or a combination of some sort? How are milestones and gates used to control the progress of the project?

Uncertainty is a major characteristic of project management, and risks and possibilities have to be identified, assessed and handled.

Quality management is an overall concept describing how to communicate and handle information, internal the project group and to stakeholders, in a systematic way. It is also about quality assurance, i.e. routines to obtain a valid and up-to-date project plan, including follow-up and change logs.

Reflect and Discuss

• What are your feelings about the benefits of a plan?
• What do you feel about the statement ‘Nothing ever goes as planned, so why have a plan?