Project planning in Project Management

Project planning is the second phase of the project management lifecycle. It is a procedural step where the required documentation is created to ensure successful project completion. Planning is also the most critical stage in any project. It guides stakeholders, sponsors & project managers on how to go about the other project phases. It helps identify the goals, avoid missing deadlines, prioritizing essential tasks, reduce risks & deliver the desired results.

Generally speaking, project planning is about juggling around the triple constraints of Scope, Time & Cost to develop a plan that defines a “feasible & preferable path” to success. The project plan is created upon approval of the Project Charter which states the initial requirements for the project to meet the expectations of stakeholders. Project managers need a well thought out project plan to guide their team, execute the project on time & stay within the budget. A well-written project plan gives guidance for obtaining resources, acquiring financing & procuring required materials. The project plan gives the team direction for producing quality outputs, handling risk, creating acceptance, communicating benefits to stakeholders & managing suppliers.

The project plan is a living document that can be expected to change over the life of the project. The project plan prepares teams for the obstacles they might encounter over the course of the project & helps them understand the cost, scope & timeframe of the project. The project manager sets the course for the project & may encounter road construction or new routes to the final destination. As such, the project manager may need to correct the project course as well.

Elements of a project plan include:

•  Scope management. This specifies all the requirements of the project in order to come up with a work break-down structure (WBS), which spells out the division of the project into specific task & sub-tasks.
• Requirements management. This identifies all the requirements for the project beforehand which helps to source for possible suppliers early. This helps prevent or minimise the loss of time later on in trying to source for suppliers.
• Resource management. This lists all available resources which helps to maximize the use of all available resources especially human & budgetary resources.
• Schedule management. This lists a timeline of the activities of the project and details an implementation sequence for them.
• Baseline management. This is a clearly defined starting point for the project plan. It is a fixed reference point to measure & compare the project’s progress against. A project baseline should be documented & controlled. It should not be changed without following formal change control procedures, such as using a change request form & following a documented change approval process. If a significant change occurs, a project may be re-baselined. There are 3 main reasons for changes that can affect the schedule baseline:

- More detailed planning requires adjustments of the previously scheduled activities,

- The planned schedule becomes obsolete due to materializing risks or opportunities,

- Changes to other project requirements & constraints.

• Financial management. This is the project costs estimates, complete with a well-defined schedule with all steps to be taken on the project with clear deadlines and milestones.
• Quality management. This sets the standards, acceptance criteria & metrics that will be used throughout the project. The plan becomes the foundation for all the quality reviews & inspections performed during the project & is used throughout project execution. Project quality consists of ensuring that the end product not only meets the customer specifications but is one that the sponsor & key business experts actually want to use. The emphasis on project quality is on preventing errors, rather than inspecting the product at the end of the project & then eliminating errors. Quality is a management responsibility and needs to be performed throughout the project.
• Stakeholder management. This involves the identification of stakeholders, analysing their expectations & influences, developing appropriate strategies to work with these stakeholders & executing the process. Frequent communication is required with the stakeholders. Needs & expectations of the stakeholders to be understood. Managing conflicting interest & involving stakeholders in key project decisions & activities are also crucial.
• Communications management. This involves coming up with a communication protocol between the parties involved in the project. This document states such things as: Who on the project wants which reports, how often, in what forma & using what media. It also details how issues will be escalated & when, as well as where project information will be stored and who can access it. For complex projects, a formal communications matrix is a tool that can help determine some of the above criteria. It helps document the project team’s agreed-on method for communicating various aspects of the project, such as routine status, problem resolution, decisions, etc. Once the project plan is complete, it is important not just to communicate the importance of the project plan to the sponsor, but also to communicate its contents once it is created.
• Change management. This process is the mechanism used to initiate, record, assess, approve & resolve project changes. Project changes are needed when it is deemed necessary to change the scope, time or cost of one or more previously approved project deliverables. Most changes will affect the budget &/or schedule of the project.
• Risk management. This involves listing all risks that can possibly be encountered during project implementation & the options available to counter them. A risk is an event that may or may not happen but could have a significant effect on the outcome of a project, if it were to occur. Analysing risks includes making a determination of both the probability that a specific event may occur & if it does, assessing its impact. The quantification of both the probability & impact will lead to determining which are the highest risks that need attention. Risk management includes not just assessing the risk but developing risk management plans to understand & communicate how the team will respond to the high-risk events.

In conclusion, the project planning phase is a roadmap for project managers - from pre-planning & meeting with stakeholders, to research, drafting, scheduling & receiving final approval. All of these steps & subtasks help contribute to a successful project that aligns with the sponsor’s vision & overall objectives.

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Endro Sunarso is an expert in Security Management, Physical Security & Counter Terrorism. He is regularly consulted on matters pertaining to transportation security, off-shore security, critical infrastructure protection, security & threat assessments, & blast mitigation.

Besides being a Certified Protection Professional (CPP®), a Certified Identity & Access Manager (CIAM®), a Project Management Professional (PMP®) & a Certified Scrum Master (CSM®), Endro is also a Fellow of the Security Institute (FSyl) & the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (F.ISRM).

Endro has spent about 2 decades in Corporate Security (executive protection, crisis management, critical infrastructure protection, governance, business continuity, loss mitigation, due diligence, counter corporate espionage, etc). He also has more than a decade of experience in Security & Blast Consultancy work, initially in the Gulf Region & later in South East Asia.