A project plan is a process in which someone or a team is asked to plan the execution of a project. It includes talking about the scope, aims, targets, achievements, objectives, and strategies needed to complete the project as per the expectations. Also, it includes the duties of individuals, their responsibilities, the amount of workforce they need to finish their assigned segment, and the time or duration which is needed to complete the project. The key purpose of planning a project is to create a picture of the project in front of executives and clients so that they imagine what it would look like after completion and what kind of resources it may need.
Free Project Plan Template:
The most important document prepared during the project management process is Project Plan. Here is our Project Plan Template that will help any project manager quickly create a professional and elegant project plan no matter what project he/she has been assigned. Here is a quick preview of this template.
The download button for this Project Plan Template is here.
Key Elements of your first Project Plan:
- Nature of the project and its scope: A typical project planning includes a lot of information, facts, and figures and this information and other stuff is mainly affected by the nature of the project and its scope in the future. So it would be better if you start the presentation by explaining the personality of the project and its capacity and extent in the future.
- Stakeholders: A single person or an employee can’t handle the entire project and it’s an essential element of a project to involve more than one person who is called a stakeholder. Some of them will support the project by financing it and others will perform management and administration tasks. If you want to start or plan a project, it’s necessary to nominate all the stakeholders and ask if they all agree to the terms and strategies. Once you have selected all the stakeholders, now it’s time to get them together and present the project and let’s see what they think.
- Resources: There is nothing you can do or execute a project with finances. That’s why it’s necessary to allocate the budget and financial resources to the project. This way when you set a definite budget limit for the entire project or some segments of it, it’s easy for the entire team to stay within the budget. Resources also include staff members and equipment that are necessary to complete the project.
- Risks: Along with other things and elements, it’s also essential thing to talk about the risks like what could go wrong with the project and where a fault can occur. This way you can prepare for those unusual incidents before time and it also gives you time to overcome those hurdles.
- Responsibilities and duties: You can’t think to complete a project until everyone in the team is clearly defined his duties and assigned some responsibilities. This is the job of the project manager or executive to divide the duties and tasks among all the staff which is hired to complete the project. This way when everyone has a clear knowledge about what he is supposed to do and what his supervisor expects from him, he or she can perform the duties much better.
- Timeframe: Whatever the project is about and no matter how big it is, there should be a definite timeframe to complete the project and deliver it to the client. This way every employee has exact knowledge about when he is required to complete and deliver his assigned tasks.
