Project Planning

By Prof. Anirban Dutta

Introduction
The key to a successful project is in planning Planning is the first thing you do when undertaking a project Often project planning is ignored to rush in for the work The value of project planning
saving money saving time saving many problems

Remember: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail

Essential Elements for Project Planning

Aim of project what do we want to produce? Business case Outputs what do we actually need to get there?; need to be clearly defined Resources include staff time, particular knowledge or skill sets, money, time

Essential Elements for Project Planning

Quality criteria what quality the outputs need to be of?; we need the completed output to be of certain quality and we need to define what that quality is (define using the SMART principle: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely); inputs from customer and stakeholders are critical here

Essential Elements for Project Planning

SMART Goals: Once you have planned your project, turn your attention to developing several goals that will enable you to be successful. Goals should be SMART - specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic and timebased.

Essential Elements for Project Planning

SMART Goals Specific
Well defined Clear to anyone that has a basic knowledge of the project

Measurable
Know if the goal is obtainable and how far away completion is Know when it has been achieved

Essential Elements for Project Planning

SMART Goals
Agreed Upon
Agreement with all the stakeholders what the goals should be

Realistic
Within the availability of resources, knowledge and time

Time Based
Enough time to achieve the goal Not too much time, which can affect project performance

Essential Elements for Project Planning

Management structure how are we going to manage the work?; decision makers?; how to share project progress and to whom? Milestones how to break up the project?; break up the project into discrete chunks (WBS); a defined milestone will help to identify when each section is completed

Essential Elements for Project Planning

Tolerances how far can you let the project stray from the defined targets before sounding the alarm; will help manage the project without continually seeking guidance from the top executives as to whether you should carry on

Essential Elements for Project Planning

Dependencies what need to happen before something else? Understanding dependencies will help understand the impact of changes in any part of the project; internal (within your control); external (outside of your control) Risks what could go wrong?; what could happen that may affect your ability to deliver the project on time?; what can you do to avoid them?

Essential Elements for Project Planning

Scheduling there is something you need to understand about the schedule: it will be wrong; there is no perfect schedule; get your executives to know that the schedule is not engraved on stone; they should expect changes

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Step 1 Project goals Identify the stakeholders of the project
Stakeholder is any body impacted directly or indirectly by the project

Establish their needs by interviewing or having consolidated meetings Prioritize stakeholders needs

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Create a set of goals that can be easily measured (you may use the SMART technique for this)
S specific M measurable A achievable R realistic T timely

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Step 2 Project Deliverables Create a list of things that need to be delivered to meet the defined goals Specify when and how each item must be delivered Add deliverables to the project plan with an estimated delivery date

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Step 3 Project Schedule Create a list of tasks that need to be carried out for each deliverable identified previously
Identify the amount of effort needed (hours or days) Identify resource that will do the task

Organize all the above information using a scheduling software or template

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

You may find that the project estimated deadline is not aligned with the imposed project deadline by the sponsor
Renegotiate the deadline (project delay) Employ additional resources (additional money) Reduce the scope of the project (less deliverables) Be firm and do not make commitments other than what your schedule and budget dictate

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Step 4 Supporting plans Human resource plan
Identify by name the individuals with a leading role in the project and describe roles and responsibilities Describe the number and type of people needed to carryout the project Include SMEs (subject matter experts) and specific trades of the market

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Step 4 Supporting plans Human resource plan
Create a single sheet with the above information The above will help establishing the project budget

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Step 4 Supporting plans Communications plan
Who needs to be informed about the project How will they receive the information
Weekly/monthly progress reports to include performance, status, milestones achieved, work planned for next periods, etc.

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Step 4 Supporting plans Risk Management Plan
Identify as many risks to your project as possible Be prepared if something bad happens Common project risks
Time and costs estimates too optimistic Unexpected budget cuts Scope changes Atmospheric events

Write down a mitigation plan for every risk; how to address each risk

How to Develop A Risk Management Plan

There are different types of Risk Management and different uses that include:
calculating credit-worthiness, planning for adverse events (i.e. disasters), determining how long the warranty on a product should last, calculating insurance rates, and many more.

How to Develop A Risk Management Plan

Understand how Risk Management works. Risk is the effect (positive or negative) of an event or series of events that take place in one or several locations. It is computed from the probability of the event becoming an issue and the impact it would have (Risk = Probability X Impact).

How to Develop A Risk Management Plan

Various factors should be identified in order to analyze risk, including:
Event: What could happen? Probability: How likely is it to happen? Impact: How bad will it be if it happens? Mitigation: How can you reduce the Probability (and by how much)? Contingency: How can you reduce the Impact (and by how much)? Reduction = Mitigation x Contingency Exposure = Risk Reduction

How to Develop A Risk Management Plan

After you identify the above, the result will be whats called Exposure thats the amount of risk you simply cant avoid. Exposure may also be referred to as Threat, Liability, Severity or other names but they pretty much mean the same thing. It will be used to help determine if the planned activity should take place. Often this is a simple cost vs. benefits formula. You might use these elements to determine if the risk of implementing the change is higher, or lower, than the risk of not implementing the change.

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

The Plan is a living document There will be changes along the project execution phase, therefore
Update your plan as project progresses and measure progress against the plan

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Real life experience Installation of Production equipment in a Chemical Plant Facts
Imposed dateline due to production demands Rush in to the project works without enough planning Executives did not allow for development or conceptual design

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Budget done by experience and guesstimate Design lack of details due to lack of time Bidding done based on available design

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Results Many change orders impact in budget and schedule
Schedule impact Budget impact

Missing requirements from other stakeholders

Require additional contractor resources, therefore, additional time and money

Project Planning A Step by Step Guide

Results Lessons learned
Planning can not be ignored Start executing after a robust plan is prepared Planning is critical to design

End of Session

THANK YOU