Chapter 20
IN THIS CHAPTER
Clarifying your project’s purpose
Defining the outcomes, schedules, and resources your project requires
Dealing with the uncertainties
When you begin a project, you always feel the pressure to jump in and start working immediately to meet the aggressive time schedules. Although you’re not exactly sure where to start, you know you have the greatest chance of success if you plan out your project before you begin the actual work. Answer the ten questions in this chapter to make sure you’ve completely identified all the work your project will require.
See Chapters 4 and 5 for more details about clarifying a project’s purpose.
Knowing early whom you need to involve allows you to plan for their participation at the appropriate stages in your project. Involving these people in a timely manner ensures that their input will be available when it’s needed and lets them know you value and respect their contributions.
As you determine who may play a role in your project’s success, categorize them as follows:
After you have this comprehensive list, decide whom you need to involve, and when and how you want to involve them. See Chapters 4, 11, and 12 for more information on identifying project stakeholders.
Specify all the results/deliverables you expect your project to achieve. Clearly describe each product, service, or impact and include measurable outcomes and performance targets. Confirm that your project’s drivers believe these outcomes meet their needs and expectations. See Chapter 4 for more about project drivers and Chapter 5 for more details on framing your project objectives.
Identify all information, processes, and guidelines that may restrict your project activities and your performance. When you know your constraints, you can plan to minimize their effects on your project. Distinguish between the following:
Chapter 5 has more about project constraints and ways to overcome them.
Identify all the activities required to produce your project’s deliverables so that you can assess their complexity, develop schedules, estimate resource needs, give specific tasks to team members, and monitor your project’s performance. For each activity, specify the following:
See Chapter 6 for information on describing project work.
Develop a detailed schedule with clearly defined activities and frequent intermediate milestones. Having this information on hand allows you to give team members precise guidance on when to perform their assignments. This information also supports your ongoing monitoring and control of work in progress. Take the following into account when you create your schedule:
See Chapter 7 for more on how to develop your project schedule.
Consult with the people who’ll perform the project tasks to develop this information. See Chapter 8 for help with estimating personnel requirements.
Identify all equipment, facilities, services, supplies, and funds that you need to perform your project work. Specify how much of each resource you need and when. See Chapter 9 for more on how to identify non-personnel resources.
Identify those parts of your project that may not go according to plan. Decide which risks pose the greatest dangers to your project’s success and develop plans to minimize their negative effects. See Chapter 10 for information on how to address project risks.