Planning Process Group Activities
After the project is initiated, next step is planning.
Planning process group activities help to create planning documents of the
project.
- Determine how you will go planning.
Planning process group activities define how you will
approach project plan as well. They help to create a proper project planning.
- Finalize requirements.
Project requirements including scope, quality, cost,
schedule. etc. must be finalized at the beginning of planning because the
overall project plan will be shaped based on project requirements and if these
requirements changed re-planning must be done.
- Create project scope statement.
Project scope statement define what will be done during the
project and include major deliverables and outputs of the project.
- Determine what to purchase.
During planning tools, equipment, or any other resources
that need to purchase or leased must be determined and planned.
For example, if the project is construction project, steel,
wood, tools for construction, etc. must be purchased. Some vehicles might be
required, and these vehicles might be leased instead of purchased. All these
must be planned.
- Determine team.
During planning phase, project resources that will be
working throughout the project are determined.
- Create WBS and WBS dictionary.
Work breakdown structure (WBS) actually depicts hierarchy of
project deliverables in a project.
For example, completion of login page, credit card payment
page and transaction page can constitute a payment module work package of a
website project. These kinds of a hierarchy define the WBS and WBD dictionary
is for given detailed information for item in WBS.
- Create activity list.
Activities is must be completed to finish a project are
determined during planning phase. These activities must be small as possible to
assign project team member. By this way, better management and coordination of
a project can be ensure.
- Create network diagram.
Network diagram of a project shows the interdependencies of
project activities. Which activities must finish before starting an another
activity, which activities have to finish together and, similar inter
dependencies of activities are defined in network diagram.
- Estimate resources requirements.
- Estimate time & cost.
Projects are temporary end overs they should have start and
end. Based on scope and quality requirements of a project, project schedule and
budget that is required to complete this scope and determine schedule are
estimated.
- Determine
critical path.
There are
several activities of a project and there are interdependencies of activities
as well. Some activities can be performed in parallel; some activities will
depend on other activities to finish for instance. After interdependencies and
duration of the activities are determined, critical path of a project is
determined. Critical path of a project showing the longest path in the network
diagram from the start of the project to the end. So, it is defining the total
project duration actually.
- Develop schedule.
Schedule
plan of a project shows which activity will start and when. It also includes
national holidays, annual leaves, public holiday, etc. schedule of a project
includes starts and ends dates of each project activity.
- Develop budget.
- Determine quality, standards, procedures & metrics.
- Create process improvement plan.
Especially
recurring process need to be improved throughout the project because there are
always room to doing the activity better and how to improve process
continuously should be planned.
- Determine all roles & responsibilities.
- Plan communications.
- Perform risk identification, qualitative and quantitative risk analysis, and risk response planning.
Project
risks which are visible in the planning phase must be listed. These risks must
be addressed with risk response strategies to reduce the impact of these risks
when they occur.
- Prepare procurement documents.
If there
will be tools, equipment, materials, or resources that will be purchase from
external organization how purchase these from venders or supplier must be
documented.
For
example, how you select a supplier, what will be a condition to make a payment
for one of suppliers, etc.
- Finalize ‘’ how to execute & control ‘’ parts of all management plans.
At the end of
the planning execution, control & monitoring approach of a project must be
concrete, and these plans must be implemented to reach the project goals at the
end.
- Develop final PM plan and performance measurement baseline that are realistic.
Final
project plan must be completed by the end of the planning phase. This plan
should include measurable objectives and tenable cost and schedule target.
- Gain formal approval of the plan.
This is
crucial. Once the project planning is completed, this plan must be approved by
all project stakeholders. Project manager must be sure that is everybody is on
the same page about project objectives and targets by the end of planning
phase. If there are disagreed parties these need to be clarified and revisions
must be done. Otherwise, any party who is not believe in the created project
plan or does not support the project plan that is very high risk to the success
of the project.
- Hold kick-off meeting.
Kick-off
meeting is organizing by the project manager and critical stakeholders are
invited to kick-off meeting. Project plan is over viewed, project objectives
& target and outcomes are summaries to project stakeholders.