Project management 101: How to create an effective plan

Base photo credit: Kelly Sikkema

I don’t really need a project management plan if I’ve already discussed all the details with my client. Right?

Wrong.

A well-built project management plan outlines all the details you need for the development of your project. It acts like a map, making sure that you don’t miss anything that could derail your project or cancel it altogether.

Yet, not all teams create plans for their more complex projects. The results can be chaotic.

To help you understand why having such a plan is vital, I’ll show you exactly how you should create one.

What is a project management plan?

According to the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) lexicon, a project management plan is defined as follows: “The document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled, and closed.”

It shows you exactly where you are, where you need to go, and the alternative paths you have in case something goes wrong.

Usually, the project manager creates the plan only after gathering feedback from the team, clients, and other stakeholders.

The project management plan’s purpose

Having a plan before you start working on the actual tasks helps you organize your team’s activities, save time you’d otherwise spend on fixing misunderstandings, and reduce the costs you’d waste on useless resources.

In fact, the purpose of this plan is to ensure that you have everything in order from the start.

There are several different benefits and usage situations for a project management plan:

1. Defines the project’s value proposition: The plan tells stakeholders why you’re carrying out a project, what its purpose is, what problem it solves, and why they should sponsor it. Having clear goals in mind eases the process of picking the right techniques, resources, tasks, and team members.
2. Develops upon what goes into the project: The plan should go into great detail on all tasks that the team needs to carry out and any other task that might be needed whenever a change or risk event occurs. It also shows stakeholders what the final deliverables and their quality standards are.
3. Shows who’s responsible for each activity: The document also tells team members who’s in charge of which task, what their responsibilities are, what resources they can use for a specific task, their time limits, and how they should conduct each task. This is why your team’s input is mandatory when building the plan.
4. Sets your deadlines: It can show you exactly how much time a team member has to complete a task, what the project’s milestones are, and when you should deliver the final product or service.
5. Guides your budget: Having clear budget estimations from the beginning can help you avoid unanticipated costs.

The elements of a project management plan

Any project management plan must contain all the essential elements and secondary plans that go into the project management process. To see the exact steps, you can check out our template here.

Steps to build your first project management plan

Key takeaways