Plan Stage

Defining the work and identifying the resources necessary to complete the project are important.  The Planning phase is critical to a project’s success.  A well-developed and complete project plan provides clear direction and understanding of the how the work is to be done and helps ensure that the project is successfully completed on time and on cost with limited surprises and deviations from the originating charter.  The planning stage is characterized by the formation of the project team, elicitation of requirements and from this establishing the detailed deliverables (scope), timelines and cost for the rest of the project.  The planning phase builds on the information from in the Project Charter and answers the questions:  

  • What are the specific deliverables to be produced?
  • What work needs to be done to deliver these?
  • Who will perform the work?
  • When will the work be done?

This stage concludes with the approval of the project management plan by the sponsor. 

Pre-Conditions

  • Gate 2 complete
    • The project charter has been approved by the project sponsor
    • Project Scorecard completed for Gate 2
  • Resources (ITS and Non-ITS) are assigned and available to work on the PLAN stage of the project
  • If identified, financial resources are also committed and available.

Key Activities

  1. Conduct Planning Kick-off
  2. Perform Requirements Discovery 
  3. Conduct Procurement
  4. Create detailed Work Breakdown Structure (Scope)
  5. Create Project Schedule
  6. Perform Risk Assessment
  7. Develop Project Management Plan
  8. Complete Gate 3 requirements

Key Deliverables

  1. Project Schedule
  2. Requirements Specification
  3. Project Management Plan

Additional Resources

  1. Project Scope Statement
  2. Project Kick Off Meeting Materials
  3. Work Breakdown Structure
  4. Work estimation tool

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to Project Management Overview

Print Article