Project Planning- Detailed Planning
From Norfolk RCC
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The devil is in the detail!
Fundamentally a project is about doing things (tasks) but when faced with a large project the amount of things to do can seem very daunting. The key is break it down into manageable chunks. To ensure that you don't miss anything its important that this is approached in a consistent way. A simple method is to break the project down into three levels:
Breaking Projects Down
Outputs
First of all look at the outputs of your project. These are the tangible things your project will produce and should link closely with the aims and outcomes discussed in the previous section. Examples would be: an extension is built, 10 new users are recruited, 5 events are held. As these are effectively teh goals for your project they should follow the SMART principle:
- Specific - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being achieved than a general goal. For example 'improve the hall' is general but 'paint the kitchen' is specific.
- Measurable - If can't measure it how will you know when you've achieved it? In addition being able to track progress in achieving your goals can help keep you motivated. For example 'recruit 10 more user groups' is measurable.
- Attainable - Yes it would be nice to double your income in two weeks but its very unlikely to happen and either the goal becomes meaningless or you get disappointed when the deadline passes and you have failed. Identify what are the most important things to do and plan carefully the way they can be achieved.
- Realistic - Links closely with attainable but focuses on what you are willing and able to do. The reality of the world is that some things are beyond our control. Equally we all have our limits both in terms of ability but importantly in terms of motivation (think about that resolution to go for a run every morning- yes you are able to do it but are you going to do it)
- Timely - As mentioned before goals without deadlines just don't get done. You need to set a realistic date to all your goals.
Deliverables
These are the things that need to be done to achieve your outputs. For example, for a village hall extension project that's aim is to recruit new user groups the deliverables may be:
- Extension Design
- Planning Permission and building regulations
- Construction
- Promotion and marketing to recruit new users
- Booking logistics for new users
- Evaluation and feedback
This may not be exhaustive depending on your project but note that for a building project only one deliverable is actual construction. Another thing that is important to remember is that each of these elements could be done in a number of different ways so you will need to apply some of the techniques in the earlier sections to decide which will be the best approach for you. As this can be time consuming it may be advisable to delegate planning for different deliverables to specific individuals or sub groups. However if you do this it is vital that you have a structure that will allow information to be fed back so that the project as a whole is coordinated effectively (you don't want the launch party before the foundations go in do you!)
Tasks
Once you have your deliverables you need to think about the tasks that make them up. Following the example above the deliverable 'Promotion and marketing to recruit new users' you may decide is best done through a leaflet and article in the local newsletter in which case your tasks may include:
- writing the article
- sending it to the newsletter editor
- designing the leaflet
- finding printers and getting quotes
- Choosing a printer and sending them the design
- Deciding on a collecting a distribution list
- Distributing the leaflet
One technique that is very useful for identify both deliverables and tasks is brainstorming click here for tips on how to do this.
Once you have your list of deliverables and tasks each task should by given three additional values:
- A priority- is this task urgent or can it wait, is it crucial to the projector just icing on the cake
- A duration- How long will it take to do this task? When will it be done by (set a deadline)? A useful techniques for estimating the duration of tasks can be found by clicking here
- A responsible person- Who is responsible for ensuring this task is done
- Resources- What resources are required? This includes money but also time and people.
Scheduling
Now you have your task you need to put them into some sort of order and timeline. Two types of task exist parallel and sequential. Parallel tasks can be done at the same time as each other e.g. you can design the poster and write the newsletter article. Sequential tasks have to be done in a specific order e.g. you can't build the roof before the walls. To minimise the duration of your project its important to know which are which effectively so you know what you can be getting on with. For most simple projects an action plan will suffice. This is a list of all the tasks in the project with a column for priority, duration, deadline, responsible person and resources (for some tasks not all these will be necessary but it is good practice to include them to prompt you to think.
If you have a particular deadline in mind it may be worth working backwards estimating the time for each task. A useful techniques for estimating the duration of tasks can be found by clicking here.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_03.htm
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Set Milestones
Risk Analysis
Sustainability
Monitoring and Evaluation
Communications
dependent on
Sequential scheduling
Problems of estimating duration of tasks
timebound
It is virtually impossible to estimate the duration of large tasks without first breaking them down
One way technique to give yourself a reasonable estimate is to take the longest time you think it would take to do a task (worst case scenario) and the shortest time (best case scenario) and add them to three lots of what you think would be a reasonable time and then divide by five. What this effectively gives you is a weighted average
Effect
Working backward from a traget date or faward using your planningestimates
Project Planning Menu
The purpose of these articles is to guide you through the process of project planning, implementation and evaluation.
