Topic 1 What is the Planning Phase?
The planning phase is an essential part of the project life cycle as it creates a roadmap that will be followed by the project management team. The planning phase outlines the details and defines the goals of the project to meet the requirements defined by the organisation.
During the planning phase, the project managers will need to:
- Create a project plan
- Develop a resource plan
- Define goals and performance measures
- Anticipate risks, costs and deadlines
The planning phase includes the following tasks:
Set a common goal for everyone. Lay out what needs to get done and by when.
Who does what? Create a list detailing this and include contact info for easy communication
Have a plan in place but finalize details with the team at the kick-off meeting.
How will the project be measured? What will make it successful? Set expectations early.
Prepare the team for potential roadblocks and have a process in place so that these potential problems can be taken out quickly.
How will you update each other? Establish a consistent process (daily, weekly, monthly meetings) and determine the means of communication and the specific technology for it.
Establish the best practices your team will follow.
Ensure everyone has the proper tools and knows how to use them.
The entire team and stakeholders must be there, even if this will happen via video conference or phone call.
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A significant tool for contacting the planning phase is the Logical Framework Approach (LFA), a method used for the design of a project and the support of the project planning. The LFA is developed on a table with rows and columns covering each basic aspect of the project and demonstrating the logical relationship between the components of the table.
The LFA covers the following types of items:
- Project objectives (ultimate purpose/goals and tangible outputs)
- Activities needed to achieve these objectives
- Resources required to implement the activities
- Assumptions on the external and internal factors (risks, challenges, and opportunities), which may impact the project
- Metrics that will be used to verify that the project’s objectives have been achieved
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