It doesn’t matter what kind of work you do; planning and executing a new project can take a lot of time and focus. You’ll need to think and plan ahead to ensure you get through the process with a sense of accomplishment and success waiting on the other side.
A proper plan is a necessary key to success in any kind of business.
That means you’ll need to get familiar with project planning. What does the project planning process look like, and what are the stages you’ll need to learn about?
The basics aren’t too hard to wrap your head around. Read on, and we’ll walk you through what you need to know.
1. Conception and Initiation
All great plans start with a core idea. The conception and initiation phase of project planning requires turning abstract ideas into meaningful and achievable goals. You need to have as clear of an idea of what the goals and constraints of this project are so you can keep things on track as the wheels get turning.
Starting with a broad list of goals can be helpful. Not every project will help your business reach every goal, but a good project can help you hit two or three things you want to move towards.
Just as important as goals in this early stage is scope. Don’t begin on a plan for a project that feels out of the scope of your ability to achieve. It will only disappoint you later.
2. Project Planning
Once you have your foundation in place, it’s time to get to work on developing a project plan. This is where your plan starts to get intensely detailed.
A proper project plan will consist of several things: it will list out the key members of the team working on the project, delineate responsibilities, and set expectations. A timeline for the project will be crafted, and a road map to completion will be outlined.
Ways of measuring the project’s success will be decided on, and the system required to chart this performance will be put into place. Using a project plan template is recommended.
Risk mitigation is another important part of this process. Risks will be identified, and plans will be put into place to mitigate the damage these risks could bring about. Again, if you have a project plan template excel project, it will make it easy to keep track of these things.
3. Execution
Once your project management plan is in place, it’s time to start turning it into a reality. Your team will start tackling their various responsibilities, and it will be on you to monitor performance and results.
Even once your plan is underway, there’s much planning to be done. Rarely does a plan go exactly as you expect, and you might need to go back to the drawing board multiple times over the course of your execution phase.
Proper Project Planning Steps
If you’re looking to launch a new project soon, you’ll want to ensure that you are set up for success. The above project planning steps are key for any leader or business owner to understand before launching down the road of a new enterprise.
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