Here’s the thing about project plans—they won’t necessarily stop things from going awry. Even the most well-documented project plan can fall flat. All it takes is a bad stroke of luck or an unforeseen crisis and you’re blown off course. By having a project plan in place, you’ll be able to recognize and respond to unplanned changes before they get out of hand. Not only that, but a well-written project plan sets project expectations. That way you, your customers, your team, and any other key stakeholders are on the same page— literally.
There are no hard-and-fast rules for a project plan. It can be as simple or as complex as suits you. Some organizations just create a simple project plan on a whiteboard or briefly cover what’s what on 1–2 pages. Others go into every detail about how the project will be executed.
To write an effective project report you have to follow these simple steps:
Explain the project to key stakeholders:
The first step in any project is to define the“what” and“why”. Key stakeholders have the influence and authority to determine whether a project is successful, and their objectives must be satisfied. Even if the project comes from the CEO himself, you still need their buy-in. You should also prepare some suitable questions that may be possibly asked by the stakeholders to you. So you can easily give answers to all there possible questions.
Create a project scope document:
Now that you have the project outlined, your tasks aligned with goals, and buy-in from the team, it’s time to create a project scope document detailing the project elements you’ve listed in step 2. Look at each deliverable and define the series of tasks that must be completed to accomplish each one. For each task, determine the amount of time it’ll take, the resources necessary, and who will be responsible for execution. Finalize and record the project details so that everyone has a single source of truth. Make the document easily shareable, like in your project management tool, in order to reduce the chance of costly miscommunication.
Craft a detailed project schedule:
With your goals, tasks, and milestones already outlined for you, it’s time to start plugging your project into a schedule. A Gantt chart is a handy tool that helps you easily visualize your project timeline. It’s an interactive timeline that gives you a complete view of the project’s progress, work scope, and dependencies.
Pro tip:Want in on a little secret? As you set them up, add cushions to key tasks, so you have wiggle room for fire drills or unexpected bottlenecks— for example if a client needs extra time to review or a team member calls in sick. In a perfect world, some tasks might take a day. So maybe you make it two in your plan. No need to give every task a cushion though. Weigh the risks and add it where it makes the most sense. Future you will thank you.
Define the roles, responsibilities, and resources:
Resources are the people, equipment, or money needed to complete a project. Once you’ve selected your tools and gotten a budget, don’t forget about your people. Even folks who already know how to write a project work plan and have done so a hundred times can underestimate their labour needs.
By implementing all the above point you can easily make a project and work upon it and you will be prepared for all the questions asked by your seniors and be successful in plotting the idea of your project on others mind. If you are still having some trouble so you can hop on to Genius Writers and get help by our professional about writing a project plan or you can give your ideas to our professionals and we will write a mind blowing project plan for you with proper guidance.