As a Project Manager, you create a plan that serves as a basis for implementation. This not only provides structure, but also makes it possible to monitor project progress and always provides information about where you stand. In this blog, we give you 6 steps to make your project planning a success.
What is project planning?
Project planning is clearly closely linked to projects themselves. But: What does the term actually mean? Loud Gabler Business Encyclopedia “Project” is defined as follows:
“Temporary, relatively innovative and risky task of considerable complexity, which usually requires separate project management due to its difficulty and importance.”
What does that mean exactly? Project planning aims to create the basis for the implementation of a project. This includes planning the time schedule, the scope of tasks, the budget and resources, and the definition of goals.
How does successful project planning work in practice?
“Create a project plan” can create very different expectations in practice. Project planning is defined as a generic term for all activities that are to take place before implementation — the term is therefore very broad here. With its design in this way, all activities of the start or definition phase must be carried out in addition to the actual planning. Die 7 W Questions from Classic Project Management Offer you very good help with this:
Will the project cost?
If you narrow down the term, it often means “just” the preparation of a schedule in combination with the tasks to be carried out. You can therefore either carry out project planning in a very detailed or rudimentary way. Regardless of which option you choose: For each project, ask what exactly the goal should be.
6 steps of project planning
In practice, you can basically divide project planning into 6 steps, which can significantly contribute to project success:
Phase planning:Define phases & milestonesProject structure planning:Defining subprojectsProject schedule:Set orderScheduling:Evaluate project durationResource planning:Assigning personnelProject controlling:Evaluate project costs
Step 1: Phase planning
Defining the individual project phases is often an intuitive step for everyone involved: When do they deal with what and in which order? To ensure an optimal overview, you could, for example, create a graphical phase plan that consists of two main parts:
1. Project phases: These represent time-limited periods in your project process in which specific activities are to be carried out and results achieved.
2nd milestones: These are particularly important measurement and test points in your project where certain results or conditions should be achieved.
The first planning phase is therefore project organization. This is where you make preparations and make initial arrangements for the implementation of the project — the rough planning, so to speak. After completing this phase, present the details to all project participants in a project plan structure.
Step 2: Project structure planning
In the second section of project planning, you will deal with the project content: Which tasks should be completed? And what is the best way to coordinate an extensive project? Break down the project into its individual components to better manage the tasks. You can achieve this with the help of a project structure plan (PSP). The content of the project is subdivided and presented hierarchically in a tree structure. The project structure plan consists of 3 main elements:
1. Overall project: At the top is the project as an overarching element. To always keep an eye on progress, you can add various statuses: in planning, in processing, in review, completed.
2nd subprojects: In the middle are sub-projects, which — depending on the project scope — are managed by Project Managers. Here you define when a task is started. Keep an eye on other sub-projects as well so that the time budget is not exceeded.
3. Work packages: At the bottom are delimited tasks that are carried out by project staff. Always ask yourself how extensive the individual tasks are and, if necessary, define a plan effort to compare how effective your planning is.
Without a clearly defined project structure plan, the organization of your projects quickly becomes unclear and the process is jeopardized. With a PSP, you can structure projects — no matter how big or small — into a comprehensible and detailed structure, making it easier to achieve your goal.
Step 3: Project Schedule
In the next phase of project planning, the project schedule comes into play. While you have focused on collecting and structuring all content and tasks in the project structure plan, you aim to map all the resulting processes — the phase plan for your project management, so to speak. The focus here is on the defined sequence of the individual activities. Because: In this way, you can map which processes depend on each other, which tasks you can work on in parallel and how relationships between the tasks can be worked out.
The project schedule ensures that all relationships between the defined work packages are clear. This not only promotes targeted processing, but also ensures that no tasks are overlooked. Die So-called RACI matrix Can you with this Process optimization Support, as you can determine exactly which project participants are responsible for what.
Definition RACI matrix
Responsible: Which person is responsible for the implementation of the task? You usually define an individual here. This in turn can involve other people in the process of a project or task.
Accountable: Who makes the decisions about whether the task was carried out correctly? The “accountable” person delegates tasks to the “responsible” person and reviews the results of the implementation.
Consulted: Who wants to be contacted for implementation? This often concerns experts or third parties who are not directly involved in the implementation but, for example, provide advice.
Informed: Which person is notified of the results of the task? As a rule, there is no mutual communication here, but only information is transmitted.
Step 4: Schedule
Timing or scheduling is closely linked to the project schedule and starts exactly where it ends in project planning. These steps are also easy to combine. In both cases, however, the aim is to map all project processes, including their sequence.
When you are planning a project, you also assign specific deadlines for the individual tasks to be carried out. A popular method of graphical presentation is So-called Gantt chart. This combines the presentation of the individual sub-projects and their task packages with the relationships and distribution of time on a timeline. As a project manager, you can see at a glance when and for how long a task should be worked on.
Step 5: Resource planning
A time frame is important, but who will complete each task? A precise resource planning Answers the following questions for you during project planning:
➡️ What resources do you need?
➡️ What qualifications do project participants need to have?
➡️ Do you need material resources?
➡️ How many resources are required?
➡️ At what point in the project do you need these resources?
Always keep an eye on the workload of all project participants to avoid overloads. Thorough and predictive capacity planning is particularly important because resources are only available to a limited extent and may also be needed elsewhere in the company.
Step 6: Project Controlling
Have you carried out the entire project planning in accordance with the steps described? Budget planning and project controlling are then no longer a big problem. Because: After resource planning, you know the cost that a resource causes per unit of time. If you're working with a tool like ZEP, you can use the Prices & receipts module Define individual cost rates for each individual personnel. Budget planning is then done almost by itself. ZEP not only makes budget planning easier for you at this stage, but also during the rough planning of your project. Project controlling thus becomes a constant authority for your project management and project control from project planning to completion.
With software like ZEP, you can't only improve your team's performance thanks to precise Project time recording Keep an eye on, but also ensure that all goals remain within the planned time and budget.
How does project planning software improve your project management? An overview of all the benefits of ZEP!
Project planning software is a crucial tool for efficient project and Multi-project management. It enables teams to systematically plan, organize and execute their projects. One of the most powerful solutions on the market is ZEP, a software that offers numerous advantages for managing projects more successfully. The following are the key benefits of ZEP:
✅ Time and cost recordingAccurate recording of working hours and project costs✅ Detailed reportsComprehensive reporting tools for transparent project monitoring✅ Efficient resource planningOptimal Allocation and Management of Resources✅ Real time overviewConstant availability of current project data✅ Team collaborationImproved collaboration through a common database and communication tools✅ Easy to useClear user interface for quick familiarization✅ ScalabilityFlexibly adaptable to the size and complexity of the project✅ Data securityHigh level of data protection through advanced security measures✅ Cloud-based solutionAccessible from anywhere, anytime✅ IntegrationSeamless integration into existing systems and tools thanks to diverse interfaces
Conclusion
With its six steps, project planning is at the center of Project Management. With precise planning and a suitable tool such as ZEP, you create the basis for your Project success. From planning individual activities to resource planning, ZEP allows you to digitally cover the entire course of the project. This allows you to react to unexpected adjustments at any time without overburdening your team.
Through the Using ZEP You have the opportunity to carry out your project planning precisely, analyze all progress and track processes. Streamline your workflows to be more productive. So that your projects are a complete success!
