Project plan creation tools

Created during the project planning phase, this document explains various elements of a project , like the:. Remember, you need to analyze and plan each element carefully for successful project completion. And to do that, the project plan includes many other subsidiary management plans, like:. This sounds like a lot of planning! But once you have a great project plan , tackling the project becomes super easy. A project plan is a treasure map that shows you where to go, how to get there and what paths to take when something goes wrong.

Sure, treasure maps are often hard to acquire — but once you get them, the search becomes easy! You also have a project charter and a project management plan. A project charter is a short document usually 1—2 pages that gives you a high-level overview of a project.

Created early in the project life cycle , the charter defines various project data, like:. Additionally, after a project charter is approved, it remains fixed throughout the project life cycle.

Unlike the project plan , which describes what the project needs, the project management plan describes how to implement the work and manage the project. You now know what a project plan or a project management plan is.

But how do you go about developing an effective project management plan? To help you out, here are five easy steps to create a project management plan :. Gates and his team would never start a quest without brushing up on their history. While it improves their knowledge area , it also gives them clarity over how to solve the challenge! Likewise, the first step in creating a project plan is to do your research and understand the project. And if you need more information which you probably will , instead of making wild guesses, ask the right questions.

Ask yourself and your team questions like:. Quick tip : Always include your project management team in the planning process. Goals are the ones you expect, but you need success metrics that show whether your work is on track to achieve the results.

The most convenient way to do this is to setsmart goals. Smart goals make success metrics clear and measurable, making it easy to see if you've met your goals at the end of your project. For example, if your goal was to hold an annual conference for seo professionals for three consecutive days starting june 22, you could use having at least participants as an indicator of the success of that goal. Consider using a system likeraci diagrams so that you can determine who is going to work on the project, who approves the decision, who contributes to the project, and who needs to communicate information as the project progresses.

Project deliverables, on the other hand, are those that have actually been completed as achievements when a milestone is reached. In the product development example used here, the milestone was achieved when the prototype artifact was completed. Asana's free templates for project planning make it easy to organize your projects around deliverables and milestones. This gives everyone on your team clear visibility into the work within the project scope and the milestones the team is aiming for.

Same as estimating resources and duration, the project team can use multiple techniques to set task cost estimation. These techniques include parametric estimation where the team uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables to identify cost.

Also, the team can use a more simplified technique like Analogous estimation, Bottom-up estimating and three-point estimation techniques. Just like estimating resources and duration, the team can use the later technique by calculating the average or the weighted average of optimistic, pessimistic and most likely estimates. After completing each task resource and duration estimation, in addition to completing cost estimates for each task, now you can generate the final version of the project plan example.

You should review the different aspects of the project plan to inspect any potential conflict between them. In such a case, you need to review your project plan example and find a way to clear that variance. We highly recommend that you review the project plan example we provided as an attachment for your reference. The final reviewed project plan example is sent for approval and final authorization for execution. Click to download the sample project plan example. First, the project team carefully reviews the final project plan example and rectify any variances between different elements.

Then, the project manager handovers the final version of the project plan to the project sponsor for review, recommendations, and final approval. Also, they review to confirm the plan took into account different constraints, assumptions and project risks. As a result, the project plan might be returned to the project team for revision if the project sponsor sees it unrealistic.

Thus, the project team can have an approved version of the project plan example when the project sponsor authorizes the team to start executing project work. This project plan example offers major sections of the project plan that we described in this article.

Accordingly, we will go briefly through different sections of the project plan example to enrich your understanding of the sections. The mains section of the sample project plan example:. The first section of the sample project plan example covers the Executive Summary of Project Charter including project constraints and assumptions. This includes three subsections:. This section includes the output of section 4 and section 5 of this article.

The project manager will be responsible for ensuring the project schedule is updated with the latest information and never more than three business days out of date. Example: An information system that controls the level of consistency for screen layouts would normally contain full review for all available screens. Thus making sure that these screens match the originally agreed set of quality standards.

In many cases, quality measures may include a condition of no defects bugs for certain requirements the company deems critical. Generally, the project managers can ensure quality through performing inspections and audits as well as using formal testing.

Then, the project management team should document those defects in a tracking system to ensure fixing defects, retest them and eventually close them. In some projects, the project manager may use an artifact like traceability matrix as a tool for determining whether critical requirements are met or not.

Document all key details, like project name, company name, scope, goals, quality and technical specifications, and more.

Print and share the plan with key stakeholders, so everyone has a strong idea of the project and its goals. Use this project plan template to document all key project details on one page, so you can easily share with key stakeholders in a condensed, easy-to-digest format.

This project plan template is designed to enable you to easily print and share physical copies of your goals and tasks, so you can keep everyone on the same page — whether or not they have access to the electronic version. Document sprints, detail feature types, list start and end dates, and track the progress of each sprint with this Agile project plan template. Ensure that each sprint stays in line with the schedule, and improve accountability by listing the owner of each sprint.

Use this project plan template to detail all tasks and phases involved in your construction project. List the tasks on a plotted timeline to visualize which tasks precede others and which tasks you need to complete before your construction project can move forward. This template helps keep all tasks moving, so you land on time. Identify, list, and explain all key details of your project or program with this program management plan template. With full pages to document everything from project responsibilities and stakeholder analyses to risk logs and progress reports, you can fully capture all the essential details in this comprehensive template.

Download Milestone Chart Template — Word. Ensure that you document and reach all milestones so that your project goes off without a hitch. Identify the critical milestones of your project, list the owners of each milestone, and include the time in days, weeks, or months that you expect each milestone to take. Download Project Checklist Template — Word. This template includes space to list tasks, their respective due dates, and the status of each — this will keep you in the loop on how each task is progressing.

List tasks and prioritize them based on importance , track status, and mark deadlines with this comprehensive project task list template. Detail each task, note the assignee, and write a brief description of each to ensure you capture and list all key tasks included in your project. You can also document specific deliverables and the estimated and fixed costs of each.

Download Project Tracking Template — Word. Track and manage your project from start to finish with this project tracking template. The template allows you to list project tasks and their respective assignees, deadlines, deliverables, descriptions, and more.