How to Write a Proper Project Management Plan?

You have a big project and you know that the basis of successfully executing lies in the project management plan. The pressure is rising. But there is no need for you to get overwhelmed because all you need is some guidance on how to write the project management plan.

Writing a project management plan will help you present important elements such as goals, objectives, timelines, and so on. If you know how to put those ideas and plans in writing effectively, you’ll be able to have everyone on your side in no time. To speed things up, these tips on how to write a proper project management plan will save you from stressing about how your plan will turn out. Let’s get started!

How to Write a Proper Project Management Plan?

Identify Clients’ Needs and Expectations

Clients are the ones who need to accept your plan and see potential in it. Instead of writing and rewriting the plan numerous times, talk to the clients at the very beginning.

Discuss with them their goals, ideas, the value of the project, expectations, budget, timeline, etc. Ask anything that will help you determine what they want. 

Having this information clearly defined from the very start will instantly give you pointers on what you need to focus on and in which direction your planning should go. 

Write everything they say and prepare a basis for your plan. Use a Scope Statement Document to ensure that everyone is on the same page. 

Set Out Goals

Based on research, the executive leaders claim that a lack of clear goals accounts for 37% of project failure.

Clear goals help you plan out deadlines, requirements, and tasks that need to be fulfilled. 

There is an organizational goal-setting tool used by Google and Intel. It is called Objective & Key Results (OKRs). This goal setting technique can help you identify and set your goals.

You can create a project plan board for your goals to have an overview of your ideas and how the process should go to meet the planned goals. 

Scrum_vs_Kanban_Board_Building_Project_Plan_1.jpg

Source: Wrike

What is important during the goal-setting phase is that you also prioritize them. If you don’t prioritize the goals it will affect the project process. 

Discuss Your Plan with Your Team

Every project consists of a team of people who will be designated to execute that plan. Those people are just as important as the project manager.

Get in touch with your team and express your ideas and goals. Ask them about the timeline, whether they find it manageable. Consider their ideas and suggestion.

In this way, you’ll look at your plan more objectively. If your team agrees with your ideas, you’ll know that you can look forward to successful cooperation. 

“Clear communication is essential for writing a good project management plan. Your team is the one who will turn your ideas to life, and they can give you a different perspective on some of your ideas,” advises George Harned, a project manager at TopWritersReview.

Create a Schedule

A project schedule can sometimes be the toughest for project managers to determine. The reason why is that you need to calculate how much time each task demands in order to determine the final deadline.

You need to think about deadlines within the project as well as the final deadline. Setting just the final deadline will give you too much space to improvise during the project execution and that is not advisable.

Creating a clear schedule will also make the project more manageable and give the team a better structure and organization.

If you want to visualize your schedule, try out the Gantt chart tool. Those who are visual learners can have a better understanding of the project’s organization if they can see and follow up on the timeline.  

Резултат слика за gantt chart

Source: TemplateLab

Set Milestones

Firm milestones are a must for a successful project. They need to be in line with the timeline.

Every team member should know their timeline and milestone because the work they do affects whether the project will be developed according to plan. 

Stating milestones in advance will help you show the clients that you have a specific plan in mind. It will also help your team members understand their duties and obligations. 

These project planning steps will help you meet the goals as well as meet the set deadlines. 

Not to mention that milestones make it easier for the project manager to keep track of the project process. 

Identify Potential Risks

As much as we would all like that everything goes according to plan, you should still understand that no plan is risk-free.

Write down all potential risks and issues that can affect the project execution. For example, an employee getting sick and not being able to work.

Why is identifying risk so important? Because it gives you the time to think about solutions in advance and prepare yourself for some other options. 

You need to think about steps that help you to prevent those risks as well as to manage them if they do happen. 

Outline the Project

Before you start writing the final plan, it is better that you write the outline first. Having all this information about the planning process can be confusing, so it is normal that you go back and forth and make some changes.

However, it is better that you correct the outline than the final plan.

It is very helpful to have some guidelines before you start with THE plan.  For a fast, quality writing and research service, take a look at https://essayshark.com/

Write and Present the Plan

Once you’ve finished all the previous steps it is time to get to writing. You’ll realize how setting out all the important elements of the project and outlining the plan will help you to write the plan easily. 

When you’re all done with the writing and you feel confident about your planning and writing skills, it is time to present the plan and get that approval that you deserve! Good luck!

Why Does Your Company Need to Be Familiar With Project Management Software Today?

Do you believe that project management software is just an annoying business buzzword? Well, in fact, it’s not just a buzzword.

In today’s competitive business environment, project management software helps companies to engage employees, boost overall performance, and keep the project on time and under budget. If you want to learn more about why your company needs to be familiar with this type of advanced software, just keep reading.

Why Does Your Company Need to Be Familiar With Project Management Software Today?

1. Connect People In Your Workplace

To complete the project successfully, you should ensure that your team is connected. Why it’s so important? Because if no one in the team knows what others are doing, it’s impossible to deliver quality work on time and budget.

The project management platform works as the main hub of socializing and exchanging information. The platform shows team members what their colleagues are currently doing and on what tasks they will work next.

2. Improve Employee Performance

Project management software helps not only to enhance collaboration but also to delegate tasks in a more effective manner. It makes it easier for managers to track the progress of every team member and distribute workload evenly.

“Project management tools help to motivate employees to work harder. Since team members are aware of monitoring and tracking, they try to complete their tasks faster and better,” explains Rita Miller, a project manager at Studicus.

3. Complete Work On-time

Project management and time management go hand in hand. That is why project management software was primarily designed to solve time management issues and keep delays out of the way.

To prevent overdue and to keep every team member on board, this software allows sending real-time notifications and reminders. It helps to ensure that every single task, subtask, and individual assignment will be completed on time.

4. Stay Within A Given Budget

If a company can control the time spent on the project, it can also calculate billable hours and figure out how much exactly the project will cost.

“Using project management software, it’s easy to monitor the earned value, return on investment, and other indicators. It’s also easy to assess project health and prevent any issues before they happen,” says Joshua Ashton, a financial manager at BestEssayEducation.

5. Adjust To Changes Faster

Today, both small companies and big corporations face issues while adapting to change in the business environment. But fortunately, modern project management software can solve most of these issues and help the company to keep up with industry trends.

Using project management tools, you can determine which portion of the project carries the highest risk and define where you might need to allocate more time in the schedule. Besides, you can apply these tools to systemize knowledge in order to boost your efforts and overcome uncertainty.

Now you know why your company should use project management software. So don’t hesitate to take the next step! Chose software that suits your business and train your employees on how to use it, to check out more check hsslive.

Danielle Levsky Reviewed Project Management for Engineering and Technology Course

Danielle Levsky is an experienced Project Manager with industry knowledge in instructional design, blended learning, curriculum development, graphic design, UX, and more. She is currently working as a Technical Instructional Design Specialist at BenchPrep. Recently, she reviewed the uCertify Project Management for Engineering and Technology course. We are happy to share the feedback that she provided:

Project Management for Engineering & Technology Guide Review

“I found the chapters and visual representation of the Project Management for Engineering and Technology course effective. The elements of the course, pre-assessment, chapters & lessons, and post-assessment, are based on exam objectives. The results page for the pre-assessment was helpful in understanding how my score correlated to certain lessons and subjects within the course allowing the learner to see which answers were correct/incorrect was also helpful.”

To read the complete post, click here.

Thank you Danielle for taking out time and providing the feedback! We are looking into the areas of improvement suggested by you.

To know more about Danielle, contact via her LinkedIn profile.

Learn the Skills of Project Planning & Project Management with uCertify

Project Management for Engineering and Technology is an exceptional guide to engineering and innovation specific project administration that completely mirrors the most recent guidelines in the “Project Management Body Of Knowledge” (PMBOK). It covers project administration process abilities as well as crucial people abilities, for example, negotiation, personal time administration, change administration, diversity, and overcoming adversity. PMBOK is the globally perceived project management standard guide that gives the essentials of project administration that are appropriate to an extensive variety of projects, including development, engineering, software, automotive, and so forth. The job of the project supervisor featured as an individual is project designing, project planning, project controlling, and enhances a multi-task project towards a particular objective in a timely, convenient and effective way.

Learn the Skills of Project Planning & Project Management with uCertify

uCertify offers the Project Management for Engineering and Technology course which is intended for project managers. In this course you will learn to:

  • Distinguish between project, program, and sub-project by recognizing differentiating and related attributes of each.
  • Utilize a coordinated contextual case study to provide deliverables, for example, a work breakdown structure and a project charter.
  • Apply project planning ideas, designed for common mechanical engineering concepts, for example, Activity Gantt Chart, resource gram/histogram; asset spreadsheet; and so on.
  • Recognize each of the accompanying devices, procedures or outputs utilizing a computerized project administration device: critical path; schedule comprehension; crashing; and so on.

The Project Management for Engineering and Technology course provides the following resources for the training:

  • 18+ Lessons
  • 151+ Quizzes
  • 88+ Flashcards
  • 88+ Glossary Of Terms
  • 54+ Pre-Assessment Questions
  • 60+ Post-Assessment Questions

The Project Management for Engineering and Technology course covers the following topics:

  • Project Closeout
  • Project Initiation
  • Project Managers and Change
  • Project Monitoring and Control
  • Project Planning- The Schedule
  • Project Managers and Diversity
  • Project Managers and Adversity
  • Project Managers as Motivators
  • Project Planning- Build the Project Team
  • Project Planning- The Risk Management Plan

Enroll now in the uCertify Project Management for Engineering and Technology course and become an expert in project planning and project management.