Project Planning:
Project planning is a critical & important step in commencing a project & the subsequent preparation of the project execution schedule. Project planning essentially consists of planning development (input) and planning product (output).
Project planning consists of:
- Identifying project stakeholders and their roles, responsibilities and their effect on the scheduling planning process.
- Identifying *contract requirements including project delivery methods under the terms of the contract. The contract delivery method will determine the extent of the planning effort by the project team.
- Identifying the *constraints, and variables that will allow the project team to begin the planning process.
- Establishing a planning process to determine the scope of work, client requirements, schedule hierarchy, division of responsibility, project plan review & approval requirements and distribution.
- Identifying major work activities (phases) and deliverable (goals) and the preferred sequence in which they are to be accomplished.
- Establishing an integrated time phased plan to achieve project completion as required.
- Identifying project management coordination necessary to establish cost/ schedule areas for the further definition of the scope of work.
There is a basic process involved in developing a project plan.
Who? Stakeholders, resource commitments and organization breakdown structure (OBS)
What? The physical features and technical objectives (scope of work)
Where? The location where the project work will be performed: engineering, procurement & construction.
How? Work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposition of the scope into deliverable.
When? Initial timeline, phases and sequences for the subsequent schedule planning process.
How Much? Rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost estimate to the budget.
Contract Requirements:
The primary focus of the project team during the planning phase is to understand the total scope of the contract documents. It is important for all project team members to know & understand contract terms, conditions, project delivery method, technical requirements, and their relationship to the work. Identification of the baseline scope of work is critical to the planning effort. This is the basis for the initial planning process.
Variables & Constraints:
Each project has variables and constraints beyond the availability of resources. These variables include but are not limited to such factors as site conditions and restrictions, financial and economic factors, cultural & religious factors, and local laws and regulations. These variables and their relative impacts must be identified, evaluated, documented, and resolved or mitigated in the best interest of the stakeholders and the project. When the variable changes, planning dynamics change and the plan must be re-evaluated.
A project variable is an event, element, or feature that will have an impact on project performance. The key in planning is the identification and resolution of these as required for the success of a project. Significant project variables and constraints include.
Physical location and space, Geological limitations, Efficient sequencing, Productivity assumptions, Identification of resources available, Project labor agreements, Funding methods & phases, Contracting & project delivery method, Closeout & commissioning requirements.
Resource Planning:
Resources planning is critical to the planning process and if not considered can adversely impact the project. Planners must identify the key resources in relation to the overall objectives of the project. Resources include but are not limited to, People, Equipment, Materials, Technology, funding.
Risk and response planning:
Risk management planning includes development of risk response plans to propose potential solutions to impact caused by risk or change. Changes may either have a positive or negative impact on the current project plan. During the planning process, it is appropriate to identify areas of potential risk and methods to apply to mitigate risks. The project team should develop response plans as part of the planning process.
Output and deliverable:
The outputs and deliverable phase is part of the planning process. As the project plan developed, several major elements required identification, evaluation, and selection of the optimum alternatives. The output and deliverable elements include: Defined scope of work, Defined project goals, Defined project plan, Definition of phases, Phase sequencing & relationships, Establish project coding structures, Work breakdown structure, Organization breakdown structure, Cost breakdown structure, Development of the project cost estimate and budget, Development of the baseline plan, Risk & mitigation plans, Project team implementation approval, Stakeholders review and acceptance, Periodic forecasts & planning.
Define Project Goals:
Every program or project must establish achievable goals in order to be successful. The client and owner establish the initial conceptual goals. A project goal is a concept that is identified and expressed as an achievable end product. The goals may be either contractual or non-contractual, depending on the nature of the program and/ or project. The contract should only represent definable (or measurable) and achievable goals.
Each stakeholder may have different perceptions of established goals that require reconciliation to ensure goal alignment.
Define Project Plan:
The project plan is the output of the planning process for a project. The project team planning actions eventually develop through reviews and revisions into the project baseline plan. The baseline plan provides the framework and benchmark for all project measurement evaluations. Once the project plan is identified, an initial schedule risk assessment/ analysis should be completed to determine the feasibility and risks associated in meeting the time-frame identified in the project plan.
Phase Definition:
A phase is a significant period or grouping of work within a project. A phase may encompass several stages of planning and work. Phase definition involves the initial identification and outlining of major relationships and sequence planning, as defined by the scope of work. As the scope of work is refined, planning includes the identification or breakdown of the project scope into various tasks that may likewise be expanded to encompass the entire project. Phase definition will lead to the initial development of the cost estimate, control level schedules and the identification of risk to achieving success in those defined phases. Phases are based on and derived from the scope of work, sequence of work, phase relationships and the work breakdown structure (WBS). Phases might be defined/ modeled by a fragment and can have distinct start and finish milestones.
Sequence and Phase relationships:
Phase relationships are the basis for development of a framework for monitoring, analyzing, controlling and reporting, work phases eventually become broad groupings within the schedule and ultimately result in a nesting of specific work packages and activities. Sequencing is a part of the planning process that brings together the interrelated phases of a project using simple relationships, phases may overlap within the project.
Establish work breakdown structure (WBS):
The work breakdown structure is a hierarchical division of the work elements to be performed on a project. The function of the WBS is to divide the scope of work into manageable parts that correspond to key deliverable, phases and/ or milestones with the intent to avoid the omission of key elements and assist in the communication of cast, schedule and resource performance data to stakeholders. The WBS must balance between complexity required for control and simplicity for accurate progress reporting. Rules of thumb for defining activity complexity and number are: Any activity should require at least a day in duration & No activity duration should exceed a project routine reporting period.
Establish Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS):
A cost breakdown structure (CBS) is a hierarchical definition of the key element of a project. At the highest level these are: labor, materials, direct and indirect costs. For a complex project there will be many sub-levels of these major elements. The Cost breakdown structure is a key element of control for a project and a panning requirement. The CBS allows management to evaluate the effectiveness of the estimate versus the work in place, remaining work, and overall costs. The development of cost breakdown structure allows tracing and forecasting of estimated costs versus actual costs.