Indeed! The elephant in the room.
The project lands in your lap and you now have to try and work out how to possibly get this project done.
It is not uncommon for projects that the initiation phase is completed by someone else; ie: someone comes up with the concept and to get it over the line with the approvers,
more scope is added,
budget is lowered and
the duration is sliced down to the bare possible minimum...
And now, it has been given to you.....
We are in the Planning phase. An often neglected step in projects but a particularly valuable process.
Given that this is a valuable phase, why is it skipped or only the absolute bare minimum done to just jump in to the implementation?
Well, as I mentioned in the previous blog, the Initiation phase always takes longer than expected. We put an estimated completion date on the project at that stage with the expectation that the approval for it to proceed will occur by a certain time......and the delayed approval finally comes but the project completion date isn't adjusted accordingly (as part of the approval expectation is that the project will be completed by the stated date!).
And now, we still need to get everything done but with less time available. Something has to give way, which is typically planning.
In other cases, planning just isn't viewed as a value add to a project. This is a common view in industries that operate on hourly charge rates - "if someone isn't working on getting the job done, we are not earning money".
For others, the view is that planning is just about creating documents which do not add value.
Have you even experienced a project where planning hasn't (or doesn't appear) to have occurred?
What was the experience?
Do any of these aspects sound familiar?
high levels of stress
no one seems to know what to do
there is lots of rework happening
surprises seem to be happening very regularly (aka constant unexpected issues)
long hours and weekend work
constant issues with quality
arguments, low morale, the blame game.......
A lack of planning can pretty much guarantee cost blowouts and late delivery for a project. And the chances of even completing any deliverables? Very low.
And, this leads on to a poor project team culture.
Which then flows on to:
low productivity
missed milestones
increased sick leave
high staff turnover
....a project that is on a rush to reach the bottom.
While planning doesn't guarantee that a project will be successful, it will certainly greatly increase the chances of success! At the very least, it becomes a gauge to highlight the that project should stop if it is determined that the project cannot be completed within the approved key parameters now that more detailed thinking has occurred.
To really gain value from the planning process, ideally is it not an exercise that is completed by one person. Planning should involve at least key members of the project team, not necessarily throughout the whole planning phase, but definitely included in areas where they can gain an understanding of what the project will involve and where they can provide knowledge and input to contribute to defining what will need to be done.
This is a key benefit of planning......gaining buy in from the team.
Buy in is about increasing the level of engagement and commitment to the project. People feel that they can add value to it.
Ever experienced the situation of being told, "you need to get this task done in x number of days". And the "x number of days" is totally unrealistic?
As soon as people are just told what to do and they do not have the opportunity to provide feedback, they become disengaged. And so, cycle back to lower productivity (as they will not try since the time frame is completely unachievable), lower morale (since no one actually understands what we do and what it takes to get things done) and stress (through the expectations pressure, failure to meet milestones and longer hours).
So, what can we gain from undertaking planning?
Some of the key benefits:
creation of a roadmap to complete the project which keeps everyone focused
proactively think about and address potential risks, enabling people to be more responsive during implementation when risks occur
create buy in so people understand why the project is happening, what they will need to do and how they will be involved
optimise the best use of your scarce resources. You never have enough time, money, people or equipment to complete everything that needs to be done!
identify if the project is actually achievable given the budget/time/scope and quality requirements agreed to in the project proposal.
While planning requires a focus on creating documents and spending time on what may be viewed as non productive work, this is an investment that provides significant rewards for you as a project manager, the project team and the project itself.
Anyone who is involved in defining the project feels a part of it and they feel empowered, as they can use the documents and plans created to manage themselves throughout the execution while seeing tangible progress as they update the relevant tracking tools.
How to attack this planning beast in the most effective way (and not miss out key areas)?
A common approach is to leap straight in to defining the tasks and the order that the work needs to occur in. However, there is a lot more to planning that just completing tasks. Think about risk, communication, stakeholder management, procurement......the list can go on.
One option is to consider training to create structure to the approach for consistency in results and ensuring everyone is on the same page. This could be an option to consider.
An alternative option - identifying what documents to use when and gaining some shortcuts in creating what you need can be sourced through here!
Don't skip the planning phase of a project, make sure that you involve others and set everyone up for success with a common goal!
The planning for my toughest project to date? It is certainly not a detailed plan given the size of the challenge and many unknowns (or particularly one which is how my body will handle the training!). Milestones are set based on achievement points rather than timelines with the initial incremental milestone of running 5kms.
The next milestones to tick off are completing events of 10kms followed by a spike up to 20+ kms.
The major areas of planning focus are equipment, training and nutrition.
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