Planning Stage

Project Life Cycle - Planning Stage

Conceptualisation
Planning Implementation

Completion

Planning Stage
Inputs

Why plan?
The planning process Objectives Work Breakdown Structure Estimating Scheduling Outputs

Inputs
Feasibility report
Project objectives & scope

Stakeholders & requirements

Constraints Success criteria

Feasibility analysis & risk level

Initial plans Scope of the planning stage

Inputs
Authorisation to proceed to next stage

based on feasibility report

Signatures from senior management in project and

client organisations
Project manager also signs to confirm acceptance of

the next stage

Why plan?
Proactive rather than reactive
Who does what, when and how? What resources are required and when?

Identify problems/risks early

Help identify costs Help communication Allows progress to be measured

Why plan?
Planning has its own costs
Benefits must outweigh costs
Good planning will benefit the project

Bad planning can add to cost of failure

Dont over-plan - allow flexibility

Why plan?
If we fail to plan

we plan to fail!

Planning process versus planning stage

Planning an on-going process, not a stage iterative

Project plans are working documents

Planning must be combined with

monitoring and controlling

Planning process at each stage

Conceptualisation stage:
Plans demonstrate feasibility Identify general risks & constraints

Planning stage:
Baseline plan what, when and how things should be done what resources are required

Planning process at each stage

Implementation stage:
Progress monitored against plans

(constantly updated) Plans contain detail for future work

Completion stage:
Plans provide a basis for final evaluation

Objectives
Clear project objectives are vital to planning
Allow success of the project to be evaluated Enable priorities to be set Enable conflicts to be resolved Provide direction and motivation Published so key stakeholders are aware of them Must be SMART

Objectives
S
M
= Specific and written down
= Measurable = Agreed, Aligned, Achievable = Realistic, Relevant = Time-framed

A
R

Objectives
Some examples:
Increase UK sales volume of ring binders by 5% by 30 June 2013

the objective is: specific and written down measurable increase UK sales volume of ring binders by 5% achievable by the staff concerned, agreed by those involved, aligned to the requirements of the organisation relevant to organisations sales targets, realistic in terms of outlets time-framed by 30 June 2013

Objectives
Some examples:
Reduce staff absenteeism in SE department by 30% by 31 Dec 2013

the objective is: specific and written down measurable reduce staff absenteeism in SE dept by 30% achievable by the staff concerned, with health awareness courses, agreed by those involved, aligned to the requirements of the organisation relevant to the work of the organisation, realistic in terms of health care provision time-framed by 31 December 2013

Objectives
Some examples:
Hand in CC5001 assignment to UG Office by week 20
the objective is: specific and written down measurable hand in CC5001 assignment to UG Office achievable by students concerned, with lectures and seminars, agreed by academic & admin staff, aligned to the requirements of the module relevant to the work of the module, realistic in terms of lecture schedule time-framed by week 20

SMART Objectives
Caution:
We do NOT have separate objectives for each element
there is not a measurable objective, a realistic objective, etc.

Each objective must satisfy ALL SMART criteria

Work Breakdown Structure

Systematic way of breaking down a project into manageable and well-defined chunks of work (work packages)
Each work package broken down into a detailed list of

activities
Each activity broken down into individual tasks

Work Breakdown Structure

Project Breakdown: top level Complete Project

WP 1

WP 2

WP 3

WP 4

Work Breakdown Structure

Work Package 1 Breakdown
WP 1

Activity 1.1

Activity 1.2

Activity 1.3

Work Breakdown Structure

Activity 1.1 Breakdown

Activity 1.1

Task 1.1.1

Task 1.1.2

Task 1.1.3

Task 1.1.4

Work Breakdown Structure

Project Breakdown: complete structure
Complete Project

WP 1

WP 2

WP 3

WP 4

Activity 1.1

Activity 1.2

Activity 1.3

Activity 4.1 Task 4.1.1 Task 4.1.2 Task 4.1.3

Activity 4.2 Task 4.2.1 Task 4.2.2 Task 4.2.3 Task 4.2.4 Task 4.2.5

Task 1.1.1 Task 1.1.2 Task 1.1.3 Task 1.1.4

Task 1.2.1 Task 1.2.2 Task 1.2.3

Task 1.3.1 Task 1.3.2

Work Breakdown Structure

Work package breakdown decided on:
Functional grounds Responsibility Project phase Geographic location

There is not an implied order in the

work packages / activities / tasks

Work Breakdown Structure

Deciding between breakdown structures:
Budget control Team management Skills 3rd party organisations

(suppliers / contractors) Reporting requirements

Work Breakdown Structure

Example: project to build a house
One option - split into 3 work packages based on different contractors: Civil Plumbing Electrical
(Example from Burke, 1999, p.106)

Work Breakdown Structure

Example: project to build a house
Another option - split into 4 work packages based on the phase of the project: Design Preparation of site and foundations Building Finishing and decorating

Work Breakdown Structure

Each work package, activity and task must:

Be well defined Have a specification including:

Clear deliverables
Processes and procedures to be used Quality requirements Acceptance criteria

Be agreed

Product Breakdown Structure

An alternative starting point to WBS

Identifies project products (deliverables)

Details what must be produced

(rather than what must be done) Products include:

technical management quality

Philosophy behind PRINCE

Estimating
Accurate & timely estimates crucial to
success of a project Accuracy of estimate linked to uncertainty Level of uncertainty must be documented Estimates must be constantly updated as new information becomes available

Estimating
Level of uncertainty depends on:
Quality of information available

How far into the future...

How well-defined is the work Experience of the estimator Time available to produce estimates Other (project specific) risk factors

Estimating
Factors in project estimate uncertainty:
Requirements change over time needs managing estimate revisions must follow immediately Complete tasks/activities left out of plan

Estimating
Estimates can be broken down into:
Cost
Effort Time (duration)

Resources

Often these are highly inter-dependent

(not a linear relationship)

Estimating
If it takes 10 days for 1 person to dig a hole:
two people may complete the task in half the time needed by one person
...but 100 people trying to dig the hole may take longer than 10 days
getting in each others way not enough tools for everyone not enough room arguing about who does what...

Important factors: communication and divisibility of work

(see Brooks, 1995)

Estimating
Planning meals: people/resources/time
if there is enough food for 12 lunches this would last one person every day for 12 days (providing the food doesnt go off!) or two people every day for 6 days or four people every day for 3 days or 12 people for one day (a party!) but there is not enough for 14 people on one day, and there is not enough for one person for 14 days
this hasnt included costs for storage, preparation, time for

preparation, freezing/thawing/cooking, effort in preparation (does it take 12 times longer to cook 12 meals than 1?), washing up, etc...

Estimating
Labour intensive projects: start with effort Cost, duration & resources then estimated

Converting from effort to cost consider:

Labour costs (hourly rate, etc.) Capital costs (e.g. equipment, products) Training costs (e.g. staff development) Travel costs (e.g. train, petrol, hotels) Overheads (e.g. management costs)

Estimating
WBS is a useful tool in estimating
Each task estimated separately
All task estimates give overall project estimate

Widely used estimating method

Metrics from previous projects allow similar tasks to be identified & easily estimated

Planning
Check suggestions for further reading Try out tasks (including past exam questions)

Further reading
Burke, R (2003) Project Management: Planning and Control

Techniques, Wiley Bentley C.(1997) PRINCE 2: A Practical Handbook, ButterworthHeinemann Central Computer & Telecommunications Agency (1997) PRINCE 2: An Outline, London: The Stationery Office Field M & Keller L (1998) Project Management, International Thomson Business Press Brooks F. (1995) The Mythical Man-Month (Anniversary Edition), Addison-Wesley