Preparing a Project Plan

PROGRESSIVE ELABORATION AND THE PROJECT PLAN

In a project plan we need a budget, a staffing plan, a procurement (obtaining) plan for
any subcontracting or purchasing, a communications plan to manage stakeholders,
and plans for ensuring quality and managing risk.

In our planning process, we began with a statement of work (SOW), which we

developed into a work breakdown structure (WBS). From the WBS, we developed an
activity list and prepared a network diagram and Gantt chart. That constitutes a
preliminary project plan.
In the previous section, we developed the plan by creating estimates for activities and
using those estimates, developed confidence measures using PERT to see whether
we would be able to meet the time and cost constraints.
In this section, we’ll continue to detail the components of the Project plan, including
human resources, procurement, and communications planning.
On the way, we’ll look at using the critical path method (CPM) as a tool to balance
scope and schedule.
STAFFING AND RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS
In estimating, we figure out how long a project will take and how much it will cost, but
these are not the only considerations. How about people? How many do we need,
when do we need them, and what skills do they need to have?
Will our project require access to specialized tools and equipment?

BUILDING THE PROJECT TEAM

In planning, the first step is to compare the team you have with the team you need.
There are three characteristics about the team you need to assess: the number, the
work maturity, and the skill set.

Number. Consider both the raw number of people available to your Project and the
percentage time commitment of each. Two people available only half the time counts
the same as one full-time person. Some people will be committed your project from
beginning to end, and others maybe available only for particular phases.
Work maturity. Work maturity encompasses level of experience, attitude
toward the organization and the project, ability to work independently
or with little direction, and other considerations.

Skill set. With some activities, it doesn’t matter which team member you
assign because they all possess the necessary skills. In other cases, you
may be very limited in who you can assign to a particular activity.
Skills required:
Writing (Activities 5, 7, 9, 11)
Editing (Activities 5, 7, 9, 11)
Data Management (Activities 2, 3, 4, 13)
Project Management (Activities 1, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13)
Technical and Management Reviewing (Activities 6, 8, 10, 12)
SKILL LIST
Example:
Project manager, may choose three of the following five candidates to complete
his/her team.
Candidates:

Nguyen: Five years’ experience with the company in staff-level roles, BS degree
in Information Management. Skilled with Power Point.
Susan: Human resources generalist with four years’ experience.
Gemma: Three years with the company in management, MBA.
Jurgen: Three years in shareholder relations and two years in corporate
communications, MBA.
Sean: Edits company newsletter while serving as human resources manager for
one of the divisions, BA, four years’ experience.
Two reviewers were added: Yuri, the project sponsor, and Maria, the technical reviewer. The project
manager is Aliverdi.
LOADING THE SCHEDULE
When we map our assignments to the network diagram (known as loading the
schedule), we notice that Sally is responsible for preparing the index (4) and for
overseeing/editing the writing of the summary sections (5). Because these tasks are
on parallel paths, there’s a possibility that Sally may end up being booked for two
jobs simultaneously. We need to look closely at the Schedule to see if there’s a
problem, and solve it if necessary.

If there are double-booked activities what happens? If Sally has not finished editing
first draft when she’s supposed to start indexing. The manager could delay the start
of the indexing task until she’s available. This may push out the schedule.

Another way to solve the problem is to reassign one of Sally’s jobs, either by finding
another editor for the writing job, or by finding another indexer for the indexing job.
Third, we could ask for another person to join our team.
OUTSOURCING (Using external sources)
We also don’t necessarily have to confine ourselves to resources on hand.
Maybe we don’t have people with all the necessary skills, or perhaps we have
so much going on that everybody’s fully booked with other work. In that case,
we could consider outsourcing.

Almost any aspect of a project can, at least in theory, be handed off to someone else.
If you have to make tools, you can hire a manufacturer to make them for you, or an
engineering firm to design them. If you need writers, editors, or indexers, you can hire
them as consultants. If you’ve got to organize 100,000 pages of raw data, there are
consulting firms that specialize in just that service.

Make or buy decisions are a powerful tool in the project manager’s hands.
Depending on your organizational circumstances, sometimes doing it yourself
is the best option, and sometimes it’s better to hire it out.
Procurement (supply, purchase) Planning
As you decide what you will be procuring as part of managing your project, you
need to start a procurement process. You need to define what you want to buy, and
identify one or more vendors who can supply your need. You will have to get bids or
proposals, evaluate them, choose your supplier, and negotiate necessary contracts.

Throughout the procurement process, you will need to make sure that the seller is
performing on schedule and meeting requirements. You will need to receive, inspect,
and approve what you bought, and you will need to pay invoices. All of these are
activities that belong in your project plan.

The procurement process can turn into a major part of a project manager’s
responsibilities. A comprehensive study of procurement is, however, a bit beyond the
scope of this course. Many resources are available on this topic, both in print and
online.