Project Proposal Template

Ready to write a proposal but need a project proposal template to get you started?

Look no further.

How to Write a Project Proposal

Now – there’s a list of actionable tips below.

But to get started, there’s one concrete rule to writing a great project proposal: keep it simple. 

Your boss doesn’t want a 10 page PDF, or a detailed explanation of the micro-steps in
your project. He or she needs to know:

1. The logic – why the project is a priority

2. The intended results – ideally, hard numbers.
3. The supporting evidence – what’s behind your conclusion

This can all be summed up in one – two sentences – see more in the simple project proposal
template below.

Simple Project Proposal Template

Introduction/Overview

The introduction of your project proposal should be brief.

Imagine it like an elevator pitch; you only have 15 seconds to get your message across.

Try structuring it as if you were back in grade school, using IF, THEN, BECAUSE terminology.

For example, let’s imagine I want to convince my boss to rename our product.

Example Introduction:

IF we rename our product from Priority Matrix to “Best Project Management Desktop
App” THEN we will receive more organic visibility BECAUSE this is a search term frequently
used by people who intend to buy project management software.

Goals

Make sure the goals of this project align with your current company goals.
Even if you work in marketing, like me, if your company’s current #1 goal is to drive sales, you
better formulate your project in such a way that it’s bringing in well-qualified leads.

I recommend including just ONE Goal in order to keep your project scope focused. 

Treat any sub-goals as milestones.

Specifications

This is where you can estimate your budget, timeline, and more.

Milestones

Milestones are the marks you need to hit to measure success on the way to project completion.

Think of milestones as metrics, rather than tasks. Show them off to stakeholders to prove that
you’re making progress.

If your overall goal is to increase sales by 25%, a great milestone to aim for is a 10% increase.
This tells you you’re on the right track.

Project Proposal – Project Management

Project managers make project proposals all the time – one of the best ways to streamline this
process is to integrate your proposal with your project management tool.

This way, as soon as you get the go-ahead, you can start delegating right away.

Using your project management tool to estimate timelines and resources is a great way to
produce visuals for the proposal. Bonus points if your PM software has a gantt chart that you can
print out to include in the proposal.

Here is what a product re-brand proposal might look like in a typical project management tool