CHAPTER THREE

Project Planning
OUTLINES
INTRODUCTION
Types of planning
Nature & Characteristics of Planning
Importance of Planning
Elements of Planning (reading ass)
Steps in Planning
Project Baseline
 Rationale for Planning

After the project has been defined and the project team has been
appointed, the second phase in the project management life cycle:
which is the detailed project planning phase takes place
(refer chapter one).

Planning is essentially a process of deciding what

is to be done in advance, including when , where ,
how and by whom it is to be done .
Planning is a process of Estimating A Cost, Time and
Resources required for a task to finish from the scratch.
 …CTND

Project planning is at the heart of the project life cycle, and

tells everyone involved where They are going and how you’re
going to get there.

To plan is to look ahead and chalk out the future course of

operations of the project / company.

Planning involves creating a set of plans to help / guide your

team through the implementation and closure phases of the
project.
 …CTND

Planning may be described as “the most basic

tool of management functions.”
Thus planning is a process of deciding the business
targets and charting out a rational path of attaining
those targets.
Planning is concerned with the establishment of
objectives and finding out the way of realization of
those objectives.
 Types of planning
I. Single-use Plans : are Plans for attaining a one-time
organizational goal. Projects like construction are included in
this category of planning. They are Large in scope. Examples:
building a new infrastructure ,

II. Standing Plans: Are ongoing plans that are used to provide
guidance for tasks performed repeatedly within an organization
(but not in the Cot).

III. Contingency Plans : are Plans that define company responses

to specific situations, for example emergencies or unexpected
condition
 Nature and Characteristics of Planning
A.Intellectual Process:- Planning is a mental exercise involving
imagination, foresight and sound judgment. It requires a mental
disposition (outlook) of “thinking before acting”

B. Goal-Oriented:- Planning has no meaning without being related to

goals and objectives.
It must bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to go at
the minimum cost.

C. Primary Function;- Planning is the most basic & primary function of

management. It occupies first place and precedes (leads) all other
functions of management.
D. Pervasiveness: Planning pervades (Spread through) all
managerial activities. It is undertaken at all segments and levels
of the organization / project.

E. Uniformity:- There may be separate plans prepared in different levels in the

organization, but all the sub-plans must be united with the general plan so as
to make up a comprehensive operation at a time.

F. Continuity:- To keep the project as a going concern without any break, it is

essential that planning must be a continuous process.

G. Flexibility:-Plans should not be made rigid. It should be as flexible as

possible to accommodate all possible changes in the company.
H. Simplicity:- The language of the work schedule or programme in
the planning should be simple so that each and every part of it may
easily be understood by the employees at different levels, specially at
the lower level.

I. Precision: it is the soul of planning which gives the exact, definite &
accurate meaning of planning in its scope & content.

J. Feasibility: Planning is neither poetry nor philosophy. It is based on

facts and experience, and thereby realistic in nature.
K. Choice among Alternative Courses: Planning involves selection of
suitable course of action from several alternatives and to choose the
best one out of them.
L. Efficiency:-Planning is directed towards efficiency. A plan is a course
of action that shows promise of optimizing return at the minimum
expense of inputs

M. Inter-dependence:-The different departments may formulate

different plans and programmes for their integration in the overall
planning. But sectional plans cannot be independent.
E.g Production planning depends upon sales planning & vice versa

N. Forecasting:- Above all, no planning can proceed without forecasting

(which means assessing the future and making provision for it).
Importance of Planning
Providing Basis of Decision
Focusing Attention on Objectives
Minimizing Uncertainty and Risk

Adapting with Changes

Securing Economy
Increasing Organizational Effectiveness
 Steps in Planning
A plan is essentially today’s design for tomorrow’s
action and an outline of the steps to be taken in future.
1. Perception of the Opportunities:- is important for planning
because it leads to formulation of plans by providing clue as
to whether opportunities exist for taking up particular plans.

2. Establishment of the Objectives:- Objectives specify the

results expected in measurable terms and indicate the end
points of what is to be done.
 …CTND
Project Objectives should be SMART
3. Building the Planning Premises:- is the conditions under which
planning activities will be undertaken. This involves collection of
facts and figures necessary for planning the future course of the
project.
Planning Premises are of two types which are External & Internal
External Premises :- includes total factors in the environment
like social, political, technological, competitors’ plans and actions,
government policies, etc.
Internal Premises: - include the organization’s policies, resources
of various types and the ability of the organization to withstand
the environmental pressure
4. Identifying the Alternatives:-
Since all alternatives cannot be
considered for further analysis,
it is necessary to reduce the
number of alternatives that do
not meet the minimum
preliminary criteria.

5. Evaluation of the Alternatives:- Various alternative courses

that are considered feasible in terms of preliminary criteria have
to be taken for detailed evaluation
6. Choice of the Course of Action :- After the evaluation of various
alternatives, the most appropriate one is selected as the plan.
Sometimes evaluation shows that more than one alternative are
equally important.
The planner must also be ready with alternative (normally
known as contingency plan) that can help coping up with the
changed situation.

7. Formulation of Supporting or Derivative Plans:- After the best

alternative is decided upon, the next step is to derive various plans
for different departments or sections of the organization to support
the main plan.
 8. Establishing the Sequence of Activities: - After formulating the basic
and derivative plans, the sequence of activities is determined so that the
plans are put into action.
Based on the plans at various levels, it can be decided
GB who will do what &
Pit Foundation
when.

Truss
Wall

Skeleton

Roofing Cladding Finishing

 …CTND

9. Securing Participation:-Plans must be communicated in greater

details to the subordinates to increase their understanding of the
proposed action and for enlisting their co-operations in the
execution of plans

10. Providing for Future Evaluation:- For ensuring that the selected
plans are proceeding with the right lines, it is of paramount
importance to devise a system of continuous evaluation of the
plan.
It will help in detecting the shortcomings and pitfalls of the plans and
taking remedial actions well
 Project Baseline
It is a fixed reference used to know starting point of project &
Compares project’s progress against plan which in turn assess the
performance of project over time.
A project baseline typically has three components: Schedule, Cost
and Scope.
When project baseline fully integrated, it is referred to as a
Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB).
A PMB provides you with the ability to efficiently monitor and
manage how a change in one component affects the others.
Benefits of having a Project Baseline
 Improved estimates
 Better performance assessments
 Achievement of Triple constraints.
Problems caused by not having a Project Baseline
Inadequate resourcing
Schedule delays (due to mistimed procurement, material delivery, etc.)
Issues with quality management
A lack of proper change management.
Failure to accurately report progress.
Customer and / or sponsor dissatisfaction.