Project Planning - Part 2

H. Hal Futhey
President
QPA Training and Consulting

Project Planning Part 2. Focus, Project Teams, Implementation and Wrap-up

We left off with planning step # 3 - "Goals" in part 1 of Project Planning, so let's go on to step 4:

4) Focus

The focus of the planning is on the stakeholders. We need to identify who are the stakeholders. Make a list of the stakeholders and prioritize their needs and interests.

The list of stakeholders must include external and internal customers.

Use a prioritizing method like the matrix shown here:

This example uses two ranking guidelines.

Importance: 1 = Highest to 5 = Lowest, and

Influence: 5 = Highest to 1 = Lowest.

A stakeholder with a ranking of 1 for importance and 5 for influence will be the primary focus of the change.

5) Project teams

The common questions about project teams include “Who should we have on the team?” and “How many people should be on the team?”

Who?

The team is made-up of the owner of the process and those with the greatest influence and importance. If an actual purchasing customer cannot be on the team, someone inside the company must represent the voice of the purchasing customer. This will be a person with the most knowledge and frequent contact with your customer base.

The team members should be from different areas of the company. “Cross-functional” is the common name for this type of team. Cross-functional team members bring different viewpoints to the activity. This increases the opportunity for success by offering up more ideas and experiences to apply to the project.

How many?

The number of people on the team depends on the extent of the planned change. Experience shows teams are most effective when there are 5 to 6 members. It can be difficult to coordinate activities across team members when the number is too large.

You can always add members or have guest members that perform a specific function for the team. It is much easier to add members than it is to remove them.

6) Implementation

Implementation must include milestones. Getting your company from where it is now, to an implemented strategy and future condition is a journey. Every journey has its milestones.

You should define the milestones you will achieve along the way. Then sequence them in time to reach the end of the journey before the target date. This allows some time to cope with problems that can come-up along the way. If no problems arise and the project finishes ahead of time and especially under budget, you will be a hero.

Sequence the milestones by which comes first, second, third, etc. Also, include which ones you can do in parallel time. From these milestones, you can determine the specific actions needed to reach each and every milestone in turn.

Implementing any change requires consensus and buy-in from those participating in the planning and those affected by the change. Emphasis on seeking the participation and buy-in from all stakeholders defined in step 4 is critical to success. Never underestimate people’s resistance to change.

7) Wrap-up

The implementation plan will be fully documented and distributed to all people involved in and affected by the change. The team’s job of planning is complete when the plan is given to the process owners for implementation. An implementation team should be responsible for keeping to the plan, measuring and reporting its progress to management.

 Any alteration to the approved plan requires the planning team’s review and approval. This helps ensure all stakeholders will be considered in the change and notified of the change.

If you aren't a QT subscriber already why not signup now? Click the "Subscribe to QT e-zine" link below and you'll get a FREE copy of our Project Planning Guide. This is a $29. value, packed full of "How To's" and information for planning any project or event.

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