Project Planning and Control

What is a project plan?

A project plan is a model of the process that the
project team intends to follow to realise the project
objectives. It brings together a number of important
aspects of this process including its scope, timing,
cost, and associated risks.
The project plan can be viewed as a type of
contract between the project team members and
other stakeholders. It defines the process by which
the objectives will be achieved, and the
responsibilities in carrying out this process.
Project plans also underpin a number of other key
project management functions including estimating
and forecasting, options analysis and decision-
making, and performance monitoring and control.
 Who is responsible for planning?
Everyone in the project team should be
involved in developing the plan. It
should be a collaborative effort.
The project manager should provide
leadership in this area but may delegate
some of the administrative aspects and
detailed analysis to a project support
role.
On larger projects there may be one or
more dedicated planners.
 What are the benefits of planning?
It is more likely to lead to success and
is more cost-effective than a just do it
approach.
It develops greater mutual
understanding and more commitment
to achieving the objectives within the
project team.
It provides an early warning system
so that problems are identified while
there is still time to do something about
them.
 Key elements of a plan

Products Whatproductsmusttheproject
deliver?Whatarethequalityrequirements
associatedwiththeproducts?
Activities Whatactivitiesareneededto
delivertheproducts?
Resources Whatresourcesareneededto
carryouttheactivities?
Schedule Inwhatsequenceshouldwecarry
outtheactivities?Howlongwilltheactivities
taketocomplete?Aretherequiredresources
available?Howlongwilltheprojecttakeoverall?
 Budget Whatarethetime-phased
resourcerequirementsandfinancialcosts?
Howmuchwilltheprojectcostoverall?
Risks Arewetakingunnecessaryrisks?
Isthelevelofriskexposure
commensuratewiththeriskappetite?Are
thereanyopportunitiesthatcouldbe
exploited?
Assumptions Whataretheunderlying
assumptionsassociatedwiththeplan?
 The planning process:

What is the process for developing a

plan?

Therearefourkeystagesindevelopinga
robustplan:
 STAGE1
Identify,structureanddefinetheproducts
neededtoachievetheprojectobjectives.
Breakdowntheworkneededtodeliver
theproductsintodiscreteworkpackages.
Definetheresponsibilitiesofthe
individualsorteamswhowilldeliverthe
workpackages.
 STAGE2
Identifytheactivitiesandresources
neededtodelivertheworkpackages.
Constructaschedulethattakesaccount
ofthelogicaldependenciesbetween
activities,andtheavailabilityofresources.
STAGE3
Estimatethequantityofresourcesand
financialcostsassociatedwitheachwork
package,andusethisinformationin
conjunctionwiththescheduletodevelop
time-phasedbudgets.
 STAGE4
Identifyandanalysetherisksassociated
witheachworkpackageandevaluatea
rangeofoptionsforhandlingthem.Select
themostcost-effectivecombinationofrisk
managementactionsandincorporate
themintotheplan.
 Stage 1 Defining scope and
responsibilities
 Objectives
Toensurethatalltheworkandproducts
neededtoachievetheprojectobjectives
areincludedintheplan.
Todevelopahierarchicalframeworkfor
integratingthekeyplanningandcontrol
functions(scope,quality,cost,time,risk)
atdifferentlevelsofmanagement.
Tospecifytheorganisationand
responsibilitiesformanagingtheworkand
deliveringtheproducts.
 Fundamental principles:
Breakdowntheprojectworkintocohesive
workpackages
Definetherequiredresults(i.e.,the
products)beforeconsideringhowto
achievethem.
Encouragecollaborativeplanningand
commitmenttoachievingresultsby
negotiatingandagreeingresponsibilities
atanearlystage.
 Process description
Identifyandstructuretheproductsneededtoachievethe
projectobjectivesusingaProductBreakdownStructure
(PBS).Definetheproductsandspecifytheirpurpose,
qualityrequirementsandacceptancecriteria,using
ProductDescriptions(PD).
Breakdowntheworkneededtodelivertheproductsinto
discreteworkpackagesusingaWorkBreakdown
Structure(WBS).Definetheworkpackagesandspecify
theirproducts,qualityrequirements,acceptancecriteria,
assumptions,risks,andopportunities,usingWork
PackageDescriptions(WPD).
Specifytheorganisationthatwillcarryoutandmanage
theworkcontainedintheWBS,usinganOrganisational
BreakdownStructure(OBS).Definetheresponsibilities
ofindividualsorteamsintheOBS(withrespectto
elementsoftheWBS)usingaResponsibilityAssignment
Matrix(RAM).
 Stage 2 Scheduling and
time/resource analysis
 Objectives
Toidentifytheactivitiesneededtodeliver
eachworkpackage,andsequencethem
accordingtotheirlogicaldependencies.
Toestimatethetimeandresources
neededtocarryouttheactivitiesinthe
specifiedsequence.
Toconstructaschedulethattakes
accountoflogicaldependenciesand
resourceavailability.
 Fundamental principles:
Thetimeandresourcesneededto
completeeachactivityusuallydependon
thesequenceinwhichtheactivitiesare
carriedout.
Sincethetimeandresourcesneededto
completeanactivityareusually
interdependent,itmakessenseto
estimatebothoftheseatthesametime.
Schedulingmusttakeaccountofresource
availability.
 Process description
Identifytheactivitiesneededtodelivereachworkpackage.
Alsoidentifyanykeyevents(milestones)associatedwith
thedeliveryofproducts,importantdecisions,orexternal
dependencies.Sequencetheactivitiesandmilestones
accordingtotheirlogicaldependencies,tocreatean
activitynetwork.
Estimatethetimeandresourcesneededtocompleteeach
activityandrecordtheunderlyingassumptionsasaBasis
ofEstimate(BoE).
Developaninitialschedulethattakesaccountofthelogical
dependenciesbetweenactivities.CalculatetheTotalFloat
foreachactivityandidentifytheCriticalPath(s).Iftheinitial
scheduledoesnotmeettherequiredtimescalesthen
investigatealternativeschedulesorconsidermaking
tradeoffs.Analysethetime-phasedresourcerequirements
and,ifnecessary,adjustthescheduletotakeaccountof
resourceavailabilityortoimproveresourceutilisation.
 Stage 3 Cost estimating and
budgeting
 Objectives
Todevelopahierarchicalframeworkfor
planningandcontrollingresource
consumptionandfinancialcosts.
Toestimatethequantitiesandfinancial
costsoftheresourcesneededtodeliver
eachworkpackage.
Todeveloptime-phasedbudgetsasa
basisforperformancemonitoringand
control.
 Fundamental principles
Sincebudgetsarenormallyconstrained,
weneedtomonitoractualcostsagainst
plannedcostsonaregularbasistoensure
thattimelycorrectiveactioncanbetakenif
thereisasignificantvariance.
Makinggoodprogressagainstthe
scheduleisoftennotenoughtoguarantee
success.Itisalsoimportanttomonitorthe
plannedandactualresourceconsumption
(orfinancialcosts)inrelationtothe
progressmade.
 Stage 4 Risk analysis and response
planning
 Objectives
Toidentifytherisksassociatedwitheach
workpackage.
Todeterminetheoverallriskexposureand
thecontributionofindividualrisks.
Toprioritiserisksforfurthermanagement.
Todevelopcost-effectiverisk
managementactions(responses)and
incorporatethemintotheplan.
 Fundamental principles:
Oncetheplanhasbeendevelopedit
shouldstillbeconsideredadraftuntilits
riskcontenthasbeenanalysed.This
analysismayleadtotheplanbeing
modifiedtoincluderiskmanagement
actions.
Plansshouldberisk-efficient(i.e.,should
includenomoreriskthanisnecessaryto
provideagivenlevelofreturn),andthe
riskexposureshouldbecommensurate
withtheriskappetite.
Monitoring and control
Objectives - Fundamental
principles
 Toinformdecision-makingprocessesatall
levelsintheorganisation.

Applytheprinciplesofclosed-loopcontrolto
monitorprojectintheorganisation,andtotake
anycorrectiveaction.Toreviewthe
performanceagainsttheplanatregular
intervals,andneededcorrectiveactionsto
ensurethatobjectivesareachieved.Takeany
correctiveactionneededtoachievetheplan
 Toidentifyproblemsandemergentrisks
earlyenoughobjectiveswhilethereisstill
timetodosomethingaboutthem.
Monitortrendsinperformanceovera
periodoftimeastheprojectprogresses
Tocommunicateregularprogresstothe
projectteamandotherstakeholdersas
wellasthespotperformancewith
respecttoanactivityinorderthat
confidenceandbaselineismaintained.
Thisallowsustodistinguishbetween
commitmentandrealityandthefocus
towardstheprojectismaintained
Project control cycle
 Identifytheobjectivesandconstraints,anddevelopa
plan.Reviewandbaselinetheplan.Obtainauthorisation
toproceed.
Dosomework.
Measureperformanceandupdatetheoriginalestimates
andforecasts.Updatethescheduleandbudgetforecasts
totakeaccountofthelatestinformation.
Investigatethecausesofanysignificantvariationswith
respecttothebaseline.Reviewtheassociatedrisksand
assumptions.Ifnecessary,developoptionsfortaking
correctiveaction.
Agreeonanycorrectiveactionthatisrequiredand
updatetheplans(viaChangeControlifthebaselineis
changed).
Confirmthattheobjectiveshavebeenachievedandthat
therequiredproductshavebeendelivered.
Obtainformalsign-offifappropriate.
 Performance monitoring
techniques
Schedule analysis Monitorvariationsintheforecastschedule
withrespecttothebaseline,aswellaschangestothecritical
path(s)andremainingfloatofactivities.
Budget analysis Monitorvariationsintheforecastbudgetwith
respecttothebaseline.
Milestone trend charts Monitortheforecastdatesandactual
datesofkeymilestonesasafunctionoftime.
Earned Value Management (EVM) Monitorearned-valueand
actualcostagainstplannedvalue/cost
Risk analysis Monitorconfidencevaluesorprobability
distributionsassociatedwithkeyelementsofthescheduleor
budget,asafunctionoftime.
Buffer management fever charts Monitortheconsumptionof
scheduleandbudgetcontingencybuffersasafunctionoftime.
 Techniques for planning larger projects
Staged planning Theprojectissplitintoanumberof
discretestages.Anoutlineplanisdevelopedforthe
projectasawhole,togetherwithmoredetailedplansfor
eachstage.Theplansforeachstageareusually
developedtowardstheendoftheprecedingstage.This
approachisausefulwayoflimitingriskexposurewhen
thereisuncertaintyabouttherequirements,theworkto
beperformed,theavailableresources,ortheproject
environment.
Hierarchical planning Planningandcontroliscarried
outinahierarchicalfashionsothatlowerlevelplansand
theirassociatedcontrolsystemsarenestedwithin
elementsofthehigher-levelplans.
Rolling Wave planning Onlythenear-termwork
packagesareplannedindetail,whilethefar-termwork
packages(sometimescalledPlanningPackages)are
plannedinoutlineonly.
 Principles of effective planning and control
Divide-and-conquer Managecomplexitybybreaking
downthevariouselementsoftheplaninastructuredway.
Butdontforgettokeeptrackofthedependenciesbetween
elementsasyougo.
Integrated approach Dontplanandcontrolthevarious
projectfunctionsinisolation(e.g.,scope,quality,cost,time,
risk),astheyareallinterdependent.Instead,adoptamore
integratedapproachbybringingthemtogetheratkeycontrol
pointsontheWBS(e.g.,workpackagesorcontrol
accounts).
Keep it simple, systematically Onlyaddmoredetailto
theplanwherethecostofdoingsoandtheincreased
complexityitbringswithitisjustifiedbytheamountof
informationitprovides.
Team collaboration Dontforgetthattheplanrepresents
theteamsvisionforachievingtheobjectives.Somakesure
theyareinvolvedinitsdevelopmentandanysubsequent
changesduringthemonitoringandcontrolprocess.
 RECAP
Activity Atask,operation,orprocessconsumingtime
andpossiblyotherresources.
Baseline Asnapshotofaplan(orelementofaplan)
thatisusedasapointofreference.
Budget Theagreedcostorquantificationofresources
neededtocompleteanactivitybyasettime.
Critical Path Asequenceofactivitiesthroughan
activitynetworkwhereeachactivityinthesequencehas
zeroornegativetotalfloat.
Duration Theestimatedoractualtimerequiredto
completeanactivity.
Milestone Akeyeventselectedforitsimportancein
theproject.
Product Themeasurableoutputofanactivity.
Resource Anythingotherthantimethatisnecessary
forcarryingoutanactivity.