Do you plan your project effectively?

Planning is like laying down the foundation for any project. If the foundation is strong, building will definitely be strong. There are several steps listed below that will ensure the successful planning for any project.

Please Note: I am giving these steps based on the experience I had in my past company and based on the research. These steps might change if you are using any tool or following any organization’s process.

Step #1: Project Definition
It’s very important we define the project well. All the questions should be well answered in the initial requirement gathering, like what is the purpose of the project? Who will be the end users? What is the business objective of the project? Etc. This proper project definition helps all the stake holders understand the requirements and ensures successful delivery.

Step #2: Gathering all the requirements
The second step is to gather all the requirements. If we are implementing the project using the latest project management technique like scrum, then taking the initial requirements would be enough. However, gathering most of the requirements at this stage is preferred

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Step #3: Work breakdown or Milestone Creation
Once we have all the requirements, it’s important we perform the work breakdown. This means, we take the requirements and create the initial breakdown. Each initial breakdown will be named as a Milestone. Each milestone will have a deliverable.

Step #4: Define Timeline
Once we have the milestones created, we will have to define the timeline.

Step #5: Defining & Assigning tasks
Once we have the milestones and timeline associated. We will have to again breakdown each milestone into tasks. Creating and assigning the tasks helps responsible people assigned. Making sure a task is assigned to an individual with a proper due date ensures the successful delivery.

Keep tracking the project and hope this article helps. All the Best!