Project planning is part of
project management
Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...
, which relates to the use of
schedules such as
Gantt chart
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates a schedule (project management), project schedule. It was designed and popularized by Henry Gantt around the years 1910–1915. Modern Gantt charts also show the Dependency (project management), depe ...
s to plan and subsequently report progress within the project environment. Project planning can be done manually or by the use of
project management software.
Description
Initially, the
project scope is defined and the appropriate methods for completing the project are determined. Following this step, the durations for the various
tasks necessary to complete the work are listed and grouped into a
work breakdown structure. Project planning is often used to organize different areas of a project, including
project plans,
workloads and the management of teams and individuals. The logical
dependencies between tasks are defined using an
activity network diagram that enables identification of the
critical path. Project planning is inherently uncertain as it must be done before the project is actually started. Therefore, the duration of the tasks is often estimated through a weighted average of optimistic, normal, and pessimistic cases. The critical chain method adds "buffers" in the planning to anticipate potential delays in project execution.
Float or slack time in the schedule can be calculated using project management software. Then the necessary
resources
''Resource'' refers to all the materials available in our environment which are Technology, technologically accessible, Economics, economically feasible and Culture, culturally Sustainability, sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and want ...
can be
estimated and
cost
Cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it i ...
s for each activity can be allocated to each resource, giving the total project cost. At this stage, the
project schedule may be optimized to achieve the appropriate balance between
resource usage and project duration to comply with the project objectives. Once established and agreed, the project schedule becomes what is known as the baseline schedule. Progress will be measured against the baseline schedule throughout the life of the project. Analyzing progress compared to the baseline schedule is known as
earned value management.
The inputs of the project planning phase 2 include the
project charter and the concept proposal. The outputs of the project planning phase include the project requirements, the project schedule, and the
project management plan.
[Filicetti, John]
Project Planning Overview
PM Hut (Last accessed 8 November 2009).
See also
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Cost overrun
*
Dependency structure matrix
*
Enterprise resource planning
*
Megaproject
*
Operations research
Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve management and ...
*
PRINCE2
*
Project Management Institute
*
Project plan
*
Project slippage
*
Project stakeholders
*
Scope creep
References
External links
International Project Management AssociationAssociation for Project Management (UK)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Project Planning
Schedule (project management)
Planning