Chapter 6: Writing the Plan

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Now that the project vision has been sketched out, it is time to complete the detailed blueprint. To be blunt about it, most people dislike formalized project plans and the activities associated with creating and managing them. As we move from project to project, we repeatedly find a lack of enthusiasm for this process. Reasons for this range from not wanting to commit to dates, to the fact that it just is not easy to build a fathomable plan for a complex, multideliverable project.

Although you need this plan well in advance of implementation time, you might feel that if you do not dummy up one yourself, you will receive little of value from team leads. You could be right about that, but there is much more to the story. This chapter addresses this vexing challenge.

6.1 Planning Process Objectives

First, I want make sure we have a good understanding of the planning process before worrying about whose plan it is. As you go forward from whiteboard diagrams, e-mails, and other documentation, keep in mind that:

• A plan is more than a schedule or Gantt chart.

• What most people call "the plan" is really "the schedule."

• Do not start scheduling until implementation strategies and Plan Bs are done.

• Task owners must buy into their assigned tasks, dates, and dependencies.

• The plan focuses on the results the project team was engaged to achieve.

Exhibit 1 presents the three outcomes you are trying to achieve as a result of the planning process.

Exhibit 1: Planning Process Objectives

• You are confident that the plan covers all requirements.

• The plan has buy-in from the team and senior management.

• You can manage the project with the plan.

These are lofty goals. Unfortunately, all the academic training in the world will not make you a competent planner because building a great schedule is largely a function of two things:

1. How well you have followed the script outlined thus far in this book, particularly in terms of getting your teams to do the detailed analyses that complex projects require

2. How well you understand the project and what steps you are about to take as project manager

Most important, the right plan is one that ultimately comes from you. That great piece of work reflects your critical path accurately and truthfully, and is the roadmap you use to make sure you do not get lost, even if the team contends they know better than you where the project is going.

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