Chapter 2: Building the Macro Plan

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OVERVIEW

Building the macro plan is one of the most important aspects of an advanced project. Once completed, it will follow the project through to its final completion and will be used in the assessment of success post project completion. The macro plan serves many purposes. It supplies an overview to those working on the project of the activities and the order in which they are required. It is also used to convince senior managers in an organization that the project will be successful. However its first job is to supply the information necessary to complete the business case, thereby freeing up the resources needed for the project.

The macro plan on its own is not sufficient to allow the completion of the full business case. This requires the completion of a second stage of planning, the work breakdown structure (WBS). Once completed, the work breakdown structure and the macro plan together will enable you to construct a solid business case. They will also set out the activities and schedule that the project needs to undertake. Not surprisingly, the work breakdown structure and the macro plan each require a number of activities to be completed before they can be produced.