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Exhibit 2 documents the process. To be effective, it must be iterative, meaning you will cycle through it several times. This is because planning is done in parallel with the requirements and design phases, so to some degree you are trying to hit a moving target. Exhibit 2 lists the steps.
Exhibit 2: Project Planning Tasks
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It is not uncommon for project managers and team leads to essentially rush straight to the work, no matter what managed to find its way onto paper. You must guard against this. It is a good idea to approach any planning gaps as a teacher, cheerleader, and mentor, however, instead of with disappointment or frustration because, as mentioned, people really are uncomfortable with the process. To do that, you need to be okay with the process yourself. Let us review what we have accomplished thus far in our project narrative, and then take the next steps that will result in a superior project calendar:
We developed our requirements and specifications (Chapter 2).
The technology solution was designed and validated (Chapter 3).
We wrote an implementation strategy for each solution (Chapter 4).
We accounted for all identifiable risk (Chapter 5).
All that remains on our plate is the scheduling of tasks required to get the work done. Obviously, the tasks have to be identified and owners assigned, but at the high level that is already done. Implementation strategies and Plan Bs provide all the high-level tasks. You have been working with team leads for months on these plan components, so ownership is pretty well settled. Your rolled up implementation strategy should have identified dependencies and project milestones as well.
So what is the next step? No, do not launch that project planning application on your desktop just yet, tempting though that might be. Those planning tools have their merits, but there is a downside to them as well. They are wonderful tools for documenting a well-thought-out schedule, but far too confusing to use as the key means of understanding what that schedule should be.
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