Module 1
Page 5 of 13

When planning a project, there are a few key rules to follow:

  • Think about key milestones that are important to you and others, and plan backwards from these points.
  • Start at as high a level as you’re comfortable doing - thinking broadly about the different activities that will help you meet milestones.
  • Resist planning in too much detail or using a format that is difficult to iterate until you’re clear around the key phases.
  • Be prepared to share your thoughts and consider your plan as a working document. You need to be able to iterate and update your plan based on feedback.
  • Identify key dependencies within your plan and build detailed activities around making sure that these dependencies are met.
  • Associate resources with each task in your plan and be prepared to track those resources and understand whether

Note the difference between:

Internal dependencies: A time within the project that has been identified as having a direct and important requirement on another workstream or activity within the project. These are identified as being materially different from ‘external dependencies’, as they can be controlled within the project.

External dependencies: A time within the project that has been identified as having a direct and important requirement on a third party who’s not directly part of the project. These items are typically a signoff or a review without which the project cannot continue. Special attention has to be given to these moments as they easily delay or derail a project if not planned correctly. Note that it is advisable to have as few of these external dependencies as possible.

Governance meetings: Discussions with key stakeholders to inform them of progress on the project and allow them to feed back on materials shown to them. Note that these meetings are not considered as dependencies unless stated elsewhere. This means that the project can continue as planned whether the governance meeting goes ahead if not.

Milestones: Key deliveries or achievements in the project. These can also be separate from dependencies and governance points.

Project Planning
  • Do
  • Make an effort to keep external dependencies to a minimum
  • Assign responsibilities to a named individual
  • Make detailed plans around each dependency
  • Outline what needs to be provided to each named individual to make sure the dependency can be met
  • Don’t
  • Create unnecessary dependencies such as governance meetings. These are not the same as sign off meetings and shouldn’t be allowed to affect the schedule.
  • Assign responsibilities to a whole department or a role
  • Be vague about the nature of your dependencies, these are the points which can cause big delays to your project.
Resources

See our example plan here