Your Voice: Planning is the key to project management success

What’s the plan?

The old adage says failing to plan is planning to fail. Learning how to plan any project successfully is one of the most important skills you could learn as a professional. 

The life cycle of a project as per the Project Management Institute (PMI) consists of five key processes, including initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

Project planning is all about breaking down a project into tasks, assembling a project team, and determining a schedule over which the work is to be completed. 

Project planning plays an essential role in guiding stakeholders, sponsors, teams, and the project manager through the project phases. 

A project that is flawed from the start will not succeed and will create more problems for the team down the line.

Every project is unique in nature and has its own challenges. However, projects that fail usually do so as a result of similar types of problems. Finding examples of failed projects is not difficult, but making a root cause analysis of the issues that resulted in failure may not be quite as easy. 

Even projects completed on time and within budget can still fail. Here are the most common problems that derail projects:

1. Poor planning 

2. Lack of decision making

3. People (HR) problems 

4. Unclear/changing requirements 

5. Incomplete phase deliverables 

6. Lack of communication 

7. Insufficient funding/ scope growth

8. Multiple stakeholders and approval 

9. Lack of Schedule

10. Unrealistic milestones or deadlines 

PMI estimates that organizations waste an average of $97 million for every $1 billion invested due to poor project performance.

The execution of a project is based on a robust project plan and can only be achieved through the development of an effective schedule.  

It is widely recognized that project success factors are based on good project planning practices, which result in optimized cost and schedule outcomes. 

Always remember a good project plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and the best way to get there.

Completing a project successfully is never an accident, it is always the result of intelligent planning, commitment to excellence, and focused efforts.

P > Prepare effective Project Plans

L > Learn/Lead/Execute

A > Act/Adjust

N > Navigate to success

Editor’s Note: Your Voice reflects the thoughts and opinions of the writer and not necessarily those of the publication.