Project planning is a discipline for stating how to complete a project within a certain

timeframe, usually with defined stages, and with designated resources. One view of
project planning divides the activity into:
 Setting objectives (these should be measurable)
 Identifying deliverables
 Planning the schedule
 Making supporting plans

Supporting plans may include those related to: human resources, communication methods,
and risk management.

Computer hardware and software project planning within an enterprise is often done using a
project planning guide that describes the process that the enterprise feels has been
successful in the past.

Project Planning Phase

The Project Planning Phase is the second phase in the project life cycle. It involves creating of a set
of plans to help guide your team through the execution and closure phases of the project.

The plans created during this phase will help you to manage time, cost, quality, change, risk and
issues. They will also help you manage staff and external suppliers, to ensure that you deliver the
project on time and within budget.

There are 10 Project Planning steps you need to take to complete the Project Planning
Phase efficiently. These steps and the templates needed to perform them, are shown in the following
diagram.

Click each link in the diagram below, to learn how these templates will help you to plan projects
efficiently.

Project Plan
This
Project Plan Template

will help you to quickly and easily create a Project Plan for your project. You can use it to create your
own customized project management plan for delivering your project on time and under budget.

If you want to create a Project Plan for your project within a few easy steps, then this project plan
template will tell you how to do it.
Each project planning step is described in detail and is accompanied by a suite of practical tips and
hints.
A full example is also included for just $3 more.
Click to add the Example.
 By using this Project Plan template, you can:

 Identify all of the phases, activities and tasks

 Sum up the effort needed to complete those tasks
 Document all of the project inter-dependencies
 List the planning assumptions and constraints
 Create a detailed project planning schedule
This Project Plan Template will also help you to:

 Define the project scope & milestones

 Identify the Work Breakdown Structure
 Set and agree the target delivery dates
 Monitor and control the allocation of resource
 Report on the progress of the project, to the sponsor
The Project Plan is the most important document in the project, as it provides the Project Manager
with a roadmap ahead, and it tells them during the journey whether they are on-track. Using this
Project Plan template, you can create a comprehensive project management plan for your project
today.

Resource Plan
This
Project Resource Management Plan

helps you to identify all of the resources required to complete your project successfully.

Using this Resource Plan, you will be able to identify the quantity of labor, equipment and materials
needed to deliver your project.
You will then create a resource schedule, which enables you to plan the consumption of each type of
resource, so that you know that you will have enough resources to complete the project. Now includes
both English and 简体中文!

This Resource Planning template will help you identify the:

 Types of labor required for the project

 Roles and key responsibilities for each labor type
 Number of people required to fill each role
 Items of equipment to be used and their purposes
 Types and quantities of equipment needed
 Total amount of materials needed
This Resource Plan template will also help you to:

 Plan the dates for using or consuming these resources

 Identify the amount of resource required per project activity
 Create a detailed resource utilization schedule
By purchasing this resource planning template, you can schedule the resources needed to complete
your project successfully.
 Financial Plan
This
Financial Planning Template

will help you to quickly and easily create a Financial Plan for your project.

A Financial Plan enables you to set a "budget", against which you measure your expenditure. To
deliver you project "within budget", you need to produce the project deliverables at a total cost which
does not exceed that stated in the budget.
Using this financial plan template, you can create a detailed budget against which to measure the
success of your project. Now includes both English and 简体中文!

This Financial Plan template will help you to identify the:

 Types of labour costs to be incurred during the project

 Items of equipment needed to deliver the project
 Various materials needed by the project
 Unit costs for labor, equipment and materials
 Other costs types such as administration
 Amount of contingency needed
You can then use the Financial Plan template to create a budget by:

 Calculating the total cost involved in completing the project

 Identifying the total cost of each project activity
 Creating a schedule of expenses
Creating a project budget is an extremely important part in any project, as it gives you a goal post to
aim for. This Financial Plan will help you meet that goal post, by giving you a clear process and
template for creating a budget for your project

Quality Plan
Create a
Quality Assurance Plan

and

Quality Control Plan

, using this quality management plan template.

It will help you to set quality targets for your project to ensure that the deliverables produced, meet
the needs of your customer.
You can then use it to schedule quality control and quality assurance activities, to assure your
customer that the quality targets will be met. Now includes both English and 简体中文!

You can use this Quality Plan to set quality targets by:

 Identifying the customers requirements

 Listing the project deliverables to be produced
 Setting quality criteria for these deliverables
 Defining quality standards for the deliverables
 Gaining your customers agreement with the targets set
You can then use this Quality Plan to monitor and control quality by:

 Identifying the quality control tasks needed to control quality

 Creating a Quality Control Plan, by scheduling the control activities
 Listing the quality assurance activities required to assure quality
 Building a Quality Assurance Plan, by creating an activity schedule
Quality Planning is a critical part of any project. It enables you to agree a set of quality targets with
your customer. It then helps you to monitor and control the level of quality produced by the project,
to ensure that you meet the quality targets set. By using this quality plan template, you can set
quality targets and ensure that your project produces deliverables which meet your customers needs,
thereby ensuring your success.

Risk Plan
This project
Risk Management Plan

helps you to identify risks and implement a plan to reduce them.

It helps you do this, by giving you a complete risk management plan, showing you how to take action
to reduce risk in your project.
Using this risk plan, you can monitor and control risks effectively, increasing you chances of achieving
success. Now includes both English and 简体中文!

This Risk Planning template will help you to:

 Identify risks within your project

 Categorize and prioritize each risk
 Determine the likelihood of the risks occurring
 Identify the impact on the project if risk does occur
You can then use this Risk Plan template to:

 Identify preventative actions to prevent the risk from occuring

 List contingent actions to reduce the impact, should the risk occur
 Schedule these actions within an acceptable timeframe
 Monitor the status of each risk throughout the project
Creating a Risk Management Plan is a critical step in any project, as it helps you to reduce the
likelihood of risk from occurring. Regardless of the type of risk, you will be able to use this template to
put in place processes and procedures for reducing the likelihood of risk occurring, thereby helping
you to deliver your project successfully.

Acceptance Plan
This
Acceptance Plan

helps you to gain the customers acceptance for the deliverables produced by your project.
 Creating an Acceptance Plan (or 'Acceptance Test Plan') is an important part of any project, as it
allows the customer to accept the deliverables you have produced for them.
By using this acceptance plan template, you can gain customer acceptance for your deliverables,
quickly and efficiently. Now includes both English and 简体中文!

This Acceptance Plan template will help you gain acceptance, by:

 Creating a full list of all project deliverables

 Listing the criteria for gaining customer acceptance
 Putting in place, acceptance standards to be met
You can then use this template to create an Acceptance Plan, by:

 Identifying the acceptance test methods

 Allocating acceptance test resources
 Scheduling acceptance reviews with your customer
 Gaining your final acceptance of your deliverables
By creating an Acceptance Plan for your projects, you'll boost your chances of success - as you will
constantly produce deliverables which meet your customers requirements. The Acceptance Plan
template helps you to schedule customer acceptance tests to ensure that your deliverables meet your
customers needs, every time.

Communication Plan
This
Communication Plan

template will help you to communicate the right information, to the right people, at the right time.

It will also help you create a schedule of communications events to ensure that your stakeholders are
always kept properly informed, ensuring their continued buy-in and support. Now includes both
English and 简体中文!

The template helps you to build Communication Plans by:

 Listing your communications stakeholders

 Defining each stakeholders communication needs
 Identifying the required communications events
 Determining the method and frequency of each event
 Allocating resource to communications events
 Building a communication event schedule
You can then use this Communication Plan template for :

 Monitoring the communications events completed

 Gaining feedback on communications events
 Improving communications processes
Communication Planning is an important part of any business. Using this template you can create a
comprehensive Communications Plan for your project or team, helping keep your stakeholders
properly informed at all times.
 Procurement Plan
This
Procurement Plan

helps you procure products and services from external suppliers. It provides you with a
complete project procurement plan template, to help you to quickly and easily create a Procurement
Plan for your business.

By planning your procurement carefully, you can ensure that you buy the right products for your
business, at the right price. Now includes both English and 简体中文!

This Procurement Plan helps you:

 Define your procurement requirements

 Identify all of the items you need to procure
 Create a sound financial justification for procuring them
It also helps you to:

 List all of the tasks involved in procuring your products

 Schedule those tasks by allocating timeframes and resources
 Create a robust project procurement process for your business
Procurement Planning is critical if you want to get the most out of your supplier relationships. By using
this Procurement Plan template, you can quickly and easily define your procurement requirements, the
method of procurement and the timeframes for delivery.