What is the purpose of project planning

Project management planning is the process of creating a roadmap that outlines the steps and resources required to successfully complete a project. The purpose of project planning is to ensure that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of what needs to be done, when, and by whom, and to identify potential risks and issues that may arise during the project lifecycle. A project plan ensures everyone is on the same page from the start, and what ‘project success’ looks like, is clear.  

Why is project planning important

Project plans are important because they provide a framework for organising and managing project activities. They help project managers identify key milestones, dependencies, and resources required to complete the project on time and within budget. Project plans also consider when stakeholders will be updated and what reporting will be used to ensure that the project stays on track.  

How to approach project planning

Project planning involves defining several key factors such as project goals, objectives, scope, timelines, budgets, and deliverables. It’s important to ensure you take effective and practical steps to project planning for project success.

Approaching project planning involves several key steps.  

Step one: Define the project goals and objectives

Identify what needs to be accomplished, why it is important, and what success looks like. This step also helps to ensure that your project is geared to support the overall strategic business objectives.  

Step two: Define project scope

This involves determining what is included and what is not included in the project. Understanding project scope ensures that everyone understands what the outcome of the project is, and acts as the guidelines of what needs to happen, this can help to avoid scope creep.

Step three: Create a project schedule

This involves breaking down the project into smaller tasks and estimating the time required to complete each task. PPM tools are a great help in this step with the use of Gantt charts and Kanban boards to organise deliverables. Once the schedule is in place, project managers can identify project risks and develop a risk management plan to mitigate those risks.  

Step four: Develop a budget and resource plan

This step includes identifying the resources required to complete the project and estimating the cost of those resources. A budget and resource plan helps project managers identify potential cost overruns and make adjustments as needed to stay within budget. Effective resource management can help with the overall success of your project.

PPM Software and project planning

Fluid can help with project planning by providing a comprehensive set of PPM tools. Fluid offers features to help organise your work effectively and track its progress. The intuitive features allow project managers to create project schedules, define project scope and objectives, manage project risks, and track project progress.  

Effective collaboration tools that Fluid provides allows project teams to work together on their created project plans and track progress. Reporting is made easy with an advanced reporting suite to create customisable dashboards to update stakeholders on progress. Fluid provides customisable project templates that can help project managers save time and ensure that all key elements of project planning are covered.

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