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A project plan explains how a project will be delivered, controlled and completed. It brings together the project's objectives, scope, activities, timescales, resources, responsibilities, risks, costs, quality expectations and communication arrangements so that the team has a shared understanding of what needs to happen.
A project plan is broader than a Gantt chart. The schedule is an important part of planning, but a complete project plan also explains what is being delivered, why it matters, who is responsible and how the project will respond when circumstances change.
What is project planning?
Project planning is the process of deciding how the project objectives will be achieved.
It turns an idea or approved business case into a structured approach for delivery.
Planning can involve:
- defining scope
- identifying deliverables
- breaking work into activities
- estimating effort and duration
- sequencing tasks
- identifying dependencies
- assigning responsibilities
- planning resources and costs
- identifying risks
- setting quality criteria
- planning communication
- agreeing how progress will be controlled
Why is a project plan important?
Without a plan, different people can hold different assumptions about:
- what the project includes
- when work should happen
- who is responsible
- what “finished” means
- which risks matter
- how much time and money are available
A good plan creates a reference point for decision-making and progress monitoring.
It does not guarantee that nothing will change. Instead, it gives the team enough structure to understand the effect when change occurs.
What should a project plan contain?
The exact contents depend on the organisation, project size and delivery approach, but common areas include:
- objectives
- scope
- deliverables
- requirements
- work breakdown structure
- schedule
- milestones
- resources
- budget
- risks and issues
- quality
- stakeholders
- communications
- governance
- change control
- benefits and success criteria
Start with the project objective
A plan should be built around a clear outcome.
Compare:
Implement a new system.
with:
Replace the existing customer-support platform by 31 March so that all service teams can manage enquiries through one supported system while retaining required customer records.
The second statement gives much more context for planning scope, time and success.
What is project scope?
Project scope defines what work and deliverables are included.
Clear scope helps prevent people assuming that related but unapproved work is automatically part of the project.
A scope definition can identify:
- deliverables
- features or capabilities
- boundaries
- exclusions
- assumptions
- constraints
Scope should connect to the project's objectives and stakeholder requirements.
Product scope vs project scope
Product scope describes the features and characteristics of what the project will deliver.
Project scope describes the work required to create and deliver that outcome.
For example, the product might be a new online booking service. Project scope also includes analysis, design, testing, migration, training and implementation work needed to deliver it.
What is a work breakdown structure?
A Work Breakdown Structure, or WBS, decomposes project scope into manageable components.
It helps the team move from a high-level deliverable such as “Launch new website” into smaller packages of work that can be estimated, assigned and controlled.
A WBS might include:
- requirements
- content
- design
- development
- testing
- data migration
- training
- launch
Each area can then be decomposed further where needed.
What is a project schedule?
The project schedule shows when activities are planned to occur and how they depend on one another.
It can include:
- tasks
- durations
- start and finish dates
- dependencies
- resources
- milestones
- deadlines
Software such as Microsoft Project helps teams build and maintain schedules, but the quality of the schedule still depends on the planning decisions behind it.
Project plan vs project schedule
| Project plan | Project schedule |
|---|---|
| Broad delivery and control approach | Time-based model of project activities |
| Includes scope, risks, costs, resources and governance | Includes tasks, durations, dates and dependencies |
| Explains how the project will be managed | Shows when work is expected to happen |
| May contain or reference several management plans | Often presented through a Gantt chart or network diagram |
What is a Gantt chart?
A Gantt chart displays project tasks against a timeline.
Horizontal bars represent task duration, allowing the team to see:
- when tasks start and finish
- which tasks overlap
- milestones
- dependencies
- progress
Gantt charts are particularly useful for communicating a schedule visually.
They should not be mistaken for the entire project plan.
What is a project dependency?
A dependency means that one activity has a relationship with another.
For example, user-acceptance testing cannot normally finish before the system being tested has been built.
Common schedule relationship types include:
- Finish-to-Start
- Start-to-Start
- Finish-to-Finish
- Start-to-Finish
Finish-to-Start is the most familiar: Task B cannot start until Task A finishes.
What is lead and lag time?
Lag inserts a delay between related activities.
For example, concrete may need a curing period before the next construction task can begin.
Lead allows a successor activity to begin before the predecessor has fully completed where the work can legitimately overlap.
Lead and lag should represent real work logic rather than be used to hide weak planning.
What is a milestone?
A milestone is a significant point or event in the project.
Examples include:
- business case approved
- design signed off
- testing completed
- system goes live
- project closes
Milestones normally have zero duration in a schedule and provide useful management and reporting checkpoints.
What is the critical path?
The critical path is the sequence of activities that determines the earliest possible project finish date under the current schedule logic.
If a critical activity is delayed and no corrective action is taken, the overall project finish is likely to move.
Activities outside the critical path may have some scheduling flexibility, commonly described as float or slack.
Understanding the critical path helps project managers focus attention on work that has the greatest effect on completion.
What is float?
Float describes how much an activity can move without affecting a defined schedule date.
Total float generally indicates how long an activity can be delayed before the project finish or another key constraint is affected.
Float is not automatically spare time to be consumed. It is part of the schedule's flexibility and should be monitored.
How do you estimate task duration?
Useful estimates can draw on:
- experience from previous projects
- subject-matter experts
- historical data
- supplier estimates
- team-based estimation
- three-point estimates
Duration is not the same as effort.
A task may require 16 hours of work but take five working days because the person can only spend part of each day on it.
What is resource planning?
Resource planning identifies the people, equipment, facilities and other resources required to perform the work.
Questions include:
- Which skills are needed?
- When are people available?
- Are resources shared with other projects?
- Does the plan create unrealistic peaks?
- Are specialist suppliers required?
A schedule that assumes the same person can work on five tasks simultaneously is not a realistic plan.
What is resource levelling?
Resource levelling adjusts the schedule to resolve over-allocation or resource limits.
This may move task dates and can extend the project if scarce resources are required by several activities.
Microsoft Project provides tools for identifying and managing resource over-allocation, but the project manager still needs to decide which work should move.
How do risks fit into a project plan?
Risk planning considers uncertain events that could affect objectives.
A risk register can record:
- risk description
- cause
- probability
- impact
- owner
- response
- review status
Risk responses can create additional tasks or contingency within the project plan.
Risk vs issue
A risk is uncertain. It might happen.
An issue has already happened or already exists and needs to be managed.
For example:
- Risk: the supplier may miss the delivery date.
- Issue: the supplier has confirmed the equipment will be two weeks late.
How are project costs planned?
Cost planning can include:
- staff effort
- supplier charges
- equipment
- licences
- travel
- facilities
- contingency
Budget assumptions should align with the schedule and resource plan. If a project extends by two months, cost consequences may follow.
What is a baseline?
A baseline is an approved version of a project plan or schedule used as a reference for measuring performance.
In scheduling software, a baseline can preserve planned dates, durations, work and costs so current performance can be compared with the approved plan.
If every delay simply causes the baseline to be overwritten, the organisation loses visibility of variance.
When should a baseline change?
A baseline should normally change through an agreed control process when there is an approved change to the project's underlying commitment.
It should not be changed simply to make a late project appear on time.
What is change control?
Projects change. The purpose of change control is to understand and approve changes rather than pretend they will not happen.
A change request can be assessed for impact on:
- scope
- time
- cost
- quality
- risk
- benefits
- resources
Approved changes can then be incorporated into the plan in a controlled way.
Stakeholders and communication planning
Different stakeholders need different project information.
A communication plan can identify:
- who needs information
- what they need
- how often
- which format should be used
- who is responsible for communicating it
A sponsor may need a concise monthly status summary, while the delivery team needs detailed task and issue information more frequently.
How detailed should a project plan be?
The plan should contain enough detail to manage the project effectively without creating unnecessary administration.
A two-week internal improvement initiative does not need the same documentation as a multi-year infrastructure programme.
Tailor planning to:
- project size
- complexity
- risk
- regulation
- number of organisations involved
- delivery approach
Project planning in Agile environments
Agile does not mean “no planning”.
Agile teams plan at several levels, such as:
- product or project roadmap
- release or increment
- iteration or Sprint
- daily work
More detail is developed as work approaches and new information becomes available.
The difference is often the timing and adaptability of planning rather than the absence of plans.
Project plan vs PRINCE2 plan
PRINCE2 uses planning as one of its core project-management practices and distinguishes different plan levels, including project, stage and team planning where appropriate.
PRINCE2 also emphasises product-based planning, which starts from the products and outcomes required rather than immediately listing activities.
Those wanting formal PRINCE2 training can explore the PRINCE2 Project Management Foundation course.
How Microsoft Project supports planning
Microsoft Project is a scheduling and project-planning application.
It can help users:
- enter tasks
- build a work hierarchy
- set durations
- create dependencies
- add milestones
- assign resources
- calculate schedules
- identify critical tasks
- save baselines
- track progress
The application performs calculations based on the information supplied. It does not decide the project's scope, priorities or business objectives for you.
Common project-planning mistakes
- Starting with dates before defining scope. The schedule becomes a guess.
- Listing tasks without dependencies. The plan cannot model the effect of delay.
- Using arbitrary constraints. Tasks become fixed to dates without real business logic.
- Ignoring resources. The schedule assumes impossible availability.
- Using the Gantt chart as the whole plan. Risks, scope and governance disappear.
- Planning once and never updating. The plan stops reflecting reality.
- Changing the baseline to hide variance. Performance information is lost.
- Adding excessive detail. The schedule becomes difficult to maintain.
A simple project-planning sequence
- Confirm the objective and business need.
- Identify stakeholders.
- Define scope and deliverables.
- Capture key requirements.
- Create a work breakdown structure.
- Estimate effort and duration.
- Sequence activities and dependencies.
- Assign resources.
- Identify risks and responses.
- Estimate costs.
- Define milestones and reporting.
- Review the plan with the team and sponsor.
- Approve a baseline.
- Update and control the plan throughout delivery.
Frequently asked questions
Is a project plan the same as a Gantt chart?
No. A Gantt chart is a visual representation of the project schedule. The wider project plan also covers areas such as scope, risk, cost, resources, quality and governance.
Who creates the project plan?
The project manager normally coordinates planning, but good plans are developed collaboratively with team members, subject-matter experts, stakeholders and suppliers.
When should the project plan be created?
Initial planning takes place before significant delivery begins, but plans should be refined and updated throughout the project as more information becomes available.
What is the difference between effort and duration?
Effort is the amount of work required. Duration is the elapsed working time between task start and finish. They are related but not identical.
What is a project baseline?
It is an approved reference version of the plan used to compare actual or forecast performance with the agreed commitment.
Can project plans change?
Yes. Projects operate in changing environments. The important point is that material changes are assessed and controlled rather than introduced without understanding their impact.
Develop your project-planning skills with ExperTrain
The Project Management Fundamentals course develops practical skills across business cases, stakeholders, scope, requirements, work breakdown structures, risks, schedules, budgets and change.
If you need to turn project activities into a working schedule, Microsoft Project Introduction teaches tasks, milestones, dependencies, resources, baselines and schedule management using Microsoft Project.
You can also explore Project Management training, including PRINCE2, AgilePM and APM pathways.
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