What are the elements of a project plan?

Project planning is not an exact science, and project plans vary greatly depending upon what is being developed and the project scope. Furthermore, project plan terms like scope statement, project charter, and statement of work are not rigorously standardized and often have overlap or differing interpretations. One of the primary considerations should always be to have enough information, but no more. Demanding paperwork and reports for the simple sake of having things documented serves no useful purpose, and can drive frustrated team members to view project management as nothing but busywork and bureaucracy. At the other end of the spectrum, glossing over necessary tools and planning to "get to the real work" can result in unnecessary and expensive rework and customer frustration, not to mention rampant episodes of "I told you so" drama. Finding the right balance is as much art as science. The best starting point is to view planning documents primarily as thinking tools—if the documentation indicates that you've thought things through thoroughly and have a plan, it's probably sufficient. If it requires the reader to fill in lots of blanks that are known to the PM but not to any of the team members, there is probably work left to do.

Here's a checklist of what should be included in nearly all project plans:…

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