ProjectConnections Print View
888-722-5235
7am-5pm Pacific
Monday - Friday
We'd love to talk to you.
Learn more about ProjectConnections and who writes our content.
Site Help
| Content Levels | |
 | Register for free access to papers, case studies, and almost 50 templates. |
 | Subscribe for complete access: $14.95 monthly or $149/year |
| Risk-free 15-day trial!
Compare levels View sample templates Corporate subscriptions | |
Project Plan Example - Small Project
Quick Summary
Are a 20-30 page dense project plan and hefty schedule file just too much for that smaller but important effort you've got to get done? No fear, project plans "lite" can take many useful and practical forms. Check out this example from one company's project to unify its Product Development Life-cycle methodology across 3 sites after an acquisition.
What this is
Example approach to creating a "light" project plan for a small project.
This example is derived from the plan created by a company that needed to unify their product development/project management lifecycle (PLC) process across 3 divisions. Each division had its own slightly different PLC; the project's goal was to combine the best of each site's approach to define a common process that all 3 sites would use. This "common process creation" was the project. The team consisted of 5 core members from the 3 divisions, plus another 10 "extended" members who were needed for reviews and communication to functional groups who would be affected by the project.
The team needed to get buy-in to the project and plan the project such that goals were set to ensure the project finished in the needed time, and reviews were held to make sure the project's deliverables would meet everyone's needs. However, the project was much simpler than their big development efforts and could be run more "informally." They settled on this plan approach as what they needed. Their approach can be easily adapted to other types of projects.
Why it's useful
As this team knew, some projects just don't need a long involved project plan document; they may be "small" in that they're of short duration, simple or straightforward, well-defined, and/or to be executed by a small team.
The temptation may be to run without a plan at all-just "get it done". However, any project no matter how small can benefit from some project planning fundamentals, such as identifying the project goals, risks, timeline, and team roles.
How to use it
- Identify the project(s) you believe could benefit from this light approach to planning.
- Review the items this team included in their project plan.
- Ask yourself whether the items in this plan, at this level of detail, will accomplish everything you need in terms of defining the goals thoroughly, organizing the team, setting deadlines, managing risks, etc.
- If you see areas where your project will need more detail, add that detail to the template.
- Use the template to plan the project with your team members.
- Refer to the plan file as the project progresses. Its format lends itself to specific pages being copied, used in meetings, posted on office walls, etc. to keep key goals and deadlines visible.
©Copyright 2000-2008 Emprend, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About us Site Map View current sponsorship opportunities (PDF)
Contact us for more information or e-mail info@projectconnections.com
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy