What is project planning?

Project planning refers to the structured preparation of a project. This involves defining project objectives, tasks, deadlines, responsibilities, resources, costs, dependencies and potential risks.

It lays the foundations for a project to be organised, managed and monitored in a transparent manner. Project planning usually begins before the actual implementation, but is regularly reviewed and adjusted throughout the course of the project.

The aim of structured project planning is to carry out all necessary work in a logical sequence, to make the required resources available in good time, and to meet agreed deadlines, costs and quality requirements.

With a digital project planning Projects, tasks, staff, deadlines, milestones and capacities can be coordinated in a single visual planning view.

What tasks are involved in project planning?

Project planning encompasses all the organisational and planning tasks necessary for successful implementation.

Key tasks include:

• Define project objectives
• Define the scope of the project
• Record requirements
• Break the project down into phases and work packages
• Assign tasks and responsibilities
• Set dates and milestones
• Take dependencies between tasks into account
• Schedule staff, machinery and other resources
• Calculate effort and costs
• Analysing project risks
• Establish communication and decision-making channels
• Monitor project progress
• Document any deviations and changes

The specific scope of the planning depends on the size of the project, its duration, the number of people involved and the complexity of the tasks.

What are the objectives of project planning?

Project planning aims to create a realistic and transparent framework for action for all those involved in the project.

The key objectives include:

• clear project objectives and results
• clear tasks and responsibilities
• realistic deadlines
• resource allocation tailored to requirements
• Early detection of bottlenecks
• Control of costs and expenditure
• co-ordinated collaboration
• well-founded decisions
• reduced project risks
• Regular progress monitoring

Good project planning does not prevent every deviation. However, it ensures that the consequences can be identified more quickly and that appropriate measures can be taken in good time.

What stages does project planning involve?

The specific structure may vary depending on the project methodology and the organisation. A project is often divided into several sequential phases.

1. Project initiation

During the initialisation phase, it is clarified why the project is to be carried out and what results are expected.

Typical content includes:

• Initial situation
• Project idea
• Benefits and Objectives
• Project brief
• initial cost estimate
• key stakeholders
• general feasibility

2. Project definition

In this phase, the objectives, scope and framework conditions are described in greater detail.

These include:

• Project objectives
• Scope of the project
• Distinction from other projects
• Results and deliverables
• Project organisation
• Decision-making powers
• Budget framework

3. Detailed planning

Detailed planning breaks the project down into specific tasks, deadlines and responsibilities.

Among other things, the following are specified here:

• Project phases
• Work packages
• Tasks
• Costs
• Dependencies
• Milestones
• Resources
• Costs
• Risks

4. Project implementation

During implementation, the planned tasks are carried out and the results are produced.

Project planning serves as a guide and a basis for comparison. Actual progress, costs and deadlines are regularly compared with the planned figures.

5. Project management

Project management oversees implementation and responds to deviations.

Typical tasks include:

• Check project status
• Monitor deadlines
• Monitor costs
• Resolving resource conflicts
• Update risks
• Rate the changes
• Decide on measures

6. Project completion

At the end of the project, the results are accepted, outstanding issues are resolved and lessons learnt are documented.

This may include:

• Acceptance of project deliverables
• Handover to the plant or customer
• Final documentation
• Post-calculation
• Analysis of key performance indicators
• Lessons Learnt
• Dissolution of the project team

How does project planning work?

Professional project planning involves several coordinated steps.

1. Define the project objective

Firstly, it must be clearly described what the project is intended to achieve.

A project objective should be defined as clearly as possible:

• what result is expected
• by when the result should be available
• What quality requirements apply?
• what budget is available
• which areas are not part of the project

Unclear or contradictory objectives often lead to subsequent changes and misunderstandings.

2. Define the scope of the project

The scope of the project describes which services, tasks and deliverables form part of the project.

It is equally important to clarify what is excluded. It should be documented which services are expressly not included in the project.

3. Create a project structure plan

The project structure plan organises the project hierarchically into sub-projects, work packages and tasks.

It answers the question of which tasks are necessary to achieve the complete project outcome.

A project structure plan may, for example, contain the following levels:

1. Overall project
2. Project phases
3. Sub-projects
4. Work packages
5. Individual tasks

4. Describe tasks and work packages

For each work package, the content, expected outcome, responsibility, effort and deadline are specified.

A job description may include the following details:

• Name
• Description
• Responsible person
• Start date
• Deadline
• planned effort
• Resources required
• Dependencies
• Acceptance criteria

5. Determine dependencies

Many tasks cannot begin until other work has been completed or certain results are available.

Typical dependencies include:

• A task begins once another task has been completed
• Several tasks must start simultaneously
• Approval is required before proceeding to the next step
• Material or information must be available
• A particular resource is required first in another task

If dependencies are not taken into account, unrealistic project deadlines will result.

6. Estimate the effort and duration

For tasks and work packages, the effort required and the duration must be estimated.

The amount of work involved and the duration are not the same. A task requiring 16 working hours may take two days if one person works on it full-time. If only four hours are spent on it each day, the duration will be extended accordingly.

7. Schedule resources

Suitable staff, teams, machines, vehicles, rooms or other operational resources are allocated to the tasks.

The planning process must check whether the resources are available and technically suitable within the specified timeframe.

8. Set dates and milestones

A realistic project schedule is drawn up based on tasks, dependencies, effort and available resources.

Key interim results are defined as milestones.

9. Assess risks

Potential risks are identified and assessed in terms of their likelihood of occurrence and possible consequences.

Preventative measures and contingency plans are established for significant risks.

10. Agree on and approve the project plan

The project plan is agreed with clients, project management, specialist departments and other stakeholders.

Once approved, it forms the binding basis for implementation, communication and project management.

11. Continuously update the project plan

During the project, actual progress, new findings and changes will be incorporated into the planning.

A project plan must reflect the current status. A plan that has been drawn up but not updated quickly loses its usefulness.

What is a project structure plan?

A project structure plan, often abbreviated to PSP, breaks a project down completely and hierarchically into manageable components.

It forms the basis for further planning steps such as:

• Scheduling
• Resource planning
• Cost planning
• Risk planning
• Allocation of responsibility
• Progress monitoring

The project structure plan shows what needs to be done in the project. It does not necessarily specify when the individual tasks are to be carried out.

The chronological sequence is then set out in the schedule or timetable.

What is a work package?

A work package is a clearly defined unit within a project. It comprises a defined task or a group of related activities.

A good work package includes:

• unique designation
• specific result
• person in charge
• planned effort
• Start and end dates
• Resources required
• Acceptance criteria

Work packages should be large enough to be managed effectively, but small enough to identify progress and deviations in good time.

What is a milestone?

A milestone is an important checkpoint or decision point in a project. It does not usually have a duration of its own, but rather marks a defined point in time or an outcome that has been achieved.

Typical milestones include:

• Project approval
• Completion of the concept phase
• Approval of a prototype
• Start of implementation
• Completion of a test
• Customer acceptance
• Go-live
• Project completion

Milestones make it easier to monitor progress and provide clear decision points.

What is a Gantt chart?

A Gantt chart displays tasks and work packages as bars on a timeline.

It can make the following visible:

• Start and end times of tasks
• Duration of work packages
• time overlaps
• Dependencies
• Milestones
• Project phases
• Progress

Gantt charts are particularly well suited to providing an overview of a project’s timeline. However, for comprehensive project planning, resources, capacities, responsibilities and effort must also be taken into account.

A practical example of project planning

A mechanical engineering company is developing a new production plant for a client. The project encompasses design, procurement, manufacturing, software development, assembly, testing and commissioning.

The agreed delivery date has already been set. Several specialists are working on other projects at the same time. In addition, a test bench is required, but its availability is limited.

With centralised project planning, project management can identify:

• which tasks are interdependent
• when design and material approval must be completed
• which employees are scheduled to work on other projects at the same time
• when the test bench will be available
• which tasks lie on the critical path
• which milestones are at risk due to delays
• whether additional external capacity is required

If the delivery of a key component is delayed, the impact on assembly, testing and commissioning can be assessed immediately.

Project managers can prioritise alternative tasks, reallocate resources or inform the client at an early stage of any potential risks to the deadline.

What is digital project planning?

In digital project planning, projects, tasks, deadlines, resources, milestones and progress are planned and managed within a central software system.

A digital planning board can, for example, display the following information:

• Current and planned projects
• Project phases
• Tasks and work packages
• Start and end dates
• Milestones
• key staff members
• Resources required
• Capacities and utilisation
• Order or project status
• Progress
• Risks and outstanding issues
• Documents and supplementary information

This enables project managers, specialist departments, staff and management to work with a shared planning status.

The difference between project planning and project management

Project planning and project management are often used interchangeably, but they describe different scopes.

Project planning focuses on the preparation and ongoing updating of the project plan.

These include, in particular:

• Objectives
• Tasks
• Dates
• Resources
• Costs
• Dependencies
• Risks

Project management also encompasses the overall management and oversight of the project.

This also includes:

• Project organisation
• Communication
• Leading the project team
• Decision Management
• Quality management
• Change management
• Conflict management
• Project completion

Project planning is therefore a key component of project management.

The difference between project planning and project management

Project planning describes the intended sequence of events in a project.

Project management compares this plan with the actual progress of the project and takes action in the event of deviations.

Project management, for example, answers the following questions:

• Is the project on schedule?
• Are planned workloads being met?
• Are there enough resources available?
• What risks have materialised?
• Which tasks are running late?
• What countermeasures are required?

Planning and management form a continuous cycle. New insights gained from project management must be incorporated into the project plan.

Project planning and resource planning

Projects require staff, machinery, vehicles, premises, budgets and other resources.

The Resource planning shows which resources are available or already fully utilised at a specific point in time.

Project planning allocates these resources to specific tasks, work packages and project phases.

Example: Project planning shows that a test engineer is required for a test phase. Resource planning also shows whether this employee is already scheduled for another project during the specified period.

Project planning and staff deployment planning

Employees are often required to work on several tasks or projects simultaneously.

The Staff deployment planning Takes into account, amongst other things:

• Availability
• Qualifications
• Working time models
• Holidays and Absences
• current project utilisation
• Locations
• Project roles

A task may be scheduled to be completed on time in the project plan, but may still not be carried out due to a lack of staff capacity.

Project planning and capacity planning

Capacity planning compares the planned workload with the available capacity.

For example, it shows:

• which teams are overloaded
• where there is spare capacity
• which months are particularly busy
• which key resources cause bottlenecks
• whether external support is required

Example: 600 development hours are required next month for several concurrent projects. However, due to holidays and other tasks, the development team only has 480 hours available.

Capacity planning highlights capacity shortfalls before projects fall behind schedule.

Project planning and scheduling

Scheduling determines when individual tasks begin and end.

The following must be taken into account:

• Task duration
• Dependencies
• Resource availability
• Milestones
• Delivery dates
• Approvals
• Buffer times
• Public holidays and absences

A schedule is only realistic if it is not based solely on desired completion dates, but takes into account available capacity and actual dependencies.

Project planning and task planning

Task planning breaks down project objectives into specific, actionable tasks.

For each task, at least the following information should be specified:

• Job description
• Responsible person
• Start date
• Deadline
• planned effort
• Priority
• Status
• Dependencies
• Resources required

Planning tasks in too broad terms makes it difficult to monitor progress. Conversely, planning in too much detail results in a high administrative burden.

Project planning and multi-project management

In multi-project management, several projects are planned and managed simultaneously.

This presents additional challenges:

• shared staff
• competing project priorities
• limited budgets
• Key milestones
• Dependencies between projects
• various clients
• shared machinery or rooms

In this case, looking at each project individually is not enough. Only cross-project capacity and resource planning reveals the actual overall utilisation.

Project planning and risk management

Project risks are potential events that could affect deadlines, costs, quality or project outcomes.

Typical project risks include:

• Staff absence
• Delays in delivery
• technical issues
• Unclear requirements
• outstanding decisions
• Cost increases
• Reliance on external partners
• overly tight scheduling
• lack of key skills

For each significant risk, responsibility, probability of occurrence, potential impacts and appropriate measures should be documented.

Project planning and change management

Changes are inevitable in many projects. They may relate to requirements, deadlines, costs, resources or the scope of the project.

A structured change management process comprises:

1. Record change
2. Analyse the implications
3. Assess costs and deadlines
4. Seek a decision
5. Update project plan
6. Inform those involved
7. Document the change

If changes are implemented informally, the project plan, budget and actual scope of work often no longer match.

The critical path in project planning

The critical path consists of the consecutive tasks that determine the earliest possible project completion date.

If a task on the critical path is delayed, the project completion date will generally be postponed as well, unless countermeasures are taken.

Tasks outside the critical path may have time buffers. These buffers indicate how far a task can be postponed without affecting the completion date of the overall project.

The critical path helps project managers to identify tasks that are particularly relevant to the deadline and to monitor them more closely.

Planned and actual figures in project planning

For effective project management, planned and actual figures must be compared.

Typical plan-versus-actual comparisons include:

• planned and actual start date
• planned and actual completion date
• planned and actual effort
• planned and actual costs
• Planned and actual progress
• Planned and actual resource utilisation

Deviations should not only be documented, but also assessed in terms of their causes and effects.

Project planning and document management

Projects generate a large number of documents and pieces of information.

These include, for example:

• Project brief
• Requirements documents
• Contracts
• Plans and drawings
• Meeting minutes
• Test reports
• Approvals
• Proposed amendments
• Status reports
• Acceptance documents

With an integrated Document management Files can be linked directly to projects, tasks, appointments, customers or resources.

This means that documents relating to the respective planning element are readily available and do not need to be searched for in separate filing systems.

Common mistakes in project planning

The project objectives are unclear

The parties involved have differing views on the desired outcome.

The scope of the project has not been defined

Any additional requirements will be incorporated without adjusting deadlines, costs or resources.

Tasks are planned too broadly

Progress and delays are only identified once a major phase of the project is already at risk.

Dependencies are missing

Tasks are scheduled independently of time, even though they depend on preparatory work or approvals.

Cost and duration are being confused

A task requiring several working days’ effort is assumed to have the same calendar duration, even though the employee is only partially available.

Resources are scheduled multiple times

Staff, machines or rooms are assigned to several projects simultaneously.

Holidays and absences are not taken into account

Planning is based on theoretical capacities rather than on the actual available working time.

Buffer times are missing

The project plan does not include any contingencies for coordination, corrections, delivery delays or unexpected problems.

Risks are not documented

Known uncertainties are not assessed and there are no prepared countermeasures.

The project plan is not being updated

The schedule still shows the original dates, even though tasks and priorities have already changed.

Project status is based on estimates

Progress reports are not derived from completed tasks, actual effort or measurable results.

Changes are not checked

New requirements are implemented without assessing their impact on costs, deadlines and capacity.

Key project planning metrics

Project progress

Project progress shows what proportion of the planned work or deliverables has already been completed.

On-time delivery

On-time delivery shows how many tasks and milestones are completed within the planned timeframe.

Schedule deviation

The schedule variance compares planned and actual start or end dates.

Cost variance

The effort variance shows whether tasks require more or less working time than originally planned.

Cost variance

The cost variance compares planned project costs with the actual or expected costs.

Milestone achievement

This metric shows which planned milestones have been met on time, are behind schedule or have not yet been achieved.

Resource utilisation

Resource utilisation describes the extent to which staff and other resources are allocated within the project.

Capacity variance

The capacity variance shows the difference between required and available working capacity.

Number of outstanding tasks

This metric shows how many tasks have not yet been started, are in progress or are overdue.

Number of overdue tasks

Overdue tasks have passed their scheduled completion date and have not yet been completed.

Change rate

The change rate can indicate how frequently tasks, deadlines, requirements or the scope of a project are adjusted during implementation.

Risk exposure

Risk exposure assesses project risks based on their probability of occurrence and potential impact.

Software as a support tool

Software can support project planning by providing centralised information on deadlines, availability, resources and responsibilities. The most suitable solution depends on the specific process, the available data and the existing systems. One example is Project planning with Visual Planning®.

Conclusion

Structured project planning brings together objectives, tasks, deadlines, resources, costs and risks to form a clear and comprehensible project plan.

It helps companies to clearly assign responsibilities, highlight dependencies and continuously compare project progress against the original objectives.

As the number of tasks, stakeholders and concurrent projects increases, separate Excel spreadsheets and manual schedules quickly reach their limits. Digital project planning improves transparency, facilitates project management and provides a reliable basis for informed decisions.