Boost Project Success with a Configurable Project Plan Template
One of the core strengths my customers and I like about BrightWork is the templates that are not only available for different project management maturities but also very configurable to ensure that project management guidelines and basics are covered.
These project management checks can be built into BrightWork to ensure all projects start on a firm foundation for a successful outcome. A properly defined project will greatly increase the odds for project success.
Streamline the Project Planning Process
A major part of successful project management is communication plan and asking the right questions and which BrightWork facilitates both tasks exceedingly well.
There is always a natural resistance to prior planning and creating unnecessary or too much documentation for starting a project, it is often observed only in hindsight when projects fail spectacularly, that more prior planning and due diligence with the project team would have been more worthwhile.
Project Management 101 – One Page Plan for Project Basics
Using a project plan template, teams can define project goals, allocate resources, and ensure alignment with organizational goals for successful project outcomes.
Create a streamlined project management plan with this one-page approach, covering the project planning phase, essential documentation, and useful communication strategies.
1. Asking the Right Questions for a Successful Project Management Plan
Defining project objectives through certain questions ensures clarity and direction, creating a solid foundation for the final deliverable. All these questions can be incorporated into BrightWork’s project intake process template. Some examples include:
- Why is this project being undertaken?
- Is there a clear business case for this project?
- Who is funding this project and are there enough funds?
- Is there a clear picture of the outcome of this project?
- Have the success factors been identified?
- Are the differences between the “AS IS” and “TO BE clearly stated and understood?
- Has the expected change impact on people, processes, and systems been identified and documented?
- Is the project aligned with organizational goals?
- Are success and acceptance criteria established?
- Is there a project sponsor?
- Is there stakeholder agreement on deliverables?
- Has the project clear roles and responsibilities?
2. Essential Project Documentation for a Complete Project Management Plan
With the documentation capability of Microsoft 365, centralized project documentation storage is now very easy to achieve. The following list highlights some of the documents necessary for a detailed project plan.
- Project Mandate
- Project Brief
- Project Initiation Document (PID)
- Business Case
- Project Schedule
- Project budget
- Project Org. Chart
- Resource Plan
- Quality Plan
- Communications Plan
- RAID Log
- Status Reports
- Project Deliverables Summary.
3. Effective Project Communications in the Project Lifecycle
BrightWork 365 is in its forte with its project management reporting capabilities and dashboards to ensure the following:
- Consistent communications on status and metrics to key project stakeholders.
- To manage stakeholder expectations throughout the project.
- Highlighting key issues and risks.
- Highlighting any resource gaps (if using the resource management capability of BrightWork 365) while tracking project tasks effectively.
Editors Note: One Page Plan courtesy of Ken Martin. This post has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
