The importance of planning (2)

Project management plan includes plans for the key knowledge areas of the project such as integration, cost, scope, risk, time, quality, human resource, communication, stakeholder and procurement. Other key areas include the change, process improvement, configuration and the requirements management plans. How to go about the cost-effective value engineering procedures and processes are also included in the management plan. Each of these management plans consists of what to do every step of the way during the lifecycle of the project and they go through the five processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and control, and finally closure.

Planning, to a large degree, is dynamic in nature and it is affected by the growth, evolution and improvement in approaches, technology and viewpoint. Due to space considerations, I will limit to four the management plans that will be covered in this article.

Cost management plan

There are three major elements of the project management Iron Triangle. Cost is one of them and it plays a key role. Cost is a fundamental yardstick by which activities and assets are measured and evaluated. Cost is generally and universally accepted as the monetary value of an asset or activity. A project’s execution cannot proceed without it. At the onset of a project, the cost management plan needs to be drawn up. This document describes how the funds allocated for the project and other cost-related activities like risk and value engineering are going to be planned, managed, monitored, controlled and expended. It also details what is to be done when there are variances from the original budget.

Major inputs into the planning of the cost management plan are the project schedule as depicted by the work breakdown structure (WBS), risk register, the cost breakdown structure (CBS), historical records and the human resources to be engaged. Basic elements of the cost management plan includes cost estimates, types of costs, control accounts, reporting formats, cost change procedures, performance measurements and documentation methods.

Time/schedule management plan

Time planning involves dividing the project into smaller components. Without the time/schedule management plan which includes the work breakdown structure (WBS) in place, the cost/budget for a project cannot be really and fully determined. The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a graphical and logical display of all the work that is required to complete the project. The smallest parts of the WBS known as work packages, tasks or activities are sequenced in the order in which all the work will be performed and achieved. Basic elements of the Time/schedule management plan consists of schedule network diagram, leads and lags times, estimate activity durations and resources, critical path analysis and determination, float or slack times, resource optimisation and ultimately the schedule baseline. There is a strong link between the cost management plan and the time management plan because they are both used in coming up with the performance measurement baseline used to determine the health of a project at any point in time.

Risk management plan

A proactive project manager is usually a successful one. The primary focus of a manager is not to react to problems and challenges but to prevent them before they crop up. An area where this attribute can be put to good use is in risk planning and management. Risks are either negative or positive and their management is of utmost importance and must be given high priority when it comes to project management.

Risk management, according to business dictionary definition, is the identification, analysis, assessment, control, avoidance, elimination or minimisation of unacceptable threats or opportunities. For any serious project a risk management plan must be put together. This plan must address risk management methodology, risk registers, risk thresholds and tolerance, threats and opportunities, risk identification and response strategies, roles and responsibilities of the project team members, budget (contingencies and management reserves), risk categories, risk tracking and reporting and information collection techniques to mention a few. If a project is to succeed, risks and uncertainties must be given adequate attention as they can cripple the execution of such a project.

Quality management plan

Quality is the extent to which a project or work meets the basic needs. If you don’t want constant rework of job done on your project, you have to make sure the quality of work passes the set threshold at first inspection. Rework and defects cost a lot more money than was not originally budgeted for and with that comes schedule slippages. With this in mind, a quality management plan is a must for any project and must form an integral part of the project management plan. A quality management plan should include best practices and industry standards for the project, quality managers, quality metrics and checklist, documentation and updates, quality audits, control tools and process improvement plan. A good quality product or service cannot be over-emphasised and all stakeholders will be happy as value for money spent has been achieved.

Planning culture

In conclusion, business organisations, government agencies and departments should as a matter of policy develop a vibrant planning culture for every facet of their operations. Proper and effective planning becomes natural when planning is rooted in the ethos and is made a central and key policy of an organisation or government department.

Institutions, businesses, organisations and government departments that are reactive and random in their approach to planning and value engineering experience problems, serious challenges and less benefits than those that are proactive and are well structured in their approach to planning. Planning should be an all-inclusive task within these institutions from the top management through middle management to the lower cadre being involved. The buy-in of all the personnel from the onset is essential to the success of projects and the realisation of a company’s strategic and government’s developmental objectives.

Ayodele Akingbade