The Three W's Of Project Planning (2024)

Project planning doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need to be a gifted risk manager or an expert in producing Gantt charts to get the job done. Yes, it can help; but, at it’s heart, managing a successful project is all about how well you set it up. The initial phase, where you work out the purpose of your project, determine its deliverables and map out timescales, goes a long way to determining if it will succeed or fail.

Here are the three essential elements of a successful project plan:

1. What?

The most important part of any project plan is the “what”. What is the project’s purpose? What critical factors will determine its success? What are the deliverables that stakeholders are expecting to see? If you haven’t visualized, in detail, exactly what it is your project is aiming to achieve then you’ll struggle to execute it effectively.

Don’t underestimate the importance of defining the purpose, scope and critical success factors of your project. Create a Project Initiation Document or Project Charter; include everything that you’ve deemed essential to the successful delivery of your project’s goals. It’ll be hugely important as you progress through the ups and downs of the implementation phase.

2. When?

Once you’ve determined what your project will deliver, you need to work out when. It’s all well and good deciding on your outcomes, but if you’ve got no idea when they’re going to land, what’s the point? To plan a project successfully, you need to know its deadlines and dependencies. It’s then that you’ll be able to identify what’s achievable.

Projects without deadlines aren’t really projects at all; they’re dreams. Decide when your end date is and work backwards to identify what needs to be delivered when. It’ll be your roadmap for the duration of the project. You don’t need complicated charts and swimlane diagrams; as long as you know your timeline, you’ll be fine.

3. Who?

Even if you know the “what” and the “when” of your project, it’s unlikely to deliver if you haven’t defined the “who”. Without an accountable owner for every deliverable and action in your plan, you’ll struggle to push them forward. The last step to creating a workable plan is establishing who’s taking the lead for each part of it.

Projects, by their very nature, need to be delivered by a team. Each member needs to understand their role and responsibilities from the outset. Without clearly defining who’s doing what, you’ll find that your project stalls; the “what” and the “when” will never happen without the “who.”

What do you think? What are the other essential elements of a project plan? Let me know in the comments.