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![]() Task No should be sequential 1 for the main and 1.1,1.2,1.3 for subtasks.All the columns are free text, so they can be changed as and when needed.The Template contains Task No, Task Description, Owner, Start, Finish, Progress, Status, Risks/Issues, and Comments columns.Simple Project Plan About Simple Project Plan Excel Template Going forward, in execution mode, your baseline will be used as the reference point to check if you are on track or not. Once you are happy with the plan, meaning that it has been optimized and it suits the expectations of the project stakeholders, you are ready to set the baseline. ![]() Look at the plan as it stands is the current finish date aligned with what was agreed? What about cost? Before committing to the plan, take a moment to check your critical path, that is, the path formed by tasks without any float, meaning that if any of them is late, your project will be delayed.Īre there opportunities to optimize the project plan, such as shortening duration by doing some tasks in parallel or adding more resources, or replacing costly resources with more cost-effective ones? 7. After, resources – either human, material, or costs resources – should be added to each task so that responsibility for their completion is defined. The next step is to define how long is each task is going to take, both in terms of duration and in terms of work, which are two different concepts although related. Don’t try to manipulate dates by using a calendar picker just because you can! You should use duration to mold finish dates and predecessors to mold start dates. This will establish the order in which tasks should be completed and form the project's network path. Once all the schedule's key elements are identified, it’s time to set your dependencies, aka predecessors. On the other hand, constraints work as an input in how they impact a certain task a typical example of a constraint is when you are waiting for a delivery from a supplier. Have a look at the project milestone template before you use the project plan template. Milestones refer to checkpoints and achievements, such as the end of a stage or the go-live for the project they result from a set of tasks. Milestones and constraints are tasks with zero days of duration/effort. Identify your milestones and constraints: While this is just a rule of thumb (please remember to use common sense, too!), it will help you get the right balance when it comes to detail. Simple, right? It will help you define and stick to your project scope.Ĩ-80 rule - Is it is less than 8 hours of effort, it is too granular to include in the plan it is more than 80 hours of effort, it is too big of a task to manage, and it should be decomposed further. Two rules to assist you with this common mistake:ġ00% rule - If it is part of the project, it should be in the plan if it is not in the plan, it is not part of the project. I’ve seen it often happening, project managers who want to micro-manage it all thus build their plans with too much granularity as if it was a to-do list. 2.Don’t confuse a project plan with a to-do list: The next step is to decompose these stages in products (your deliverable) and identify which tasks are to be done to achieve each of them, using indentation to form groups. For instance, this would mean having Discovery, Design, Build, Test, and Release as your key stages for a typical IT project. If you have a project management methodology in place, start by listing the key stages that compose it.įor the matter of simplicity, let’s use the example of a project following the waterfall method, where the project only proceeds to a stage upon successful completion of the previous stage. Projects follow a certain structure or hierarchy of decomposition, which, in project management terminology, is called a work breakdown structure, where work is broken down until the lower level of detail, a work package. Here are a couple of hints and tips on how to produce a simple (yet awesome and effective!) project plan: 1.Start with the Structure: Simple Project Plan Template How To Create a Simple Project Plan? ![]()
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