10 common mistakes in the project planning process

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.

 Benjamin Franklin 1790.

Here are some of the most common mistakes that can occur during the project planning process.

1. Not clearly defining project goals and objectives:

Failing to define the goals and objectives of a project can lead to confusion and misunderstandings, resulting in a project that fails to deliver the desired outcomes.

2. Poorly defined scope:

A project with an undefined scope can lead to the inclusion of unnecessary tasks and activities, leading to scope creep, delays, and budget overruns.

3.Inadequate resource planning:

Failing to allocate resources, such as budget, time, and personnel, properly can result in insufficient resources to complete the project.

4.Lack of stakeholder involvement:

Not involving stakeholders in the project planning process can lead to misaligned expectations and stakeholders feeling left out of the project.

5. Underestimating risks:

Not identifying and assessing potential risks can lead to unexpected issues that can delay or derail the project.

6. Over-optimistic timelines:

Creating timelines that are overly optimistic can lead to unrealistic expectations and unmet deadlines.

If you want to show integrity you need to keep your promises.

Mostly we underestimate timelines when do not have the personal experiecne in the subject or we are leading the  development of  new products and solutions.

Practices like creating a Work Breakdown Structure, defining Workflows and Scheduling tasks are powerful tools to create realistic  timelines.

7. Failure to communicate:

Poor communication between team members, stakeholders, and project managers can result in misunderstandings and missed deadlines.

in our training and coaching program The Confident Project leader we focus on leadership skills like

Active listening

•  listening to demonstrate respect
• listening to show that you value their ideas
• listening by showing that you are willing to hear them

Negotiation skills 

• applying  the  concept of  win-win in negotiation, to  get results and build relationship
• ccreating  a  Zone of Possible Agreement 
• generate value when there is uncommon ground
• getting to Agreement within your Team, Boss and stakehoolders

Moderation skills

• lead in meetings by asking  clear questions
• moderate online meetings
• moderate group discussions, project startup meetings and status reviews.
• facilitate decision making, standup meetings, planning meetings. 

8.Not tracking progress:

Failing to track project progress can lead to delays and missed deadlines, making it difficult to make informed decisions about the project.

The agile approach ro project management still requires a planning sequence.

We use in our training and coaching projects

• 12 month- mastermind
• 180 day plans - coaching, teaching and  developing  leadership, sales and negotiation skills
• 90 day plans- teaching project leadership fiundamentals
• 30 day plans -project planning
• 5 day plans- Stakeholder Mastery Challenge

Prromotions we run in 30 days and 14 days sprints.

9.Inflexible planning:

Being too rigid in the planning process can make it difficult to adapt to changes or unforeseen circumstances.

10.Ignoring feedback:

Not taking feedback from stakeholders or team members can lead to missed opportunities for improvement and increased risk of project failure.

How can you avoid these mistakes?

No there are several possibilities. You can hire a  professional and experienced project consultant , a facilitator who guides you through the process. You can hire a professional project leader for your project in house, you can read books and take classes yourself to be well educated and confident about what is needed and whatnot in a specific situation.

We have created a checklist for ourselves and our clients. It reflects our  step by step process we used in our project impact workshops. Our clients form all different kinds of industries  found it very helpful to follow these systematics steps, so that we don´t miss anything important, save time and make sure all effort is well spend.on the right thing that gets us the result.

If you are interested in our approach please download our project planning roadmap  Click here