How to Create a Comprehensive Project Plan Document

Are you ready to tackle a new project but unsure of where to start? A well-crafted project plan document can be your roadmap to success. It's the foundation upon which you build, execute, and manage your project efficiently. In this blog post, we'll take you through a step-by-step guide on how to create a comprehensive project plan document that will keep your project on track from start to finish.

Be intentional when creating your project plan document

A Project Plan document is more that a todo list or Gantt chart. Mostly it is a microsoft word document or Google doc or a presentation.

Every project plan  begins with a clear purpose. Start by defining why you're creating  the project plan  and what you aim to achieve. Be specific and concise in articulating your project planning intention. This awareness and focus will serve as your guide throughout the project planning phase.

Being a consultant, entrepreneur, project manager or project  sales manager I found  three common  intentions of creating a comprehensive  Project Plan Document  depending on my specific needs.

1. The Project Plan as a starting point to align  the Project Team and Project Stakeholders and goes beyond an executive summary

2. The Project Plan as a work plan so that we can track the work progress( this is mostly done after the project is approved and is  a more detailed project plan.

3 .The Project Plan as a  document that helps to calculate the project costs and to get approval to secure the project budget

​Step 1: Define Your Project's Purpose and overall Situation

I love to use this section to describe the Situation where the clients is and to sue the clients words to describe the need for this project. Make sure every decision maker can relate to this. This could be part of the executive summary or introductory letter.

Step 2: Describe Your Project Stakeholders

Identify all stakeholders involved in the project, from team members to sponsors, clients, regulatory bodies, and anyone else with an interest in the project's outcome. Understanding your stakeholders and their expectations is crucial for effective project management.

List the key stakeholders and their role in this section. Highlight who is the project sponsor and who is  the decision maker. 

Step 3: Describe  the Project Scope Statement

Clearly define what your project includes and, equally important, what it excludes. This helps in setting boundaries and managing expectations. Scope creep, or uncontrolled changes to the project scope, can be a major source of project delays and budget overruns.

Step 4: Establish Project Objectives

List the specific goals and outcomes your project aims to achieve. Objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) to provide clarity and focus.

Step 5: Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Break down your project into smaller, manageable tasks and subtasks using a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). A WBS provides a hierarchical view of the project's components, making it easier to organize and assign responsibilities.

Step 6: Show Milestones and Deadlines

Identify key milestones within your project and assign deadlines to each. Milestones act as checkpoints for progress, helping you track if the project is on schedule.

Show a timeline with the key project activities and due dates.

For the Execution planning you definitely need to show the detailed project tasks and due dates.

For the Financing purpose the high level activities may be enough.

Step 7: Show the Allocated Resources and Investement

Determine the resources required for each task, including personnel, equipment, materials, and budget allocation. Ensure that you have the necessary resources available or plan for their acquisition.

I like to show a resources table and a cost estimates. For decision makers show the overall budget do not forget to include the costs for project management and controlling in the execution phase. Make sure to highlight the total project costs.

Step 8: Include a summary of your Risk Management Plan

For each project you conduct a risk assessment. For each individual task you identify potential risks that could impact your project and develop a risk management plan. Include strategies for risk mitigation and contingency plans to address potential issues.

Do not hide these risks.

For the investment purpose you show a high level risk management plan and your detailed plan can be inside the appendix.

For your execution planning you need to create such a plan together with your experts and involve the entire team in defining measures to minimize risks and hazards.

Step 9: What are the  Roles and Responsibilities

Clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of each team member and stakeholder. This ensures that everyone knows their role in the project and can work effectively.

Step 10: Include  the  Communication Plan

Develop a communication plan that outlines how information will be shared among team members and stakeholders. Define reporting structures and communication frequency to keep everyone informed.

Step 11: Add Quality Assurance and Control 

Describe the quality standards and procedures that must be followed to ensure that project deliverables meet the required quality. Quality control processes should be integrated into the project plan.

Step 12: Sign off and approve the Project 

Describe next steps and ask for approval or sign off so that you can start to implement. Please make sure to add the clause that you only start working  after receiving  the first payment.

How to create the final Project Plan Document?

Compile all the information gathered into a formal project plan document. You don´t need any  specific project management software .Ensure that the document is well-structured, easy to understand, and accessible to all relevant stakeholders.

Compile all the information gathered into a formal project plan document. Ensure that the document is well-structured, easy to understand, and accessible to all relevant stakeholders.

For the Project Plan Document with the intention to  align  the Project Team and Project Stakeholders I like to use a slide-deck or to facilitate a workshop where we create the entire project plan together on flipchart, whiteboard with sticky notes. I have been faciliataing such project impac tworkshops with 12 and with 45 participants form more than 8 countries. Today as work online I love to use  Miro.to replicate this project planning process online.

For the Project Plan Document with the intention to get financed  we use a Project presentation and a statement of work ( SOW) that we add to the proposal.

For the Project Plan Document that is used in the execution  phase  we break down the next steps of the project timeline into  smaller project tasks and specifiic action steps for the upcomping project phase only. If the project is not a standard but has a lot of new elements like in product development these phases are called sprints and some oare 2 weeks lon or 3 month long The best way is to have a detailed p action plan for this phase and clear success metrics.

The project plan is more than a task list and a good idea to get every one on the same page right at the beginning of the project execution.

Step 13: Review and Approval

Review the project plan with key stakeholders and obtain their approval. Make any necessary revisions based on their feedback to ensure alignment with project objectives.

Creating a comprehensive project plan document is a vital step in ensuring the success of your project. It serves as a reference point for all team members and stakeholders, guiding them through the project's execution. Remember that a well-structured and regularly updated project plan is key to keeping your project on track and achieving your objectives. 

Helpful Resources for your Planning:

Here is how we support our clients to make the project Planning process easy: with templates and step by step coaching and consulting

1. The Project Plan Academy 

https://www.projectleaderacademy.com/the-project-plan-academy

2.  A checklist with a  Project Planning roadmap  

https://www.projectleaderacademy.com/roadmap