Project Planning

Md. Thasinul Abedin

MBA(Accounting); MSc (Economics and Finance)
Assistant Professor of Accounting and Finance
University of Chittagong

March 09, 2025

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Project Planning Steps [1]
▶ Define the problem to be solved by the
project.
▶ Develop a mission statement, followed by
statements of major objectives.
▶ Develop a project strategy that will meet all
project objectives.
▶ Write a scope statement to define project
boundaries (what will and will not be done).
▶ Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
▶ Using the WBS, estimate activity durations,
resource requirements, and costs.
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Project Planning Steps [2]

▶ Prepare the project master schedule and

budget.
▶ Decide on the project organization
structure—whether matrix or hierarchical (if
you are free to choose).
▶ Create the project plan.
▶ Get the plan signed off by all project
stakeholders.

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Plan Ingredients [1]

▶ Problem statement.
▶ Project mission statement.
▶ Project objectives.
▶ Project work requirements, including a list of
all deliverables, such as reports, hardware,
software, and so on.
▶ Exit criteria: Each milestone should have
criteria established that will be used to
determine whether the preceding phase of
work is actually finished.

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Plan Ingredients [2]
▶ End-item specifications to be met: This
means engineering specifications, building
codes, government regulations, and so on.
▶ Work breakdown structure (WBS): This
is an identification of all of the tasks that
must be performed in order to achieve project
objectives.
▶ Schedules and Required resources (people,
equipment, materials, and facilities).
▶ Control system, Major contributors, and Risk
areas with contingencies.
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Changing the Plan

▶ It is very unrealistic to think a plan once

developed would never change.
▶ Unforeseen problems are almost certain to
arise. The important thing is to make changes
in an orderly way, following a standard change
procedure.
Note: Any plan is bad which is not susceptible to
change-"Bartolommno de San Concordio"

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Suggestions to Handle Change in Plan
▶ Changes should be made only when a
significant deviation occurs. A significant
change is usually specified in terms of percent
tolerances relative to the original targets.
▶ Changes in Control: Necessary to protect
everyone from the effects of scope creep
(changes to the project that result in
additional work). If changes in scope are not
identified and managed properly, the project
may come in considerably over budget and/or
behind schedule.

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Defining the Problem [1]
▶ Every project solves a problem of some kind,
but people are inclined to skip over the
definition of the problem.
▶ A problem is a gap between where you are and
where you want to be, with obstacles existing
that prevent easy movement to close the gap.
▶ The way you define a problem determines how
you will solve it, so it is critical that a proper
definition be developed.
▶ Too often a problem is defined in terms of a
solution. This is not right.
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Defining the Problem [2]
Example: A person may say, “I have a problem.
My car has quit, and I have no way to get to work.
How am I going to get my car repaired, because I
have no money to do it?”
The problem has essentially been defined as “How
do I repair my car?” The actual problem, however,
at its most fundamental level, is that the person
has no way to get to work. But could he ride the
bus, go with a coworker, or ride a bike until he has
the money to have the car repaired? It is true that
having no money to repair the car is a problem,
but it is important to distinguish between the
basic or core problem and those at another level.
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Writing Vision and Mission Statements
[1]

▶ Vision is the primary objective!

▶ Mission is always to achieve the vision!
▶ Mission of the project can be written by
answering two questions: (a) What are we
going to do? (b) For whom are we going to do
it?

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Writing Vision and Mission Statements
[2]

For example, you are trying to satisfy the

customer’s needs. That is the primary objective.
Your motive may be to make a profit in the
process, but the mission is always to meet the
needs of the customer.

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Developing Project Objectives [1]

Objectives are much more specific than the mission

statement and define results that must be achieved
in order for the mission to be accomplished. Also,
an objective defines the desired end result.

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Developing Project Objectives [2]

Example: I may want to finish this chapter by 10

o’clock this morning. That is my desired outcome
or result—my objective. The way in which I
achieve that objective is to perform a number of
tasks. These might include typing text into my
computer, reviewing some other literature on the
topic about which I am writing, calling a colleague
to ask a question for clarification, and printing out
the chapter, proofing it, and entering some
revisions into my computer.

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Developing Project Objectives [3]

An objective must be SMART:

S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Attainable
R: Realistic
T: Time Limited

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Objectives Vs. Tasks

An objective specifies a desired end result to be

achieved. A task is an activity performed to
achieve that result. An objective is usually a noun,
whereas a task is a verb.

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Two Key Questions to Set Objectives

1. What is our desired outcome? This is called

the outcome frame. It helps keep you focused
on the result you are trying to achieve, rather
than on the effort being expended to get there.
2. How will we know when we achieve it? This
question is very useful for establishing exit
criteria for objectives that cannot be
quantified.

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Assessing Project Risks [1]

▶ Unfortunately, the best plans sometimes don’t

work.
▶ One safeguard in managing projects is to
think about the risks ahead that could sink
the job.

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Assessing Project Risks [2]

The simplest way to conduct a risk analysis is to

ask:
▶ What could go wrong? (Risks)
▶ What could keep us from achieving our
objective? (contingencies)

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Assessing Project Risks [3]

An example of a risk analysis for a photography

project is shown below:

Figure: Risk Analysis Example

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