Project Name
Managing Dept. Name
March 14, 2016
Project Plan Guidelines
A project plan, also called a work breakdown structure (WBS) is a deliverable-oriented
hierarchical outline of the tasks needed to deliver the project’s product or service. It “breaks-down”
or “decomposes” the project into low-level subtask units of work that will be scheduled, executed and
controlled. The WBS combined with the project scope defines the “what” of the project.
Guidelines for creating the project plan
Activity
Strategies/Questions to consider
Begin developing the plan
Start with your project team and include others with expertise in
similar projects if possible. Benefits of this approach include:
Use the Microsoft Project template
as a start (template file name is
project-plan-template.mpp).
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Identify the highest level work
components
Team members and experts bring experience from other
projects
Fosters early buy-in for the project among team
members
Helps discover new or forgotten tasks
Gives insight to the overall project for team members
Start with the template file, which lists high-level work
components by project phase. What is this project going to
deliver? What needs to be done to support and complete the
project?
The Project Charter and Project plan evolve together as the
project is more clearly defined. Again, this is not a static
document and more detail will be added as more specific fine
points are understood about the project.
Break work process into small
work components
Under each high-level component, break the work into small
components until each component is defined to a level of detail
that allows accurate estimating for the time and cost required
for its completion.
Work components
The component name should adequately describe the task.
Ensure everyone on the team has the same understanding of
the work name and definition. A glossary is an option to
consider to record the agreed to definitions.
Make sure work has been broken
Apply the following guidelines to ensure work has been broken
Project Name
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down to the lowest level desired.
Estimate an appropriate time for
each task
Project Name
down to its lowest level:
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Each task has clearly identified results
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The task name conveys the work to be accomplished
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Include at least 10-20% overhead when estimating time
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Estimates should consider there to be 18 working days
in a month
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Consider any holidays or impactful events (start or end
of the semester, etc.) that are upcoming
Tasks can be performed within a reasonable time. The
industry “8/80 hour rule” states that a work task should
equate to no less than 8 hours and no more than 80
hours: however, this is a broad rule and may or may not
be the best fit for your project.
The task is at the level you want to track the project
Each task is well enough defined and small enough for
credible duration estimates.
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