Proper planning plays a crucial role in project management. However, not all managers give it the attention it deserves. In this guide, we explain why neglecting the planning stage is almost a guaranteed path to project failure and share tips and tricks to keep everything under control and stay on schedule.
Got a plan?
A well-established principle in project management is that successful project execution always starts with proper planning.
Project planning is fundamental for budget control, structured execution, and oversight from the CEO level. However, the devil is in details, and one of the most common mistakes is relying solely on a roadmap without a detailed operational plan.
Let’s clarify the terms to understand their differences.
Roadmap vs. Operational plan
A roadmap provides a high-level strategic structure of a project, outlining major milestones, key goals, and significant phases. It is long-term-oriented, covering months or even years, and can adapt to changes in market conditions, company strategy, or project priorities. A roadmap can serve as a communication tool, offering stakeholders a general overview of the project’s direction.
An operational plan is a detailed, tactical tool focusing on specific tasks and actions needed to achieve the goals outlined in the roadmap. It covers shorter periods, such as weeks or months, and includes deadlines, responsible team members, and daily operational details. It is much more detailed than a roadmap and is used for daily project management and tracking progress.
The choice of tools for creating an operational plan depends on team preferences and needs. Microsoft Project is a specialized tool in this segment, but many prefer the simplicity and accessibility of Excel. However, regardless of the chosen software, visualization is crucial. Detailed Gantt charts work well in this regard, as they include a list of tasks at different levels and allow for color-coding to simplify monitoring. This approach makes it easier to track progress and establish collaboration between various team members, including developers, lawyers, financial experts, and others.
To sum it up:
A roadmap can be viewed as a map showing direction and key milestones, while an operational plan is a detailed route describing each step.
How to develop an operational plan
From our years of experience in project management, we at Axellect know that many managers, especially on the client side, struggle with daily planning, and some ignore the process altogether. Resistance is often caused by fear of constant oversight and the need to demonstrate results regularly. However, without strict discipline, it is impossible to effectively manage a project or make real-time adjustments based on mistakes or setbacks.
There are two main approaches to developing an operational plan: top-down and bottom-up. Both methods originate from software development practices in the IT industry.
The top-down approach starts from the general stages outlined in the roadmap and progressively breaks them down into more detailed tasks. This method maintains a holistic project view and ensures strategic oversight. It is generally more effective for large-scale projects and programs.
The bottom-up approach begins with smaller tasks that are gradually grouped into larger objectives. This approach is often used in Agile methodologies and is suitable for small projects in sectors such as telecommunications or banking, where requirements evolve during execution.
How to maximize the effectiveness of your operational plan
A good project manager starts their workday by analyzing the operational plan. They regularly hold meetings where all participants can align their progress, review the tasks for the current week, and assess whether previous goals were met. This analysis is crucial for tracking project progress and meeting deadlines. Proper task allocation and management within the operational plan account for up to 70% of a project’s success.
A project’s budget is also directly tied to the manager’s ability to work with the operational plan and roadmap. The budget is a reflection of the operational plan in numbers, including resource and personnel allocation. By mapping resource requirements, including human resources, onto the operational plan, the project manager creates a realistic financial document that does not require constant revision during implementation.
What is vital to know is that project tasks often run in parallel rather than sequentially. For example, if the financial team completes gathering requirements, they can begin the implementation phase while other teams are still working on the design.
However, this is not always the case. In some situations, a synchronous approach is critical for success. For instance, testing cannot begin if the product is ready, but data collection is incomplete. A competent project manager can foresee such situations and schedule each phase at the right time, ensuring the team has the necessary capacity and resources.
Three levels of the operational plan breakdown
For the reasons mentioned, an operational plan should be broken down into at least three levels of tasks. Let’s take an IT product development as an example.
#1. In the initial design phase, key tasks include gathering requirements, defining conceptual design, creating an overall architecture diagram, and planning approaches for subsequent stages.
#2. For the high-level task of gathering product requirements to be successfully completed, workshops with the client team must be organized, and documentation must be developed and approved. This represents the second level of the operational plan breakdown, which may take weeks or months depending on the volume and complexity of work.
#3. The third level involves even more detailed segmentation by functional areas. For example, when planning supply chain workshops, financial aspects must be considered, as requirements may not align with budget constraints.
Why dependencies and milestones matter
Special attention should be given to dependencies and key milestones, as they often determine project success.
For instance, before a system can be tested, it must not only be configured but also filled with test data. Users expect the system to be fully functional from the start, meaning that it should not only be technically set up but also contain the necessary information, such as supplier lists, client details, and banking information. Therefore, tasks related to data preparation and the development of data-loading tools must be completed in advance.
This example illustrates the importance of considering dependencies between project phases. If a system is not set up on time, data cannot be loaded, leading to testing delays. A delay in one phase can shift the entire project timeline by several months.
Additionally, understanding when a project phase should begin is crucial for managing team workload effectively. Team members often have other responsibilities beyond the project, meaning their availability must be planned in advance. For instance, a chief accountant needs to know when their expertise will be required so they can allocate their primary workload accordingly.
Transparency is key
For the project stakeholders, it is essential to have a clear view of regular progress and results. However, in IT projects, presenting interim results can be challenging, as long lists of requirements may not be informative for executives who lack time to analyze extensive documentation.
Progress reports are a key communication tool with stakeholders and top management. Often, a project manager presents a roadmap spanning several months, but as previously mentioned, this document is too general and does not effectively show current progress in detail.
An operational plan, on the other hand, allows for real-time tracking of task completion, making it possible to predict realistic completion timelines and explain delays when necessary. This demonstrates the professionalism of the project manager, who understands all project details and maintains full control. The plan becomes even more illustrative and informative when each phase is supplemented with resource requirement calculations and balancing. However, this is a separate topic that requires further discussion.
Bonus tip
One more important rule to follow when managing any project is to maintain a visual representation of the original plan, even as adjustments are made. Changes should be marked in different colors to clearly show where and why deviations occurred from the initial planning and timeline.
Unfortunately, many managers avoid this approach because they do not want to expose their mistakes. However, acknowledging and analyzing mistakes is an integral part of successful and professional project management. It is important to remember that technical errors in projects are often fixable, but poor management can derail a project even when all necessary resources are available.