Teams · 15 records · for a shared workspaceWrite a project plan

Most projects that run late were never really planned, only started. This writes down what is in and out of scope, breaks the work into milestones with an owner and a date each, names the risks while they are still cheap, and sets a weekly check so the plan stays true once the work begins.

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Free on any plan. You will see this list again in the app, and nothing is created until you press install.

✦ Everything it creates

The whole plan, before you install it

Goal

The project delivered on the date agreed Month 3

Scope held, milestones owned, risks dealt with before they arrive.

Write the plan Day 10

One page the whole team can read in five minutes.

  • Write the goal in one sentence, and how we will know it is doneDo firstDay 2
  • List what is in scope and what is notDo firstDay 4
  • Break the work into four to six milestonesDo firstDay 6
  • Give every milestone one owner and a dateDo firstDay 8
  • Name the five biggest risks and what we will do about eachDo firstDay 9

Run the project Month 3

The plan checked weekly, so it stays true.

  • Hold the kickoff and walk through the planDo firstDay 12
  • First milestone review: on track, or change the plan?Do firstWeek 4
  • Halfway review of scope and risksDo firstWeek 6
  • Final review, and write down what to do differentlyMonth 3

Routines

  • Weekly project check: milestones, risks, blockersweekly
✦ It puts something in the calendar

Dates you will not have to remember

Project kickoff

Day 1210:0060 min
✦ It comes with a note

One-page project plan

Goal What done looks like In scope Out of scope Milestones, each with an owner and a date Risks, and what we will do about each How and when progress is checked

Detailed to the next milestone, rough beyond it. A plan that tries to list every task for six months is wrong by week three.

Questions

Write a project plan, answered.

The goal, what is in and out of scope, the milestones with an owner and a date, the risks and what you will do about them, and how progress will be checked. Budget and stakeholders matter on larger projects; scope and milestones matter on every one.
Detailed to the next milestone and rough beyond it. Planning every task for six months produces a document that is wrong by week three, while a clear next milestone and a weekly review keeps the plan accurate without rewriting it.
Because scope grows by default, one reasonable request at a time. A written list of what the project will not do is the thing everybody can point to when a new idea arrives, and it is far easier to agree at the start than in the middle.
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