The first phase, Project Initiation, includes defining the scope of what the project is meant to incorporate.

Phase One: Project Initiation

If it is a business meeting, then the boundaries—or scope—will be the time parameters of the meeting and those people attending. In order to garner this information, it is important to understand who the main stakeholders are—e.g. the person who has requested the meeting be run.

Then it’s a matter of finding the right people to do the individual jobs (e.g. ordering food, booking the room, presenting the information, etc.) and setting the rules of the event (e.g. meeting cannot run past 5 p.m.)

Phase Two: Project Planning

This phase is less brainstorming and big-picture seeing, and more about the specific details. The budget is perhaps the strongest variable. Again with the example of planning a business meeting, the budget will help determine if the meeting has to be at an internal location, or if there is monetary allowance for a conference center or fancier external venue.

Next, the appointed persons need to do the scheduling. This means figuring out the key details:

• When (the date of the event)
• Where (venue location)
• Who (persons responsible for each task)
• What (deliverables)
• How (work breakdown and responsibility breakdown)

This includes creating a detailed work plan that will cover what tasks need performing, by who and by when. Once everyone is aware of their tasks and deadlines, the actual work can begin.

Phase Three: Project Implementation

This phase is the roll-up-the-sleeves and get the work done phase. That means that each person who has a task assigned must work towards their deadlines. To ensure that everything is running within the time and monetary budget, the project manager (or individual managers appointed to oversee specific tasks or persons) will need to monitor the progress and obtain status and progress reports.

This is also the stage in which problems or delays may occur. It is then necessary to make any change requests (e.g. if the desired venue or speaker is unavailable) and take corrective action to ensure the project/event is still completed on schedule.

Phase Four: Project Close-Out

This phase occurs once the project has reached completion. If it is a business meeting, then this phase would be the Project Manager handing off control of the meeting to the person officially ‘heading’ it, making sure all has run smoothly to completion, then creating a final report. This final report will include the budgetary report on expenditures, personnel evaluations, and lessons learned for future reference.

Project Management versus Program Management

Note that a project is a one-off event, for example, a company’s ten-year anniversary celebration day. Program management is the overseeing of a recurring event, e.g. the annual company barbecue. Although each follows similar pattern of planning a program will have a predetermined set of variables and personnel to manage it, within an already determined and previously executed timeframe and budget. A project has many more unknown variables and will require a first-time pooling of resources.

Follow this basic pattern to achieve project success.

The copyright of the article Project Management: Basic Plan Structure in Business Management is owned by Carrie Lewis. Permission to republish Project Management: Basic Plan Structure in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.