Muhsin Kassem has more than 7 years of experience in the field of information technology. He is skilled in various fields including networking, telecommunication and project planning. Muhsin is an IT Manager at SOC. He can work with tools and technologies such as troubleshooting, security, network design, switches, and wireless devices.
He has reviewed our PMI PMP course and provided his valuable feedback. Please read it here:
“uCertify is a very useful and important website to pass an exam and prepare for IT certifications. They are a leading provider of online test preps, courses and lab for IT and Project Management certification exams.
I have learned something with the uCertify course and would strongly recommend it to anyone like me who does not have enough time to go to college but wants to provide more for themselves and I am sure you will be convinced that uCertify is the best for the certification preparation.”
Thank you, Muhsin, we are more than happy to have your honest and valuable feedback on our course. To know more about Muhsin Kassem, contact via his LinkedIn profile.
You have a big project and you know that the basis of successfully executing lies in the project management plan. The pressure is rising. But there is no need for you to get overwhelmed because all you need is some guidance on how to write the project management plan.
Writing a project management plan will help you present important elements such as goals, objectives, timelines, and so on. If you know how to put those ideas and plans in writing effectively, you’ll be able to have everyone on your side in no time. To speed things up, these tips on how to write a proper project management plan will save you from stressing about how your plan will turn out. Let’s get started!
Identify Clients’ Needs and Expectations
Clients are the ones who need to accept your plan and see potential in it. Instead of writing and rewriting the plan numerous times, talk to the clients at the very beginning.
Discuss with them their goals, ideas, the value of the project, expectations, budget, timeline, etc. Ask anything that will help you determine what they want.
Having this information clearly defined from the very start will instantly give you pointers on what you need to focus on and in which direction your planning should go.
Write everything they say and prepare a basis for your plan. Use a Scope Statement Document to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Set Out Goals
Based on research, the executive leaders claim that a lack of clear goals accounts for 37% of project failure.
Clear goals help you plan out deadlines, requirements, and tasks that need to be fulfilled.
There is an organizational goal-setting tool used by Google and Intel. It is called Objective & Key Results (OKRs). This goal setting technique can help you identify and set your goals.
You can create a project plan board for your goals to have an overview of your ideas and how the process should go to meet the planned goals.
Source: Wrike
What is important during the goal-setting phase is that you also prioritize them. If you don’t prioritize the goals it will affect the project process.
Discuss Your Plan with Your Team
Every project consists of a team of people who will be designated to execute that plan. Those people are just as important as the project manager.
Get in touch with your team and express your ideas and goals. Ask them about the timeline, whether they find it manageable. Consider their ideas and suggestion.
In this way, you’ll look at your plan more objectively. If your team agrees with your ideas, you’ll know that you can look forward to successful cooperation.
“Clear communication is essential for writing a good project management plan. Your team is the one who will turn your ideas to life, and they can give you a different perspective on some of your ideas,” advises George Harned, a project manager at TopWritersReview.
Create a Schedule
A project schedule can sometimes be the toughest for project managers to determine. The reason why is that you need to calculate how much time each task demands in order to determine the final deadline.
You need to think about deadlines within the project as well as the final deadline. Setting just the final deadline will give you too much space to improvise during the project execution and that is not advisable.
Creating a clear schedule will also make the project more manageable and give the team a better structure and organization.
If you want to visualize your schedule, try out the Gantt chart tool. Those who are visual learners can have a better understanding of the project’s organization if they can see and follow up on the timeline.
Source: TemplateLab
Set Milestones
Firm milestones are a must for a successful project. They need to be in line with the timeline.
Every team member should know their timeline and milestone because the work they do affects whether the project will be developed according to plan.
Stating milestones in advance will help you show the clients that you have a specific plan in mind. It will also help your team members understand their duties and obligations.
These project planning steps will help you meet the goals as well as meet the set deadlines.
Not to mention that milestones make it easier for the project manager to keep track of the project process.
Identify Potential Risks
As much as we would all like that everything goes according to plan, you should still understand that no plan is risk-free.
Write down all potential risks and issues that can affect the project execution. For example, an employee getting sick and not being able to work.
Why is identifying risk so important? Because it gives you the time to think about solutions in advance and prepare yourself for some other options.
You need to think about steps that help you to prevent those risks as well as to manage them if they do happen.
Outline the Project
Before you start writing the final plan, it is better that you write the outline first. Having all this information about the planning process can be confusing, so it is normal that you go back and forth and make some changes.
However, it is better that you correct the outline than the final plan.
It is very helpful to have some guidelines before you start with THE plan. For a fast, quality writing and research service, take a look at https://essayshark.com/
Write and Present the Plan
Once you’ve finished all the previous steps it is time to get to writing. You’ll realize how setting out all the important elements of the project and outlining the plan will help you to write the plan easily.
When you’re all done with the writing and you feel confident about your planning and writing skills, it is time to present the plan and get that approval that you deserve! Good luck!
Tesfaye Assefa is currently working as a Representative at SC eLearning & Software SRL and has more than 5 years of experience in the field of project management and information technology. He is a CAPM certified professional. His field of expertise includes project management, web development, android development, and networking. He can also work with tools and technologies such as JavaScript, CSS, PHP, Linux, HTML, JQuery and many more.
He has recently reviewed our PMI PMP course and provided his valuable feedback. Please read it here:
“I have found that uCertify is an ideal place to prepare for the PMP certification exam. The PMP course first evaluates your knowledge using pre-assessment before starting the certification exam prep.
The uCertify platform offers resources like flashcards, quizzes, labs and keyboard shortcuts to make a student’s learning experience interactive. The course provides the skills and expertise needed to pass the PMP exam.”
Do you believe that project management
software is just an annoying business buzzword? Well, in fact, it’s not just a
buzzword.
In today’s competitive business environment, project management software helps companies to engage employees, boost overall performance, and keep the project on time and under budget. If you want to learn more about why your company needs to be familiar with this type of advanced software, just keep reading.
1. Connect People In Your Workplace
To complete the project successfully, you
should ensure that your team is connected. Why it’s so important? Because if no
one in the team knows what others are doing, it’s impossible to deliver quality
work on time and budget.
The project management platform works as
the main hub of socializing and exchanging information. The platform shows team
members what their colleagues are currently doing and on what tasks they will
work next.
2. Improve Employee Performance
Project management software helps not
only to enhance collaboration but also to delegate tasks in a more effective
manner. It makes it easier for managers to track the progress of every team
member and distribute workload evenly.
“Project management tools help to motivate employees to work harder. Since team members are aware of monitoring and tracking, they try to complete their tasks faster and better,” explains Rita Miller, a project manager at Studicus.
3. Complete Work On-time
Project management and time management go
hand in hand. That is why project management software was primarily designed to
solve time management issues and keep delays out of the way.
To prevent overdue and to keep every team
member on board, this software allows sending real-time notifications and
reminders. It helps to ensure that every single task, subtask, and individual
assignment will be completed on time.
4. Stay Within A Given Budget
If a company can control the time spent
on the project, it can also calculate billable hours and figure out how much
exactly the project will cost.
“Using project management software, it’s easy to monitor the earned value, return on investment, and other indicators. It’s also easy to assess project health and prevent any issues before they happen,” says Joshua Ashton, a financial manager at BestEssayEducation.
5. Adjust To Changes Faster
Today, both
small companies and big corporations face issues while adapting to change in
the business environment. But fortunately, modern project management software
can solve most of these issues and help the company to keep up with industry
trends.
Using
project management tools, you can determine which portion of the project
carries the highest risk and define where you might need to allocate more time
in the schedule. Besides, you can apply these tools to systemize knowledge in
order to boost your efforts and overcome uncertainty.
Now you know why your company should use project management software. So don’t hesitate to take the next step! Chose software that suits your business and train your employees on how to use it, to check out more check hsslive.
Deon Kotze Mouton has more than 14 years of experience in the Information Technology field and is currently working as Project Control Manager at AECOM. He is an expert in managing, planning, and scheduling multi-million USD Construction Projects.
Deon holds various project management certifications including:
PMI SP
PMI PMP
PMI ACP
PMI RMP
He recently reviewed our PMI SP course and has provided the following feedback:
“I have reviewed the uCertify PMI SP course. The pre-assessment tests are useful in determining areas of improvement. The post-assessment tests ensure that you are fully prepared for the PMI SP exam.
The course is very comprehensive and easy to use. This course comes with videos, flashcards, quizzes, and well-explained lessons. I highly recommend this course to people who are pursuing PMI SP certification.”
We are working on all the areas of improvement mentioned by him to provide a better user experience.
