The Goldilocks Project Plan

Large technology solution deployments are hard and complex -- and that's what makes them fun!  Building the ideal professional services project plan is critical to success. 

It is challenging to build the ideal project plan

Some Project Managers prefer to build and manage from a high-level plan.  But with so few steps, the project team cannot really see all their tasks, how their tasks are aligned to others, nor when tasks need to get done.   It's like building a family reunion cross-country driving trip and listing just the interstates.  The plan would fail to note where are we stopping overnight or when & where are we meeting up with other family members along the way.

Meanwhile, other PM's prefer a plan so detailed that it contains every possible task.  But, with so many steps, the project team cannot find all their tasks nor really understand how their tasks align to the broader project.  And there is so much detail no one can really read it, follow it, and it's nearly impossible to keep updated.  It's like over planning that family reunion trip and trying to forecast every single turn and every single restroom stop (and we all know that never works!). 

Your plan should tell a story.  The team should be able to understand the plot, understand their contribution, and align with key intersection points & timeframes.  While some finer details are not outlined, it gives the characters structured flexibility to make their deliverables.

To achieve the appropriate project detail, an effective professional services project plan has a few key characteristics: 

1. Team alignment:  Project team contributes in defining their project tasks, agreed upon timelines, and allows appropriate length to complete & flexibility on how to complete each task;

2. Task groupings:  Build the story by grouping tasks by deliverable workstreams. Then group workstreams to key project milestones;

3. Reporting:  Tasks must be easy to keep updated, provide reporting on task & milestone progress, visibility into critical path, and highlights areas of concern.

Is your project plan too detailed, too high-level, or just right?

That's my 8020 Framework.  What's yours?