Project Management Essentials For Dummies, Australian and New Zealand Edition

Chapter 13

Ten Questions to Ask Yourself for Project Planning

In This Chapter

Clarifying your project’s objectives

Describing deliverables, schedules and resources

Addressing the uncertainties

When you begin a project, enthusiasm or organisational deadlines, or both, can make you want to jump in and start working on the detail immediately. However, you know you have the greatest chance of a successful outcome, including delivering the right thing, if you plan out your project before you start the actual work.

Answer the ten questions in this chapter to be sure you’ve completely identified all the work your project requires.

What Are the Objectives?

A common cause of project problems to the point of failure is unclear objectives. Check the following:

• Exactly what is the project being asked to deliver?
• What is the primary purpose of the project? Perhaps to speed up delivery to customers, comply with legal requirements, save money, or more than one.
• Who’ll benefit from the project?
• What would happen if the project wasn’t run?

Who Do You Need to Involve?

Knowing early on who you need to involve allows you to plan for their participation. Think about:

• Budget holders: People who ...