
Henry J. answered 04/20/19
Project Management Expert (Especially Innovation)
I think the people who told you efficiency was important understood that the difference between being average and a great planner is that great planners are always planning- it never stops, even when you leave work. Nothing you do is random- everything has a purpose and you are constantly anticipating problems. If you look at this way you can see why being efficient or being able to create and update a plan quickly is important. I believe there are two major parts to planning: the initial plan and the updating. I have found that a having a process for both makes it easier. For the initial plan I use the following process: 1. Create a Deliverable Work Breakdown Structure (DWBS), DWBS Dictionary and Cost/Duration Model, Optimized Schedule, then a realistic Schedule. For updating I update the Cost/Duration Model and add those changes to the Schedule. Fundamentally my approach to design the project to uncover unknowns and turn them into knowns so I can add them to my plan. So adding iterations or Minimum Viable Products (MVP) to the plan to transform unknowns into knowns is one way I design the project. As for the Cost/Duration modeling, that's a whole lesson, but it helps me account for all of the costs: including known and unknown risks and with some practice it is very easy to maintain or update.