project planning

Question

is it important to do project planning? How much time and energy should be spent planning the project? Is planning important to an Agile project? What are some of the dangers of not planning? Of over planning?

Answer 1

Hi Harsha--

 

I'm hoping that a Project Management Professional (PMP) will chime in here with some specifics, but based on my little bit of knowledge of PM principles, here are some things to think about:

 

1) Yes, it is important to plan and manage a project. Good planning ahead of time lets everyone on the project know what the parameters and expectations are, as well has how each element of it interacts with the other elements. Planning allows the project manager to more accurately set budgets, schedules, staff assignments, material requirements, etc., and to have a baseline with which to measure and improve the ongoing progress of the project (and report that progress to superiors as required).

 

2) The time and effort that goes into planning is entirely dependent on the size of the project. The initial planning stages will help the PM identify the project's "scope and sequence," which will in turn dictate the specific layout of project parameters.

 

3) Yes, even Agile projects should be planned. The idea behind Agile PM is that it anticipates the possibility of significant changes to project parameters after the project is underway, and allows for quick and "agile" responses. In the planning process, the idea is to make as many parameters as flexible as possible. So instead of saying "what do we do now?" when something happens, you've already answered the question, "what will we do when/if this happens." How will we respond if our project delivery date is moved up? How will we re-allocate budgets if project funding is reduced? How will we cover gaps if part of our project team is pulled onto another project? It's all part of good project management anyway, but with accelerated and less predictable projects, you almost need MORE planning to keep them more flexible.

 

4) If you don't plan, you have no idea what to do when the project starts, and you waste time figuring it out. Wasted time is wasted money, blown delivery dates, unhappy customers, and unemployed project team members. :-)

 

5) If you plan too rigidly, you may lose the ability to respond on-the-fly to sudden obstacles and/or changing demands from your clients. You may also become reluctant to change something that isn't working, especially if it would create a domino effect with other project components.

 

Again, I'm not a PMP or any sort of PM expert. There are likely much more detailed and specific answers here, especially about Agile PM.

 

Are you studying for your PMP certification? Good luck, and always remember "on time, on budget!" :-)

 

Matt in NY