6 Tips For a Successful Project Plan

The difference between a successful project and one that is a dismal failure can often come down to the project plan.  There are different approaches to planning from ad hoc planning to full on gantt charts in MS Project.  I think there are some universals for developing a plan that results in a project that works as expected.

1. Have a Vision

It’s not smart to just be reactionary – someone asks for a feature, you add it.  That just results in a mess over time.  SpaceX the private rocket company run by Elon Musk, runs every decision through their goal question. “Will this help us get to Mars?”  By running every decision through this one question it helps to make sure that they don’t detour  slowly over time.  Figure out the end goal.

2. Set Waypoints

Figure out a series of releases that you could hit along the way to your final vision.  Ideally have things that can be done in less than a month.  Quick releases helps keep the momentum and allows you to test assumptions early, as well as build skills necessary for a better final project.

3. Trust the Numbers

You will make mistakes, misunderstand the market, have difficulty finding an appropriate sales strategy and have UI designs that your customers don’t understand or features they don’t want.  You will.  Be sure to have the analytics in place early to determine what actually works, and re-adjust your plan for the realities of the market as you discover them.

4. Budget, Scope, Schedule

If the project you want to finish cannot be done on time, on budget, or with all the minimum features then you have to face the real problem of re-evaluating the project or deciding to find something else.  Of course accurately knowing the costs of a project before hand is impossible.

5. Talk to people

You can’t create a a successful business in a vacuum.   You need customers.  They may not know what they want, but you definitely need to communicate with them.

6. Track progress

When you don’t track progress towards hitting your waypoints it is inevitable that deadlines will slip and scopes will balloon.  Tracking deadlines provides a bit of extra motivation to you and your team to work harder and more focused.