The Benefits of Establishing a Project Management Plan

In the world of project management, establishing a solid plan before work begins in earnest isn’t just a recommendation – it’s a requirement. If you begin your journey across the project lifecycle with a solid plan in place, you’ll actually find that a large part of your hard work has already been done for you.

In addition to the fact that it helps keep everything in perspective, establishing a project management plan also brings with it a host of other benefits that can’t be ignored.

It Lets You See the Bigger Picture

Part of project management involves taking an idea (in this case, a finished product) and breaking it down into a series of manageable parts. Part 1 of the process is due to be completed by X day, Part 2 is due to be completed by Y day, etcetera. While this certainly helps make the process easier, it also makes it difficult to see your progress in the context of the larger whole at any given point. Having a project management plan, however, makes this possible once again.

You can easily check your progress against your projections at any point based on what you originally set out to accomplish via the plan. Are you hitting your deliverables? Are you behind in certain areas? Why? Why not? These are all questions that are vastly easier to answer with a plan. 

A Project Management Plan: Your Secret Weapon

One of the major reasons whyproject management veterans rely on a solid plan is simple: it’s the perfect opportunity to “problem solve” before any problems have actually had the chance to crop up. When creating your plan, you’re looking at every decision that you’re forced to make from all angles. Each choice that is built into the plan is based on actionable information.

You’re already looking way ahead to help identify any potential issues that may crop up and are making your choices based on the best route to avoid them. In that regard, a project management plan actually makes the whole process significantly easier because you’re doing most of the hard work before the “work” technically begins.

These are just a few of the many benefits of establishing a high quality project management plan as early as possible. Failure to advance without a concrete plan is a bit like setting out on a road trip without a map of any kind. You may know that your destination is east, but you don’t really have a chance of actually getting there anytime soon. After establishing a project management plan your employees and (most importantly) the customer will most certainly thank you. 

Key Takeaways:

• Setting out on a project without a firm project management plan in place is one of the absolute worst decisions that you can make as far as the product’s lifecycle is concerned.
  
• A solid project management plan will not only help keep all of your team members on the same page, but it’s also a great opportunity to identify any potential issues as early as possible so that you can take steps to correct them sooner rather than later.