Planning
Planning is where the rubber will meet the road — another phase that is often overlooked. In Chapter 1, you read about the phrase, “We don't have time to plan!” This is an interesting phenomenon and one that is a cycle of emergencies. To illustrate this point, consider a real-life conversation between a consultant and the CEO of a company:
CEO: We are simply too busy to have a planning meeting.
CONSULTANT: What is going on?
CEO: We seem to be always in a state of emergency. Nobody has the time to stop and think about the next steps.
CONSULTANT: So things are dropped on you at the last minute, you don't have enough resources for the work, and every time you complete a task two more are waiting in the wings that you are unaware of?
CEO: Exactly!
CONSULTANT: And why would planning the tasks so that you could forecast the resources so that you could understand the workload not help you?
CEO: Huh…never really thought of it that way.
This conversation is not an anomaly — many project management consultants out there have had similar conversations. People get so involved in the details of the work they sometimes do not see the benefit of the planning process. However, with no plan, everything is the emergency. Where do you think the phrase, “A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine” started?
Planning is not a one-time activity; it is a constant, iterative activity occurring throughout the life of the project. As tasks complete early, late, or on time, the plan needs to be re-evaluated and adjusted, and these changes need to be communicated to all of those involved to continue the project.
Planning will consist of understanding the work involved, planning who should do the work, when it will occur, and how you will deal with issues, risks, changes, staffing, and communications.
