Project Plan Template

Project Plan Template

A plan built around what the project will produce, not just a list of things people will be busy doing.

Most plans are a schedule with names attached. This one starts with the products — the things that must exist for the project to be finished — then works out what has to happen to create them, in what order, with what resources. It works at project level, stage level, team level or as an exception plan.

The eleven sections

1. Plan identity and scope — which plan this is, and what it covers
2. Planning assumptions and prerequisites — what must be true for this plan to hold
3. Products and product breakdown — what will be produced, decomposed
4. Product dependencies and flow — what has to exist before what
5. Activities and schedule — the work that creates the products
6. Milestones and decision points — where the project stops and someone decides
7. Resources and capacity — who and what is needed, and whether you have them
8. Budget and forecast — cost, phased
9. Tolerances and control — how far it can drift before escalation
10. Risks, issues and dependencies — what could break the plan
11. Sustainability and lessons — environmental considerations, and what previous projects taught

Nineteen pre-built tables.

Why product-based

Because "we will do design work in March" is not a plan — it is an intention. "The approved floor plan will exist by 14 March" is a plan, because you can tell whether it happened. Planning from products makes progress measurable instead of arguable.

Who it's for

Project managers who need a plan a sponsor will approve, teams working to a stage plan, and anyone who has had a plan rejected for being "just a Gantt chart".

How you use it

Work through the sections in order, get it approved, and baseline it. Use the same template for stage plans and exception plans by changing the identity section.

Editable Word document. No macros, no subscription. Pairs with the Project Initiation Documentation, which authorises the plan, and the Waterfall Project Plan & Gantt if you want the schedule tracked in Excel.

Built in Australia from more than twenty years of program delivery experience. Instant download, yours to keep, use it on as many projects as you like.