What is a project plan ?

How Do You Create One?

A good project rarely starts with someone simply saying, "Let's get started."

Before work begins, the team needs to understand what needs to be done, who is responsible, when the work needs to happen and what the project is expected to achieve.

That's where a project plan comes in.

But what is a project plan, what should it include and how do you create one?

In this guide, we'll explain how to create a project plan, what information to include and how project management software can help you keep your plan organised and connected to the work.

What Is a Project Plan?

A project plan is a document or working plan that explains how a project will be delivered.

It brings together important information about the project's goals, scope, tasks, timeline, resources, budget, risks and responsibilities.

In simple terms, a project plan answers questions such as:

• What are we trying to achieve?
• What needs to be delivered?
• What tasks need to be completed?
• Who is responsible for each task?
• When does the work need to be completed?
• What resources do we need?
• What could cause problems?
• How much will the project cost?
• How will we measure success?

A project plan gives the team a shared view of how the project should move from its starting point to its final outcome.

Why Is a Project Plan Important?

Without a clear plan, it can be difficult for a team to understand what needs to happen next.

A good project plan creates structure and gives everyone a clear point of reference.

It can help teams:

• Understand the project goals
• Organise project tasks
• Set realistic deadlines
• Assign responsibility
• Identify dependencies
• Manage project risks
• Track project progress
• Manage resources and costs
• Keep stakeholders informed

A strong plan can also make it easier to spot problems early rather than discovering them when the project is already under pressure.

If you want to learn more about keeping projects moving, read our guide on how to keep a project on track.

What Should a Project Plan Include?

There is no single format that every project must follow.

The information you need will depend on the size, type and complexity of the project.

However, most useful project plans include several core areas:

• Project goals and objectives
• Project scope
• Deliverables
• Project tasks
• Task owners
• Project timeline
• Milestones
• Task dependencies
• Resources
• Project budget
• Risks and issues
• Communication and reporting
• Success measures

The aim isn't to create a huge document full of information that nobody reads.

The aim is to create a plan that helps the team understand the work and use it throughout the project.

1. Define the Project Goal

The first step in how to create a project plan is understanding what the project needs to achieve.

Start with one clear project goal.

Ask:

• What are we trying to achieve?
• Why does the project matter?
• What will the project deliver?
• What does success look like?

A clear goal helps the team understand why the project exists and gives you something to measure against later.

For more on this, read What Makes a Project Successful?.

2. Define the Project Scope

Once you know the goal, you need to define what the project will and will not include.

This is your project scope.

A clear scope helps prevent confusion about what the team has agreed to deliver.

It can include:

• What the project will deliver
• What is outside the project
• Key requirements
• Important limitations
• Expected outcomes

Defining scope early can also help reduce scope creep later in the project.

3. Identify the Project Deliverables

Deliverables are the specific outputs the project needs to produce.

For example, a website project might have deliverables such as:

• Website designs
• Written content
• Development work
• Testing
• Final website launch

Breaking the project into clear deliverables makes it easier to understand the work that needs to happen.

4. Break Deliverables Into Project Tasks

Once you've identified the deliverables, break them into smaller, manageable tasks.

This makes the project easier to plan and gives the team clear actions to work on.

For example, instead of having one task called "Launch website", you could have:

• Create wireframes
• Approve designs
• Build website pages
• Add content
• Complete testing
• Fix issues
• Launch website

Clear tasks make it easier to understand what needs to happen and who needs to do it.

Manage project tasks with CombinedWork.

5. Assign Task Owners

Every important task should have a clear owner.

This doesn't necessarily mean that person will complete every part of the work themselves. It means they are responsible for making sure the task gets completed.

Clear ownership helps prevent tasks from being forgotten and makes accountability easier.

For each task, consider:

• Who is responsible?
• Do they have the right skills?
• Do they have enough time?
• Do they need support from someone else?

Keep project task ownership clear with CombinedWork.

6. Create a Project Schedule

A project schedule shows when the work needs to happen.

It should include task start dates, deadlines, durations and important milestones.

When creating your schedule, think about:

• How long each task should take
• Which tasks need to happen first
• Which tasks can happen at the same time
• When key deliverables are due
• How much time is available
• Where you may need some extra time

A realistic schedule makes it easier to monitor progress and identify delays.

7. Add Project Milestones

Project milestones are important points or achievements within a project.

They can represent the completion of a major phase, deliverable or decision.

For example:

• Project approved
• Design completed
• Development completed
• Testing approved
• Project launched

Milestones give the team useful checkpoints and make it easier to understand whether the project is progressing as planned.

8. Identify Task Dependencies

Some project tasks cannot begin until another task has been completed.

These are known as task dependencies.

For example, a development team may not be able to build a new page until the design has been approved.

Understanding dependencies helps you put tasks in the correct order.

It can also help you understand how a delay in one task could affect the rest of the project.

Good project planning should identify important dependencies before work begins.

9. Plan Your Resources

Projects need resources to get the work done.

These might include:

• People
• Equipment
• Software
• Materials
• External suppliers
• Budget

Think about what the project needs and when those resources will be required.

This can help prevent problems such as having a task ready to start but not having the right person or resource available.

10. Create a Project Budget

Budget planning should be part of your project plan.

Depending on the project, you may need to consider staff costs, suppliers, software, equipment, materials and other expenses.

Having a clear budget gives you a baseline to compare against as the project progresses.

Regular cost tracking can help you spot potential problems before they become serious.

For more information, read our guide on how to keep a project on budget.

11. Identify Project Risks

Every project has risks.

A risk is something that could affect the project's delivery, cost, timeline or outcome.

Common project risks include:

• Staff availability
• Supplier delays
• Technical problems
• Budget changes
• Changing requirements
• Unexpected additional work

Identifying risks during project planning gives you time to think about how you will respond if they happen.

12. Decide How You Will Track Project Progress

A project plan shouldn't disappear once the project starts.

You should use it to track what is happening throughout the project.

Decide how you will monitor:

• Completed tasks
• Upcoming deadlines
• Project milestones
• Blocked tasks
• Project risks
• Budget
• Overall project progress

Regular project tracking helps you compare what was planned with what is actually happening.

Learn how to keep a project on track with our practical guide.

13. Plan Your Project Communication

Good communication should be part of the project plan too.

Think about who needs project updates, what information they need and how often they should receive it.

This might include:

• Team updates
• Stakeholder reports
• Project meetings
• Progress updates
• Risk updates
• Important project decisions

Clear communication can help keep everyone working towards the same goal.

14. Choose the Right Project Management Tool

Your project plan needs somewhere to live.

You could create a document or spreadsheet, but as a project becomes more complex, it can become difficult to keep information updated across different tools.

Project management software can bring tasks, deadlines, responsibilities, milestones, progress and reporting together.

This gives the team a central place to manage the project and update the plan as work progresses.

CombinedWork gives teams a central platform for project planning, task management, project tracking and reporting.

15. Keep the Project Plan Updated

A project plan isn't something you create once and never look at again.

Projects change.

Deadlines move, tasks are added, risks appear and priorities can change.

Your project plan should reflect those changes.

Regularly review:

• Task progress
• Deadlines
• Milestones
• Dependencies
• Resources
• Risks
• Budget
• Project scope

Keeping your plan current means it remains useful throughout the project rather than becoming an outdated document.

Project Plan vs Project Schedule: What's the Difference?

Project plans and project schedules are closely connected, but they are not exactly the same.

A project plan covers the wider approach to delivering the project.

A project schedule focuses more specifically on when tasks and activities will happen.

The project plan may include the schedule alongside information about scope, resources, risks, budget, communication and responsibilities.

In simple terms, the schedule is one important part of the wider project plan.

Can You Create a Project Plan in Excel?

Yes, you can create a project plan using a spreadsheet.

For a small or simple project, this may be enough.

However, spreadsheets can become harder to manage as projects grow.

Multiple people may need to update tasks, deadlines and progress at the same time, and important information can become spread across different files.

For larger or more complex projects, project management software can make it easier to keep the plan connected to the work.

What Makes a Good Project Plan?

A good project plan should be clear, realistic and easy for the team to use.

It should answer the key questions the team needs to understand:

• What are we delivering?
• Why are we doing it?
• Who is responsible?
• When does the work need to happen?
• What resources do we need?
• What could go wrong?
• How will we track progress?
• How will we know the project is successful?

The best plan isn't necessarily the longest one.

It's the one the team can understand, use and update throughout the project.

Simple Project Plan Checklist

Before starting your project, check that your plan includes:

• A clear project goal
• Defined project scope
• Project deliverables
• A list of project tasks
• Task owners
• A realistic project schedule
• Project milestones
• Task dependencies
• Required resources
• A project budget
• Project risks
• A communication plan
• A way to track project progress
• Clear measures of project success

Final Thoughts

So, what is a project plan?

It's a practical roadmap for delivering a project.

A good project plan brings together the project's goals, scope, tasks, deadlines, milestones, resources, budget, risks and responsibilities.

Knowing how to create a project plan gives your team a clearer way to organise the work and understand what needs to happen next.

But the plan shouldn't stay on a document once the project starts.

It should be used to track progress, manage changes and help the team make better decisions throughout the project.

CombinedWork helps teams plan projects, manage tasks, track progress and report on project performance in one place.

If you're looking for a simpler way to create and manage your project plans, explore CombinedWork.

Start planning your projects with CombinedWork →