Project planning as a process is output oriented. It is concerned with deciding in advance what, when, how, and who will take the necessary actions to accomplish established objectives. In this context planning is a pervasive management function which is accomplished by all levels in the project hierarchy(l), the difference being scope, detail, and the magnitude of the effort. Planning forms the foundation for future actions, using the past as a guide. The purpose of this paper is to examine the project environment for planning, to consider the purpose of planning, to focus on the stages of project planning, to evaluate the elements of planning for the project, and to discuss the role of decision-making in project planning. The first concern is the planning process and environment. The basic planning process is illustrated in Figure 1.

The process involves inductive problem solving.(2) It initially focuses on the “what” and “how” which are closely related. What is to be accomplished is defined in the project objectives that must be developed at the beginning of the planning process. These objectives may relate to new product development, acquisition of market share, maintenance of market share, anticipated sales volume, profit maximization, some combination of these or some other desired objective. The objectives become the “reason to be” for project personnel. All subsequent activity should be devoted to their accomplishment through planned future time periods. As soon as they are completed, by definition, the project is over. The “how” concern for planning evolves around the selected objectives and the nature of the product, the state of technology, the characteristics of the target market, company policy, and available manufacturing or developmental processes. Needed technical and production skills will be affected by the how concerns.

Requisite facilities, equipment, supplies, raw materials, and manpower skills have to be identified and scheduled for purchase or hire. Delivery times must mesh with the product’s production schedules and time frames. These resource decisions comprise the input considerations delineated in Figure 1, and constitute the “who” and “when” aspects of the planning process. Management of such resources is internal to the project, but acquisition of them is through external channels. There are two external categories of concerns for project planning which must be considered, i.e., the organizational environment for the project and the environment which is external to the company as a whole.

Several organizational approaches to project management may be used for the firm’s structure, such as matrix, projectised, etc.(2) Each has its advantages and disadvantages and will be suitable in specific instances depending on top management policy, product attributes, and other factors. Regardless of the organizational format, each project manager will have to compete with other projects for a share of the firm’s limited resources. Planning facilitates this competition in that detailed plans of high quality with cost and schedule information provide credibility and validation to resource requests. The project manager will have to consider as a part of planning the format and procedures characteristic to the specific organizational structure and their impact on the acquisition of resources. The project’s success in obtaining and maintaining resources will be dependent on its relative priority in the organizational hierarchy and its efficient use of resources as measured by return on investment or some other financial or managerial criteria .(3) The manager does not control the environmental variables external to the project even within the firm; however, with proper planning he should be able to influence budgets and other resource allocation mechanisms.

Other variables which the project manager must include in planning exist outside the overall organization. As in the case of the organizational climate, the project manager usually cannot control these variables, but with proper planning he possibly can influence them or minimize their impact on his project. These variables include factors such as the firm’s competition in the market place, governmental regulations, technological change, and various social constraints. Thus it can be seen that planning is critical to the probable success of the project. Its several contributions in this area will be considered next.

For more information we encourage you to go and read this online article: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-planning-as-primary-management-function-10339