(^170) 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
The Value of
Planning
Derry Simmel, PMP, MBA, FLMI
Chapin, South Carolina, U.S.
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is
indispensable.”
—Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States
SoME PRojECT MAnAgERS prefer the quote, “No plan survives contact with
the enemy,” by General George S. Patton. They reason that it is a waste of time
to create plans, since they will be invalid almost from the beginning. This atti-
tude has doomed many projects to failure. There will always be managers who
advocate action over planning. Action is seductive, planning is boring.
Boring as it may be, the sole purpose of planning is not to create a set of docu-
ments. Eisenhower realized that the discipline of planning causes you to think
about your project. The planning sessions create a deeper understanding of
the project. You address work, budget, resources, risks, timelines, and more.
As you plan, you gain greater insight into what is needed for success. Your
plans will also help you understand if, and how, goals can be achieved. Com-
pleted plans are an invaluable way to communicate about the project.
Planning documents record what was discussed and decided. They do not
exist to inflexibly dictate a course of action. Unfortunately, the originals will
quickly lose their value and relevance. That is why we have two types of plan-
ning: initial and ongoing.
The goal of initial planning is to set the course of the project. Initial planning
looks at the project as a whole and considers all areas (risk, time, quality, etc.).
The initial plan sets the intent of the project, and maps a reasonable course to
the objectives. The course will change as more information is gained and the
situation changes. This is natural. A change in the objectives is less common,
and should only be done with caution.