significant amount of effort and the input of many people. At-
tempting to create a project plan single-handedly has caused
the downfall of more than one project manager. In essence, the
project plan is a kind of map that you can use to guide you and
your team from beginning to end.
One reason that planning is so difficult to describe definitive-
ly is because project plans are always evolving. The instant
Brad transitions from asking, “What are we trying to accom-
plish?” (the true need) to asking, “How are we going to accom-
plish it?” (the project definition), the process of planning begins.
And although he may not appreciate it right now, Brad will be
continuing that process until the very end of Project Apex.
Organizations vary considerably in their general approach to
project planning. The specific procedures that your organization
prescribes reflects its philosophy toward planning and control. If
your organizational management tends to be extremely action-
oriented or to not believe in the value of planning, it’s likely that
your planning procedures will be minimal. In this environment,
projects may be hastily initiated and a significant amount of
upfront planning is done without much thought or without prop-
erly considering alternatives or risks. Conversely, if your organi-
zational management has a bias toward certainty or control,
that’s likely to be reflected in the development and use of rigor-
ous planning procedures.
The Planning Process
As mentioned above, project plans tend to emerge gradually.
They are continuously modified and refined in terms of content,
structure, and level of detail. As the project definition becomes
more refined, work is broken down into ever-increasing levels of
detail, assumptions are verified or refuted, and actual results are
achieved, the project plan must keep pace.
Although there are many variations of the basic project
planning process, Figure 6-1 illustrates a common phenome-
non. Project plans are often generated in iterations: at different
times, in different levels of detail, for different purposes. Major
An Overview of Planning and Estimating 99