What is it?
A project plan or Gantt chart is a visual tool which helps to manage the process of change. It serves as a central reference, detailing what, when, how, and who for each project activity as you move through the steps of change.
A project plans sets out:
- project stages
- workstreams
- activities (including any dependencies)
- timescales
- milestones
- review points
- responsible officers
When should it be used?
You may find it helpful to create a project plan as soon as a change project has been identified.
Do not worry if you are not able to complete all sections of the plan immediately. Development of the project plan may be iterative, especially when the final solution to the problem has not been identified. It can be useful to have an overall project plan and to develop a more detailed plan for each step of change as you get to it.
It is important that the plan is flexible so that you can adapt it as you progress through the change cycle. This may include refining activities under a particular step of change as you move forward. Or sometimes there may be a need to return to a previous step if a change is not achieving the desired outcome.
A project plan is a “live” document, and you should review and update it throughout the project.
What are the benefits of using it and why use this tool?
A project plan helps to support process rigour throughout a project by:
- providing clarity – creating a single source of truth for everyone involved
- providing a roadmap – creating an easy-to-understand route through the steps of change
- managing complexity – helping to breakdown large and complex projects into smaller workstreams, tasks, and activities to make them more manageable
- supporting resource management – assisting management of the project team ensuring people are available when needed
- enabling project delivery – helping to manage project progress, constraints (such as time and scope), dependencies (tasks and activities that rely on each other), and risks (such as bottlenecks or delays)