Importance of the Planning Phase

00:02 Planning projects is the fundamental work of the project manager.

00:06 It's their time to shine.

00:09 The planning stage is where the project manager creates the most value and demonstrates their expertise.

00:16 They must plan all components of the project.

00:19 That's the planning breadth to a sufficient level of detail, which we call the planning depth.

00:26 Generally speaking, we can say there are two main areas to address when doing this. Things the project manager knows and can control and things the project manager doesn't know and cannot control.

00:40 When planning the details they are knowledgeable of the project manager creates to do lists, orders the items in a way that is most efficient and assigns the best people to the appropriate tasks.

00:55 Then there are the things the project manager doesn't know and can't control. Here, the project manager needs to think creatively.

01:04 Risk assessment estimations and forecasts are part of this process, and the project manager is responsible for eliminating or decreasing bad influences on the project.

01:16 How do they do that? Through diligent planning.

01:21 Any risks that are unknown.

01:23 Say what the weather will be like next autumn cannot be factored a year in advance, but the project manager will be prepared for any weather, among other things.

01:36 As you can tell, good planning is a wondrous opportunity to optimise the work, ensure that everyone's expectations are the same and avoid costly errors.

01:47 The future always contains uncertainties, so the more planning, the better, right? Right. The more things the project manager plans for, the higher their chances are to complete the project successfully in that they meet the goal, the timelines and the budget.

02:08 And let's not forget to mention the people.

02:10 People work so much better with direction when they understand what to do and how and when to do it.

02:19 I can't stress this enough.

02:21 Planning is your strategy to succeed.

02:26 The reason we are drilling this message so hard is that planning is often criminally underestimated.

02:34 People think the sooner they move to execution, the better.

02:38 But that's just not the case.

02:40 In terms of project manager effort.

02:43 It is often the other way around.

02:46 Think of it as the 8020 rule.

02:49 If more effort is expended in the planning phase, less is needed during the execution.

02:56 Less planning gaps means less pre-planning and reorganization, which can lead to delays. The misconception is understandable, though we as humans can be impatient.

03:08 We get excited to reach the end goal and we feel like we need to be doing something in order to be productive.

03:15 When really in project management, planning is the most productive we can be if done properly.

03:23 So let's see in the next lesson how bad planning can affect a project.

03:30 See you there.