The objective of this section is not to make you an expert in project management, but rather to review the basics of how to plan your work (or that of your team members) properly. Becoming a project manager is a profession in itself, requiring many hours of study and practice.

However, if you’re not already an expert, you may find some of the techniques in this area very useful.

Let’s go through them together, starting with an overview of work planning activities.

Note – if you are already experienced in work planning: consider the following general approach to validate if any of the proposed steps are less familiar to you, in which case, you may want to consult this part. If not, skip to the next section of this training.

General approach

• Understand the objectives of the initiative and the expected results.
• Identify key dates if any are part of the requirements.
• Identify the major steps to achieve the initiative.
• Break down each of these steps into tasks.
• Estimate the time required to complete each task.
• Assess the extent of the uncertainties.
• Identify interdependencies, i.e. what a task depends on to be completed.
• Assign each task to someone.
• Establish a schedule of tasks (start date, end date).
• Review capacity.
• Assess the risk of an event occurring that could slow down or alter the quality of the workand identify mitigation options.
• Do a final review of your planning.