Chapter 12

Planning
 Introduction
Planning can be defined as influencing the future by making
decisions based on missions, needs, and objectives.
It is the process of stating goals and determining the most
effective way of reaching them.
This future‐oriented decision process defines the actions and
activities the time and cost targets and the performance
activities,
milestones that will result in successfully achieving objectives.
Planning helps in understanding and forecasting the future,
makes the future visible to some extent.
extent It bridges between
where we are and where we want to go. Planning is looking
ahead. It is a process of developing a “Roadmap” of the future.
 Project Planning Process

• The planning process involves the following steps:

1. Setting objectives
2
2. Gathering information
3. Determining feasible alternative plans
4. Choosing the best alternative
5
5. Communicating the plan
6. Implementing the plan
7. Adjusting the plan to meet new conditions as they arise, and
8
8. Reviewing the effectiveness of the plan against attainment of objectives
 Understanding the Project

• For any Planning process the first step is

understanding the project.
– What is the project objectives in broad terms?
– What are our specific aims?
– How do we plan to achieve the objectives?
– Who wants the project to be done?
– Why the project needs to be done?
– What is it we want to achieve?
– When do we want to achieve it?
– What is the amount budgeted to achieve the objectives?
 The importance of planning

• When the plan is implemented, activities are carefully monitored and

controlled, using the plan as a reference baseline.
• The experienced gained is fed back to the company to increase its
knowledge base for the next planning action.
• This cycle represents the learning curve in action – each repetition
makes planning for and achieving the next opportunity much easier.
easier
• Without a firm commitment to the planning cycle, a company is
continually “reinventing the wheel,” wasting time and money, and
jeopardizing its place in the competitive marketplace.
marketplace
 Establishing a Planning Culture
Planning is not done by upper management alone; planning
exists in all levels of organizational hierarchy with different
perspective.
perspective
Having a participative planning process where everybody
within the team contributes to the p planningg p
process would
create a buy‐in of the plan and reduce the resistance to
accepting the plan during the implementation stage.
Th
There are numerous reasons why h a company that th t
encourages a proactive, structured approach to planning will
reap significant benefits over a company whose planning
approach is reactive or random.
 Advantages of Planning

• Preparing a clear scope definition minimizes the potential for overlooking an

aspect critical to success;
• If undertaken as a team effort,
effort it permits various viewpoints and ideas to be
expressed;
• The resultant plan, if well documented, provides a means of communication
between the participants;
• The plan provides a baseline for control during the execution phase; and
• Post‐completion reviews greatly reduce the potential for planning errors on
subsequent
b t activities.
ti iti
 Planning Tools
• Commercial handbooks and software programs
• Standard, companywide policies and operating
procedures that have been officially issued
• Model plans that can be adapted as necessary
to specific undertakings
• Checklist
• Historical database
• Code of accounts
 Major Elements of Planning

1. Summarizing goals and the scope of work: Prior to

the start of any planning process the clarity and
understanding of the scope of works is very
essential.
– Th
The project
j t Goals
G l determine
d t i the
th purpose off the
th project
j t
(i.e. what it is that you want to accomplish)
– The Scope p determines which tasks to do and do not
need to be performed to achieve the project goals.
– The Assumptions are points to clarify certain issues that
relate
l t to
t the
th project.
j t
 Major Elements of Planning

2. Time planning:
– Generally the time planning starts by establishing a need
date or milestone and working backwards.
– Developing plans to accomplish all elements of the
objective within an established period of time.
time
Time planning steps:
• Divide the entire scope
p or work effort into component
p parts.
p
• Array component parts in order of their accomplishment.
• Establish the total quantity of work for each of these
deliverables.
deliverables
• Assign durations to each component part.
 Major Elements of Planning

3. Cost planning: This is the process of creating the CBS (cost

breakdown structure), which is merely a catalog of all cost
elements expected to be incurred,
incurred the sum of which equals
the budget for the endeavor.
– Allocating direct and indirect costs to the Work Breakdown
Structure.
Structure
– Summation of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) budgets
should equal total budget.
– Ideally
Id ll parallels
ll l the
th time
ti b kd
breakdown ( t / schedule
(cost h d l
integration)
– Creation of control accounts for progress monitoring and
variance analysis.
analysis
 Major Elements of Planning

4. Resource planning: The process starts with the identification

of the resource categories required and these include:
– Personnel
– Money
– Support equipment, tools and expendable supplies
– Bulk materials
– Engineered equipment
In addition consideration must be given to quantity of each
resource required,
i d the
th timing
ti i and
d compared d against
i t the
th
availability.
Special attention is required for the critical resources as they
wouldld dictate
di t t the
th project
j t success.
 Major Elements of Planning

5. Quality Planning: The process of quality planning would

ensure achieving of the high‐quality result on‐time and
within
ithi budget.
b d t
It is achieved through the following steps:
– Clear definition and understanding of the quality objectives.
objectives
– Developing a quality plan that would deliver the expected
results.
– Communication of objectives to responsible participants.
– Training of responsible participants to deliver the
expectations.
p
– Measuring successful achievement / feedback.
 Major Elements of Planning

6. Integrating the Elements of planning: It is very

essential to integrate the planning elements such as
Time, Cost and Resources against the common
project structure (WBS).
Thi can be
This b achieved
hi d through:
th h
– Developing a schedule of the activities to match the
duration.
duration
– Resource loading the schedule.
– Resource budgeting against time.
– Cost budgets plotted against time.
 Major Elements of Planning

7. Planning for Change:

– Whether internally or externally driven, change is
inevitable for any construction project.
– Plans should be flexible to accommodate these changes.
T basic
Two b i types:
t
– “What if” Planning – Develop an alternate plan for
implementation in the event of an adverse situation.
– Budget and Schedule variances ‐ Identify risk and
exposure, then set forth contingency accounts for
i
insurance / contingency
i planning.
l i
 Major Elements of Planning

8. Review the effectiveness of the Plan: Post‐action review

of the planning that went into an endeavor is an important
t measure the
to th effectiveness
ff ti off the
th plan.
l
This would reveal the variances, and the reasons for these
should be investigated. Therefore, everyone involved in the
project must be kept informed as to progress, problems,
modifications, and other factors critical to success.
This requires making an early assessment of the required
reports, meetings, presentations, and project documents,
and determiningg which ones are vital to accurate
performance assessment.