Build a project plan that everyone can work with in Excel

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My view has always been that, to manage a project well, you need clarity of thought, good communication and good people. In my view, a clear view of the end goal and the path that needs to be trodden sets the direction. Then you need to ensure that you communicate, and incorporate feedback, about the journey. Lastly, make sure you have the right people to deliver this.

It is a bit like going on a ship. You need to know the destination, the best route to travel, the supplies you need, you need to let all necessary authorities know your route and lastly, employ a good crew. This post is about the route planning.

In my opinion, you as a project leader, need to have a clear view of the ideal journey and what success represents. So you should start with a blank piece of paper and note the following quickly:

1. Start date – what date will you officially start the project
2. Finish date – what date will the project end
3. Closure date – at what date will the project formally be closed and handed over
4. What are the stages to consider between the start and finish date (you can always take the waterfall project management approach for phasing)
5. What are the approximate start and end dates of each phase
6. Who do you need to include in your project core and extended teams
7. What are the key dates that you will need to consider for senior stakeholders
8. Identify the key documents that need to be approved and the approximate time to complete them.

This sounds like a long list, but with experience, this can be brainstormed in an hour. And it is the project skeletal structure that you can share with the core team for feedback.

So what now?

Now, you need to build the project plan. I am sure that the first thought coming into people’s mind is “lets use Microsoft Project (MSP)”. Well, with experience, it is not my first thought. I know full well that many people do not know how to use MSP. It can also be overwhelming. Well, we do not want to cause this anxiety amongst the team – we need them to focus on delivering. They just need to know what to deliver, by when, in the next one or two week period. And this is critical because they are most likely involved in many other projects. So lets use MSP, but lets start with Excel. The project leader will have their work cut-out when personalising activities to the core team individuals. However, it is their job to ensure everyone knows what they need to deliver by when – in the easiest manner possible.

So how should we start? Lets assume you do NOT have MSP (sigh of relief from some people). Lets use excel. I mocked up a quick plan in Excel. Its super simple (as I always say, Keep It Simple and Stupid).

It took me five minutes to build this spreadsheet. It gives you everything you need. The names of key tasks, the period during which the task needs to be completed, how long it should take and who is responsible for delivering. Then you have the timeline - similar to a Gantt chart in MSP. You can also see significant holiday periods. In red, I have highlighted the major milestones. I have not included interdependencies or dependencies at this stage - no need. The project manager can include this in their plan.

Now,  this is an ideal starting point for any project. Why, because everyone has Microsoft Excel. Therefore, you can get immediate input from all project members. You can expand this easily with more activities. But overall, its easy to use. The other advantage is that the Project manager can upload the first five columns into MSP and build a more comprehensive plan. The excel can also be used for reporting to senior stakeholders.

I will write a further post about how to really simply get engaged with using Microsoft Project. Nothing complex - just how to get started and be effective within a few hours of starting a project.