Project planning is a critical phase in the lifecycle of any project, ensuring that all aspects are considered and managed effectively. Here’s a comprehensive guide to the essential templates and documents you need for each phase of project management.

Project Initiation
Project Initiation is the foundational phase where the project begins to take shape. It involves creating a Business Case to justify the project by detailing its benefits, costs, and risks. Acceptance Criteria are established to define the standards that project deliverables must meet for stakeholder approval. A Project Brief is compiled to provide a concise overview of the project’s objectives, scope, and key deliverables.
Project Deliverables are specified to outline what the project will produce. Initiation Documentation, including the project charter and initial scope statement, formally authorizes the project. Work Management strategies are outlined to manage tasks, roles, and workflows. A Project Proposal is drafted to seek approval, detailing objectives, timelines, and resources. The Project Charter officially authorizes the project, defining its objectives, scope, and stakeholders.
Project Assessment evaluates the project’s feasibility and impact. A Scope Statement clarifies what is in and out of scope, while an Organization Chart visually represents the project team structure. An Initial Resource Plan identifies required resources, and a Feasibility Study assesses the project’s practicality from various angles, ensuring all preliminary groundwork is laid for a successful project execution.
Here are the key documents and templates:
- Business Case: Justifies the necessity of the project by outlining the benefits, costs, and risks involved.
- Acceptance Criteria: Defines the conditions that must be met for the project deliverables to be accepted by stakeholders.
- Project Brief: A concise document that outlines the project’s objectives, scope, and key deliverables.
- Project Deliverable: Specifies what the project will deliver, including products, services, or results.
- Initiation Documentation: A collection of documents that formally authorize the project, including the project charter and initial scope statement.
- Work Management: Outlines how the work will be managed, including roles, responsibilities, and workflows.
- Project Proposal: A detailed proposal that seeks approval to proceed with the project, including objectives, timelines, and resources.
- Project Charter: Officially authorizes the project, defining its objectives, scope, and key stakeholders.
- Project Assessment: Evaluates the feasibility and potential impact of the project.
- Scope Statement: Clearly defines what is and is not included in the project scope.
- Organization Chart: A visual representation of the project team structure and reporting lines.
- Initial Resource Plan: Identifies the resources required, including human, financial, and material resources.
- Feasibility Study: Assesses the practicality of the project, including technical, economic, and legal feasibility.
Project Planning
Project Planning involves meticulous preparation to ensure smooth execution. It starts with creating a Gantt Chart in Excel to visually schedule and track project tasks over time, providing a clear timeline for project activities. An Excel Project Manager template is utilized for comprehensive management, detailing timelines, resources, and tasks. A Tracking Spreadsheet is employed to monitor progress, costs, and resource allocation, ensuring the project stays on budget and schedule. SWOT Analysis Templates are used to evaluate the project’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, guiding strategic planning. An Action Plan Template is developed to detail the specific steps needed to achieve project goals, assigning responsibilities and deadlines. Lastly, a One Page Project Manager provides a concise summary of the project’s key aspects, serving as a quick reference tool for stakeholders to understand the project’s scope, objectives, and status at a glance.
Here are the planning tools:
- Gantt Chart Excel: A visual tool to schedule and track project tasks over time.
- Excel Project Manager: A comprehensive Excel template for managing project timelines, resources, and tasks.
- Tracking Spreadsheet: Helps in monitoring progress, costs, and resources.
- SWOT Analysis Template: Analyzes Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to the project.
- Action Plan Template: Details the steps required to achieve project goals, including who does what and by when.
- One Page Project Manager: A concise overview of the project’s key aspects for quick reference.
Project Tracking
Project Tracking is crucial for ensuring that a project remains aligned with its objectives and timelines. It involves using tools like a RACI Excel Template to clearly define and track Roles and Responsibilities for each task, ensuring accountability. A Portfolio Dashboard provides a high-level overview of multiple projects, facilitating strategic oversight. Gap Analysis Templates help identify discrepancies between current project states and desired outcomes, guiding improvement efforts. Root Cause Analysis is performed to uncover the underlying reasons for project issues, aiding in effective problem-solving. The RAID Log in Excel tracks Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies, offering a comprehensive view of potential project hurdles. Lastly, Execution Tracking tools monitor the day-to-day progress against the project plan, allowing for real-time adjustments and ensuring that any deviations are promptly addressed to keep the project on track.
Here are the tools for effective tracking:
- RACI Excel Template: Defines Roles and Responsibilities (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) for project tasks.
- Portfolio Dashboard: Provides a high-level overview of multiple projects within a portfolio.
- Gap Analysis Template: Identifies gaps between current and desired states to guide improvement efforts.
- Root Cause Analysis: Helps in identifying the underlying reasons for project issues or failures.
- RAID Log Excel: Tracks Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies.
- Execution Tracking: Monitors the progress of project execution against the plan.
Project Communication
Project Communication is vital for maintaining alignment and transparency among all project stakeholders. It involves regular updates through Communication Status reports to keep everyone informed about progress, changes, and decisions. Management Planning outlines how project information will be disseminated, ensuring that the right information reaches the appropriate stakeholders at the right time. A Process Improvement Plan is documented to detail how communication processes will be monitored and enhanced throughout the project lifecycle. The Programme Benefit Profile highlights the expected benefits, which are communicated to justify the project’s value. A Requirement Check List ensures all project requirements are communicated and met, while the Project Requirements document provides a detailed list of what the project must achieve, fostering clear expectations. Effective communication strategies help in managing stakeholder expectations, resolving conflicts, and facilitating collaboration, ultimately contributing to the project’s success.
Here are the communication tools:
- Communication Status: Regular updates on project communication activities.
- Management Planning: Plans how project information will be communicated.
- Process Improvement Plan: Documents how processes will be monitored and improved.
- Programme Benefit Profile: Outlines the benefits expected from the project.
- Requirement Check List: Ensures all project requirements are met.
- Project Requirements: Detailed list of what the project must achieve.
Change Management
Change Management in project management involves structured processes to handle modifications to the project scope, schedule, or resources. It starts with a Change Request Form to formally document and initiate changes, ensuring all requests are tracked and evaluated. The ITIL Change Request process provides a standardized approach, particularly useful in IT projects, for managing these changes efficiently. A Change Log Template records all changes, providing a historical record for reference and auditing.
Impact Assessment evaluates how changes will affect the project’s timeline, budget, quality, and resources, allowing for informed decision-making. A Management Plan outlines the strategy for handling changes, detailing roles, responsibilities, and procedures. The Change Curve Model is used to understand and manage stakeholder reactions to change, facilitating smoother transitions by addressing emotional responses and resistance. Together, these tools ensure that changes are managed in a controlled manner, minimizing disruption and maintaining project alignment with its objectives.
Here are the change management tools:
- Change Request Form: Formalizes requests for changes in the project scope, schedule, or resources.
- ITIL Change Request: Follows ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) standards for change management.
- Change Log Template: Logs all changes made during the project lifecycle.
- Impact Assessment: Evaluates the impact of proposed changes on the project.
- Management Plan: Details how changes will be managed throughout the project.
- Change Curve Model: Helps in understanding and managing stakeholder reactions to change.
Risk & Issue Management
Risk and Issue Management involves identifying, assessing, and prioritizing potential risks and current issues that could impact organizational objectives. This process includes developing strategies to mitigate risks before they become problems, and managing issues as they arise to minimize their impact. Effective risk management requires thorough analysis to understand the likelihood and impact of risks, while issue management focuses on immediate response, resolution, and learning from incidents to prevent future occurrences. Both practices necessitate continuous monitoring, clear communication, and sometimes the adaptation of organizational policies or operational procedures. Tools like risk registers, issue logs, and regular review meetings help in tracking and addressing these elements systematically, ensuring that both risks and issues are handled proactively and reactively, thereby safeguarding project timelines, budgets, and quality standards.
Here are the tools:
- Incident Priority: Determines the urgency and importance of incidents.
- Cause/Effect Diagram: Also known as a Fishbone Diagram, used to identify potential causes of problems.
- Issue Resolution Process: Defines how issues will be identified, tracked, and resolved.
- Risk Identification: Identifies potential risks that could impact the project.
- Risk Register: Documents all identified risks, their potential impact, and mitigation strategies.
- Risk Management: Outlines the approach to managing risks throughout the project lifecycle.
These documents provide the flexibility to pause work whenever necessary and resume from where you left off, ensuring continuity and efficiency. Utilizing these templates and documents throughout the project lifecycle helps in maintaining control, ensuring all stakeholders are aligned, and ultimately leading to successful project delivery.