The purpose of project planning is to produce an agreed plan which is workable. This will cover financial management as well as the technical implementation. Roles are defined, and a timeline is drawn up covering the different project phases. Potential risks and constraints within the project need to be recognised, discussed and understood. Risks need to be managed as appropriate.

Project planning can involve team building as well as training the project team in an appropriate methodology. The project team must understand what the scope and objectives of the project are and be able to work together. They should be familiar with each other’s roles and responsibilities within the project.

Resources required for the project must be assessed and the project broken down into achievable and agreed milestones. Ongoing training and support and change management must also be considered.

A project plan must include deployment planning, for example who will go ‘online’ with the project, and at what stage in the project. Deployment resources must be allocated (such as acquiring and configuring servers) and timelines for deployment set.