Why Project Planning Is Necessary

Why Project Planning Is Necessary (#1 in the series How to Plan and Organize a Project)
By Michael D. Taylor

There are times when a project manager is instructed by the project sponsor to skip the planning process of a new project since, “it wastes time.” Here are some reasons why planning is vitally necessary.

• For every hour spent in planning, approximately six to eight hours of misdirected activity are prevented.
• Gresham’s Law: If initial planning is done poorly, the rise of daily problems will eventually prevent adequate replanning.
• 10/10 Rule: In order to complete the project within 10% of the estimated cost, 10% of the total estimated cost must be allocated to planning.

MICHAEL D. TAYLOR, M.S. in systems management, B.S. in electrical engineering, has more than 30 years of project, outsourcing, and engineering experience. He is principal of Systems Management Services, and has conducted project management training at the University of California, Santa Cruz Extension in their PPM Certificate program for over 13 years, and at companies such as Sun Microsystems, GTE, Siemens, TRW, Loral, Santa Clara Valley Water District, and Inprise. He also taught courses in the UCSC Extension Leadership and Management Program (LAMP), and was a guest speaker at the 2001 Santa Cruz Technology Symposium. His website is www.projectmgt.com.