Creating an Effective Technical Project Plan

When embarking on a technical project, having a clear and well-structured project plan is crucial. Often times, the mistake that I’ve seen made is that once you have the “why” behind the project, people (especially software engineers like myself) will dive straight into the how. This can lead to confusion, misalignment, and ultimately, project failure since there are so many other factors that need to be considered.

Recently, I’ve refined a format that has proven effective in keeping projects on track and ensuring all team members are aligned. I derived this from a combination of my experience writing up project plans and a format that was described in the Feel Good Productivity book by Ali Abdaal.

Here’s a guide to creating a technical project plan that works.

Purpose

The first step in creating a project plan is to clearly define its purpose. This is where the 5-whys method comes in handy. By repeatedly asking “why,” you can drill down to the core reason for the project’s existence and its business value.

Example:

1. Why are we undertaking this project? To improve the user experience.
2. Why do we need to improve the user experience? To increase customer satisfaction.
3. Why do we need to increase customer satisfaction? To reduce churn and increase retention.
4. Why do we need to reduce churn and increase retention? To grow our customer base and revenue.
5. Why do we need to grow our customer base and revenue? To achieve our business objectives and stay competitive.

End State

Next, envision the project’s end state. What does success look like? This section should detail the desired outcome, the stakeholders affected, and how they are impacted. It’s essential to have a clear picture of what you aim to achieve and who will benefit from the project.

Example:

• Success Criteria: The project is successful if the user experience score increases by 20% within six months of launch.
• Stakeholders:
  • Customers: Will benefit from a more intuitive interface.
  • Support Team: Will see a reduction in support tickets related to navigation issues.
  • Sales Team: Will have an easier time selling a product with higher user satisfaction.

Decisions & Risks

Every project involves critical decisions and potential risks. Document the key technical or process decisions made, the reasons behind them, and their expected impact. Additionally, identify any risks that could jeopardize the project’s delivery. This includes dependencies on other teams or external deliverables.

Example:

• Decisions:
  • Technical: Decided to use React for the frontend due to its flexibility and community support.
  • Process: Adopted Agile methodology to allow for iterative development and continuous feedback.
• Risks:
  • Technical Risk: Potential delays if the new technology stack is more complex than anticipated.
  • Dependency Risk: Project relies on timely API updates from an external team.

Key Tasks

Outline the high-level tasks required to reach the project’s end state. Include estimated timelines and, if applicable, link these tasks to your company’s tracking software (like Jira). Highlight tasks that can be done in parallel and note any dependencies that affect the order of execution.

Example:

• Task 1: User Research and Analysis

  • Timeline: 2 weeks
  • Dependencies: Completion of customer surveys
  • Jira Link: Link to User Research Epic

• Task 2: Design Prototype

  • Timeline: 3 weeks
  • Dependencies: Feedback from user research
  • Jira Link: Link to Design Prototype Epic

• Task 3: Development

  • Timeline: 6 weeks
  • Dependencies: Finalized design prototype
  • Jira Link: Link to Development Epic

• Task 4: Testing

  • Timeline: 2 weeks
  • Dependencies: Completed development
  • Jira Link: Link to Testing Epic

Project Plan Template

Project Title

Purpose

Go through the 5-whys method to identify what the purpose is. It should lead towards business value that the project provides.

End State

What do you foresee as the end state for the project? What does success look like? Who are the stakeholders affected by this project and in what way are they affected?

Decisions & Risks

Identify certain technical or process decisions made for this project, why they were made and what effect it has.

Identify any risks to the delivery of this project. This can also contain risks by requiring the need of other teams and/or deliverables outside of the team owning this project.

Key Tasks

High-level tasks to get you to the desired end state of this project that delivers on the purpose. These can contain possible estimated timelines for each task and eventually link back to your company’s tracking software (like Jira) that have the ticket (or Epic in Jira) that has the various things associated to accomplish the key task.

Sometimes, it can be useful to identify what tasks can be done in parallel and the order of execution if there are dependencies.

Conclusion

A well-structured project plan is the cornerstone of any successful technical project. By following this format, you can ensure clarity, accountability, and alignment within your team, leading to better project outcomes.

Feel free to customize this format to suit your company specific needs. Happy planning!