Planning – Laying the Foundations for Success

Sunchana presented to the Scotland branch in Edinburgh on 21 June. The evening provided a great overview as to why we plan.  The talk explored some key questions such as why do we plan? Why do we not just go with it and see what happens? 

Sunchana related planning to a kitchen installation. A fitter would not turn up to fit a unit to find they required a screw driver, so then left the job to go and buy one. After returning with a screw driver the fitter realised they needed a drill so again left the site to go and buy one. Fitters have a plan to turn up with all the required tools for the job.

The talk also provided an introduction into Henry Gantt and how the Gantt chart started off before exploring the importance of milestones and the various different types of milestones. Project Plans were dissected and the building blocks explained before concluding with a summary of what it looks like. The key messages from the seminar were to keep it simple, the project manager and planner must work together, read the business case and, of course, every project needs a plan.

Always remember, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face!

About the presenter:  Sunchana is a PMO Programme Management Professional and experienced senior planner with over 20 years’ experience in banking, telecoms, IT and utilities. A fully qualified freelance P3O, MSP, P3M, Prince2 and management of risk practitioner. Sunchana is an enthusiastic, confident, proactive and results-driven professional with experience of successfully managing different work streams, matrix teams and delivering organisational change.

A copy of the presentation to follow soon on Slideshare.

Erin Slater, Secretary, Scotland Branch