What happens during the planning stage of management?

An effective management planning process includes evaluating long-term corporate objectives.

Management planning is the process of assessing an organization's goals and creating a realistic, detailed plan of action for meeting those goals. Much like writing a business plan, a management plan takes into consideration short- and long-term corporate strategies. The basic steps in the management planning process involve creating a road map that outlines each task the company must accomplish to meet its overall objectives.
Establish Goals
The first step of the management planning process is to identify specific company goals. This portion of the planning process should include a detailed overview of each goal, including the reason for its selection and the anticipated outcomes of goal-related projects. Where possible, objectives should be described in quantitative or qualitative terms. An example of a goal is to raise profits by 25 percent over a 12-month period.

Identify Resources
Each goal should have financial and human resources projections associated with its completion. For example, a management plan may identify how many sales people it will require and how much it will cost to meet the goal of increasing sales by 25 percent.

Establish Goal-Related Tasks
Each goal should have tasks or projects associated with its achievement. For example, if a goal is to raise profits by 25 percent, a manager will need to outline the tasks required to meet that objective. Examples of tasks might include increasing the sales staff or developing advanced sales training techniques

Prioritize Goals and Tasks
Prioritizing goals and tasks is about ordering objectives in terms of their importance. The tasks deemed most important will theoretically be approached and completed first. The prioritizing process may also reflect steps necessary in completing a task or achieving a goal. For example, if a goal is to increase sales by 25 percent and an associated task is to increase sales staff, the company will need to complete the steps toward achieving that objective in chronological order.

Create Assignments and Timelines
As the company prioritizes projects, it must establish timelines for completing associated tasks and assign individuals to complete them. This portion of the management planning process should consider the abilities of staff members and the time necessary to realistically complete assignments. For example, the sales manager in this scenario may be given monthly earning quotas to stay on track for the goal of increasing sales by 25 percent.

Establish Evaluation Methods
A management planning process should include a strategy for evaluating the progress toward goal completion throughout an established time period. One way to do this is through requesting a monthly progress report from department heads.

Identify Alternative Courses of Action
Even the best-laid plans can sometimes be thrown off track by unanticipated events. A management plan should include a contingency plan if certain aspects of the master plan prove to be unattainable. Alternative courses of action can be incorporated into each segment of the planning process, or for the plan in its entirety.

Planning (also called forethought) is the process of thinking about and organizing the activities required to achieve a desired goal. It involves the creation and maintenance of a plan, such as psychological aspects that require conceptual skills. There are even a couple of tests to measure someone’s capability of planning well. As such, planning is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior.
Types of planning
• Automated planning and scheduling
• Business plan
• Comprehensive planning
• Contingency planning
• Economic planning
• Enterprise architecture planning
• Environmental planning
• Event planning and production
• Financial planning
• Marketing plan
• Network resource planning
• Operational planning
• Regional planning
• Site planning
• Strategic planning
• Succession planning

Written by Coursera • Updated on Aug 11, 2022

The project management lifecycle consists of four steps: initiating, planning, executing, and closing.

What is the project management lifecycle?

The project management lifecycle is a step-by-step framework of best practices used to shepherd a project from its beginning to its end. It provides project managers a structured way to create, execute, and finish a project.

This project management process generally includes four phases: initiating, planning, executing, and closing. Some may also include a fifth “monitoring and controlling” phase between the executing and closing stages. By following each step, a project team increases the chance of achieving its goals.

The project management lifecycle provides projects with structure and tools to ensure they have the best chance of being successful. As a project manager, it’s a process you’ll want to know well.

Read more: What Does a Project Manager Do? A Career Guide

The Project Management Lifecycle: 4 Steps

1. Initiating

In the initiation phase, you’ll define the project. You’ll sort out the project goals, scope, and resources of the project, and what roles are needed on the team. Clarifying what stakeholders expect out of the project, and what exactly the project is aiming to achieve (and why) will give the project and team clear direction.

This is a crucial phase to the project’s success. Without clarity around what needs to be achieved and why, the project runs the risk of not accomplishing the end goals and meeting the expectations of stakeholders.

Some steps in the initiation phase include:

• Communicating with stakeholders to understand the purpose and desired outcomes of the project

• Identifying project scope

• Determining SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound)

• Clarifying resources like budget and time constraints

• Confirming team size and roles required

• Determining how often and which stakeholders will be involved throughout the project

• Compiling a project proposal and project charter

Tools and documents used in the initiation phase can include:

• Project proposal: The project proposal defines a project and outlines key dates, requirements, and goals.

• Project charter: This is a definitive document that describes the project and main details necessary to reach its goals. This can include potential risks, benefits, constraints, and key stakeholders.

• RACI chart: A RACI chart plots the roles and responsibilities of members on a project team.

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2. Planning

In the planning phase, you’ll determine the steps to actually achieve the project goals—the “how” of completing a project. 

You’ll establish budgets, timelines, and milestones, and source materials and necessary documents. This step also involves calculating and predicting risk, putting change processes into place, and outlining communication protocols. If the initiation phase is assembling your troops, the planning phase is deciding what to do with them.

The planning phase can include the following steps:

• Deciding on milestones that lead up to goal completion

• Developing a schedule for tasks and milestones, including time estimates and potential time buffers

• Establishing change processes

• Determining how and how often to communicate with team members and stakeholders

• Creating and signing documents such as non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or requests for proposal (RFPs)

• Assessing and managing risk by creating a risk register

• Holding a kick-off meeting to start project

Tools you might use in a this phase include: 

• Gantt chart: A horizontal bar chart in which members can see what tasks must be completed in what order, and how long each is expected to take

• Risk register: A chart that lists risks associated with the project, along with their probability, potential impact, risk level, and mitigation plans

Read more: How to Manage Project Risk: A 5-Step Guide

3. Execute and complete tasks

Executing a project means putting your plan into action and keeping the team on track. Generally this means tracking and measuring progress, managing quality, mitigating risk, managing the budget, and using data to inform your decisions. 

Specific steps might include:

• Using tools like GANTT or burndown charts to track progress on tasks

• Responding to risks when they manifest

• Recording costs

• Keeping team members motivated and on task

• Keeping stakeholders informed of progress

• Incorporating changes via change requests

Some tools you might use include:

• Change requests: These are documents used to propose changes to a project’s scope or goals

• Burndown chart: This chart breaks down tasks on a granular level and visualizes the amount of time remaining

4. Close projects

In the closing phase of the project management lifecycle, you’ll conclude project activities, turn the finished product or service over to its new owners, and assess the things that went well and didn’t go so well. It’ll also be a time to celebrate your hard work.

Steps in the closing phase can include:

• Conducting retrospectives and take notes of changes you can implement in the future

• Communicating to stakeholders of the end of the project and providing an impact report

• Communicating with the new owners of a project

• Creating a project closeout report

• Celebrating the end of the project and your successes

Tools used in the closing phase include:

• Impact report: This report compiles a series of metrics that showcase how your project made a difference and is presented to your stakeholders.

• Project closeout report: A project closeout report provides a summary of your project’s accomplishments, and provides key learnings for future project managers to reference.

The following video provides an overview of the project management lifecycle. This is a preview of the Google Project Management Professional Certification.

An overview of the project management lifecyle.

Getting started in project management

Mastering all steps of the project management lifecycle is an ongoing process that will continue throughout your career. Learning the formal aspects—the tools, steps, and vocabulary used in the process—can set you up for success in your beginning days as a project manager. If you’re interested in deepening your knowledge of project management, consider the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate to learn job-ready project management skills at your own pace.

Related articles

• How to Manage Project Risk: A 5-Step Guide

• The 3 Scrum Roles and Responsibilities, Explained

• Project Manager Career Path: From Entry-Level to VP

• Do I Need A Project Management Degree?

• Agile vs. Scrum: Which Should You Use, and Why?

Written by Coursera • Updated on Aug 11, 2022

This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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