Past Project Plans Expose Strengths and Weaknesses

When a manager takes the time to examine past project plans that were submitted by himself and other managers in his company, a wealth of knowledge can be obtained.

These past project plans are the history of the formal documentation process of previous projects that have either been approved or denied. While observing one that has been approved can be a good guide to success, looking and knowing why the ones that were not approved could be more beneficial to the observer.

Within the old project plans are the “why, what, who, when, and how” about each of the projects, spelled out in detail. Most of the plans that were disapproved also include the reason why the stakeholders would not proceed with its approval. This should be examined, especially if the project you are studying is similar to your own.

The problem could have come from any number of sources or reasons. Did the feasibility study show there was no market for the deliverable? Was the deliverable not profitable enough? In some cases, the product that would have been produced is of high quality, just that the market was not large enough to warrant the expense of producing it at the time. All of these things should be looked at and noted when examining the past project plans.

There are also examples of past project plans that were just not thought out very well. The product may have been, and may still be, a good idea as an investment, but the manager that planned it may have done an insufficient job of creating his business plan properly. This bad planning was then the reason for the disapproval.

These are just several of many good reasons why past project plans should be closely examined before venturing into a new project. The main purpose of a project plan is for it to gain approval. With the past examined and the mistakes of the past revealed, there is less chance of them being repeated.