Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Symbol of the Government of Canada

ARCHIVED - Planning the Project


Warning This page has been archived.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.

Purpose

Project planning includes development of the overall project structure, the activities and workplan/timeline that will form the basis of the project management processes employed throughout the project lifecycle.

Your approach to project planning will follow your Department's procedures and guidelines. However, if your project requires Treasury Board Approval (detailed in the next section), you will also need to consider and address those issues outlined in the Treasury Board Project Approval submission, approval, and review processes.

Thorough Project Planning provides the structure and procedures to ensure that adequate time and effort is put into identifying the project scope, deliverables, resource requirements, and risks. The Planning Process also sets out procedures that will be used within the project for tracking progress, using tools and methodologies, communicating with the project team members, users and other stakeholders, resolving issues and problems, acceptance, performance reporting and addressing change requests.

Upfront planning alleviates the risk of the Project Manager having to operate "on the fly" to develop contingency approaches when the project execution doesn't go "as expected". Project Planning also allows for the management of expectations of all project team members and support resources by outlining exactly what is required, how it is intended to be delivered, and the timeline that will be followed.