On Project Plan Management as Well

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Bai Yunfan’s own writings, which we can discuss with everyone. Yesterday, I saw a post in Moments about project plan management. It discussed the impact of various aspects—such as design, procurement, construction, and supervision—on project plan management, and also put forward some countermeasures. At first glance, it seems pretty reasonable. But upon closer analysis, these are actually just excuses that planners often use when plans are not implemented on schedule. Many people’s understanding of planning stops at the triangular relationship between schedule, quality, and cost, and they take this to be the essence of project management, discussing it with great enthusiasm. This understanding artificially and one-sidedly opposes quality, schedule, and cost, remaining only at the surface level of project management. In my personal opinion, a good plan can not only address its own progress-related issues but also reconcile the conflicts between quality and progress. So, what exactly is a plan? In English, a plan is called “Plan”, and “Plan” does not only mean a schedule or arrangement; it also implies a solution or strategy. In other words, a plan cannot be merely a simple list of time milestones; it should, and must, be integrated with the strategy. A plan that does not take implementation into account is nothing but a theoretical conjecture, like Goldbach’s conjecture. How exactly should a plan be formulated? Many domestic textbooks emphasize the hierarchical structure of plans, which usually involves breaking down primary plans into secondary plans, and then into tertiary and quaternary plans, in a top-down manner. I would say that such a way of planning goes against the principles and purpose of planning itself, and it inevitably leads to plans of the kind associated with Goldbach’s conjecture. Why? The logic is simple: what if your initial plan is not realistic in the first place? Or is one of the nodes in your secondary plan completely nonsensical? In PMP, the general procedure for planning is outlined. The foundational task in plan preparation is the confirmation of the scope of work, which falls under cost management. The scope of work should be hierarchically divided according to a certain relationship, and then work packages should be formed. It should be noted that a work package itself should include project management, as each work package corresponds to an account for cost control, which serves as the basis for such control. The work package itself should serve as the basis for determining the scope of work and project costs with the client. Based on the work packages, the work is further broken down; this stage is essentially the phase of detailing the implementation plan. At this stage, it is necessary to conduct a detailed breakdown of the tasks included in each work package. Similarly, depending on the scale of the project, the desired level of detail for the work breakdown can be set to no more than 5 man-hours or no more than 10 man-hours, and the detailed tasks are then ordered according to the execution plan. During the process of dividing work packages and refining tasks, there are inevitably some uncertainties. These items should be recorded in the project risk register and regarded as key areas for monitoring during the project planning and execution processes; if necessary, alternative plans should be developed. Only after the man-hour plan has been prepared do the planning engineers truly take on their roles: they tally the types of work involved in each task, create charts showing the required manpower, and discuss various options in order to optimize the supply of human resources. By categorizing and summarizing the planned outputs, the first version of the work plan can be obtained. On this basis, discussions and optimizations are carried out in relation to the key milestones of the project, and the project milestones themselves are adjusted if necessary. Finally, based on the actual conditions of the project, the plan is optimized and the work schedule is adjusted to arrive at an upgraded or final version of the plan. Since the labor hours and materials required for each individual solution have already been specified in the work package and its detailed task list, the plan itself already includes cost control. Since the plan itself has already detailed project management as a work package, the quality management of the project has also been incorporated into the project plan, with relevant resources allocated for it. During the discussion on resources and costs, the plan was initially discussed and finalized, and risks were identified. Therefore, the process of formulating this plan is, in itself, a risk control process. Rather than conducting a rigid analysis of project risks. The list of assumptions in the planning process, along with the approach taken to develop the plan itself, determine the feasibility of the project plan. As a plan, once it is approved, the focus of the project manager shifts to controlling the risks at various stages. During the implementation phase of a project, on one hand, it is necessary to closely monitor the assumptions underlying the project plan – that is, the risks. On the other hand, it is important to analyze the unfinished tasks in order to make appropriate adjustments to the remaining plan. Yes, plans should and must be adjustable. A plan that cannot be adjusted is nothing but nonsense and pretense. Because the plan is a guide for everyone to arrange their daily work. But when your plan has developed a serious and long-term deviation from reality, how can it continue to guide the implementation of the project? This is a very serious matter, in my personal opinion. A plan that is not serious is a plan without dignity, and a plan without dignity inevitably leads to a failed project. Abroad, there is a process called Lessons learned, which is essentially the extension and application of the quality control PDCA cycle. This also applies to project management. Through the analysis of deviations, many points that deserve attention during the subsequent implementation of the project can be identified, thereby minimizing the project’s risks. From the perspective of a foreigner, especially an American, a project simply means formulating a plan and then carrying out the tasks step by step according to that plan. Those who develop the plans are senior figures in the project, while those who carry out these plans seem not to require a very high level of intelligence. Suddenly, I really wanted to write something, so I ended up rambling on like this.