Introduction

Up to this point, we ve done a lot of work to define the project clearly. If you ve done all of this work diligently, your project is now resting on a very solid foundation. If you ve skipped any steps, take time to go back and go through them to ensure your project doesn t have any gaping holes before we get into the detailed project planning in this chapter.

The only way your project can complete successfully is if it starts off successfully. In this chapter, you ll learn how to break the project down into manageable components so that you can not only plan the work, but you can develop a more realistic schedule and budget. By breaking the project down into its components, you can also verify your project scope and take this opportunity to make sure you don t have any missing elements.

As you develop these more detailed plans, you may come across new project risks that you were not previously aware of. As with other steps, some of these risks may be so significant that your project sponsor chooses to hold or terminate the project. More often though, the risks you identify give you the opportunity to figure out what you and the team can do to avoid these risks or what you ll do if these risks occur.

Many IT project teams come in with average to failing scores when it comes to project communication, so we ll end this chapter with a review of the communication plans you...