Introduction

You may be expecting some standard stuff on defining tasks and milestones and then reviewing the project plan. This approach has many problems when applied to international projects. First, you want to use the development of the project plan as a way to build collaboration among the team members. Second, how you establish the project often is a key indicator of success or failure. As an example, suppose that you organize the project with a subproject for each country. That organization almost ensures that there will be minimal communications between the locations leading to many problems and even the downfall of the project. So the bottom line this chapter is very important if you want to start the project off right.

What is included in the project plan? Start with the summary, high-level and detailed tasks. A task here a piece of work. Then add the milestones. A milestone is an end product. You will be producing a baseline schedule that will serve as a benchmark to measure your progress as you go. The plan identifies the resources to be applied in the international project. From this information you can then develop the costs and budget for the project.

Purpose And Scope