Module 5 of 12 · Async + Virtual · Two parts
Planning Process
Module 5 in two parts. Start with Part A, then Part B. Keep the quick references open while you work.
Module 5 throughline · A scope is a promise. Planning turns it into a plan you can run: broken down, priced, sequenced, staffed, and measurable.This module teaches two methods for planning projects. The Module Videos explain the Grace process, which includes breaking the fee down into phases, allocating the fee to the project through the Project Budget Spreadsheet, reviewing BST11 for staff availability, and then initializing the plan in BST11 with the help of the Project Accountant.
The written lessons, quick references, and planning studios teach additional planning steps that go beyond the standard Grace process. These resources are provided to highlight how additional planning activities can improve the quality and usefulness of the project planning process, and the data it produces to help project managers manage the work during the project phases. This information is provided for your knowledge and information only and IS NOT intended to establish a planning standard that extends beyond the current Grace process.
The Planning Studios are provided to illustrate the planning process. To use the Planning Studios, open Planning Studio 1/A and work through the lesson from top to bottom, reading each set of instructions carefully before proceeding. Each step includes a button to reset the data and to auto populate the data. Then move on to Planning Studio 2/B.
The Planning Studios are interactive lessons that illustrate how the pieces of the planning process fit together to create a comprehensive plan of the project’s phase. Use these tools if you are interested in expanding your planning knowledge. They are not mandatory.
Module Videos
The two module videos, Video 1 and Video 2. Watch these first. They set up both Part A and Part B.
Available Open →Part A · Break Down the Work
Module Overview
The full illustrated module overview, a continuous visual read.
Available Open →Quick Reference Guides
The interactive companion: calculators, diagnostics, and checklists to keep open on the job.
Available Open →Planning Studio 1
Break down the work and budget it: scope boundary → WBS → labor plan. Your plan carries into Part B.
Available Open →Part B · Sequence & Staff the Plan
Module Overview
Sequence the work, make the handoffs visible, and staff the plan: the schedule, Earned Value Plan, and S-curve.
Available Open →Quick Reference Guides
The Pull-Plan Builder, the interactive companion for sequencing, labor demand, and earned value.
Available Open →Planning Studio 2
Sequence, schedule & draw the S-curve: Earned Value Plan and labor demand, picking up your Part A plan.
Available Open →What you will be able to do
- ✓Define scope, schedule, budget, and constraints based on client goals.
- ✓Build a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
- ✓Identify QA/QC requirements and checkpoints within the project plan.
- ✓Sequence the work with Logic-Based / Pull Planning so information reaches each discipline on time.
- ✓Build a work plan with workload, resource demand, and fee-forecasting elements.
- ✓Apply Earned Value concepts to measure plan performance.
Tools & resources
Tools & resources you will use
- Planning Studio 1 · scope boundary, WBS, soft resource, budget
- Planning Studio 2 · schedule, hard resource, Earned Value Plan
- Quick Reference · Part A · The Budget Builder
- Quick Reference · Part B · The Pull-Plan Builder
- Work plan for your own phase (Participant generated)
Listed items are the governance and operational tools tied to this section. Items marked “Participant generated” are built during the work.
The Archetype Lens
Before the design starts, two archetypes skip the breakdown.
Breaking down the work is exactly the discipline the Obsessed Designer rushes past and the Coordinator over-documents.
Competent Coordinator
Logs and documents instead of intervening, trusting the meeting cadence over the timely call.
Obsessed Designer
Optimizes for the design, treating budget, client ops, and team load as someone else’s problem.
People Pleaser
Leads with relationship, says yes, softens bad news, and absorbs cost to avoid the hard conversation.
Accountable Owner
Owns the intersections, reads signals early, stops work, presents options, and protects the outcome.
A new phase starts and the design is exciting.
Dives into design without breaking the work down or pricing it.
Decomposes the scope into a WBS and prices it before the first sketch, so design gets the runway a real budget buys.
Estimating who should do a routine task.
Builds a tidy plan but never soft-resources to the right level.
Assigns each task to its lowest competent role and defends the margin task by task.
Meet the four archetypes in depth →