Guide to Project Planning: Tools, Tips, & Resources

Project Budget Template Welcome to the Project Planning Guide at Bright Hub!

Experienced project managers are often quick to point out to newbies that one of the keys to success is proper project planning.

But planning for a project is a vast topic that can involve numerous individuals and resources, as well as countless variables and contingencies. The task of bringing it all together into one comprehensive and effective plan can be intimidating- especially if the manager assigned to the project has had little or no prior experience leading projects.

Here at Bright Hub's Project Planning Guide, the new project manager will find an assortment of easy-to-follow project planning templates, how-to articles, and resources related to planning and managing a project including: learning how to write a scope statement and a project proposal, create a project budget, delegate authority, and plan for unexpected contingencies.

The articles and resources on these pages are culled from the most popular project management articles at Bright Hub and are continually updated. Be sure to also check out the other informative channels at Bright Hub. Bright Hub's professional community of writers and editors develop thousands of articles each month in the areas of project management, business and computing, as well as a range of topics in science, art, and technology.

Writing a Scope Statement This article illuminates the necessity of an effective scope statement and how to write one that will help guide a project to successful completion. The various sections of a scope...	Manual Project Planning: When to Ditch Gantt Chart Software for Arts & Crafts Supplies Sometimes, using fancy software products isn't the right way to go when you first begin to plan a project. Get back to basics with some of these manual project planning tools....
How Important is Communication in Project Planning? Project planning depends on communication for goals of the team and roles of its members to be understood. How important is communication in project planning? It means the difference...	How Do I Know the Project Planning Phase is Complete? This article is part two in a series of five dealing with project questions. Here, the length of the project planning phase is discussed. You'll also find out if how to stop procrastinating...

Writing a Scope Statement

This article illuminates the necessity of an effective scope statement and how to write one that will help guide a project to successful completion. The various sections of a scope statement are discussed...

Prioritization Matrix: Concept and Applications in Project Planning

This article describes a prioritization matrix, what it represents, how to create one, and how it can be utilized as an effective tool for Project Planning. Its applications in brainstorming are explained...

A Microsoft Excel Project Planning Form

It absolutely is possible to achieve consistent, organized project planning utilizing an older software application such as Excel. Read on for help....

Examples of Project Schedules

A project schedule is a useful planning and communication tool for monitoring and reporting the progress of a project. During a project's life, different schedules may be needed for different purposes...

Types of Task Relationships in Microsoft Project (Lesson 5)

In this lesson we will discuss the different types of task dependencies and learn how to define them in Microsoft Project. This is a continuation of what we have learned in Lesson 2 of this tutorial about...

Project Planning Tips for Every Project Manager

Project planning isn't hard - in fact, bad project planning is really easy. Good project planning takes a bit more work, but is rewarded with a successful project. Remember, the...

Introduction to the Four Fields Mapping

This article provides an introduction to the four fields mapping. It describes what constitutes a four fields mapping and is a useful addition to the project manager's repertoire...