The essential elements of a project plan and templates to create all of them

Executive summary

Provide an overarching description of the plan’s inclusions, direction, and deliverables.

Scope

Define everything the project should include to achieve success — features, goals, and high-level tasks — while also considering constraints.

Budget

Align expectations with the set spending cap or by itemizing expenses to determine a total cost.

Schedule and timeline

Establish the project delivery date along with the dates for milestones and individual task assignments. This can be done as a schedule of deadlines as well as a visual timeline demonstrating resource allocation and overlapping responsibilities.

Requirements

Dig deeper by defining the requirements needed to achieve the project objective. Make sure these align with stakeholder expectations for the project output.

Quality criteria

Set the standards by which successful iterations or project work will be completed. Include steps for review, revision, and cross-checking quality by team members and stakeholders.

Project resources

Determine the resources needed to complete the project to meet expectations. People representing the desired skillsets should be included along with the tools or assets they will need to perform their work to the highest standard and efficiency.

List of stakeholders

State all of the responsible and accountable parties including roles for review, administration, approvals, and project work. Remember stakeholders can encompass everyone from project managers to executives and individual team contributors.

Communication plan

Outline exactly how, and how frequently, stakeholders will be updated regarding project progress. Choose an interval and format to encourage feedback and make it easy for everyone to share input while feeling heard and appreciated.