9+ Sample Project Planning Templates
For businesses of every stripe, the project plan is a key document. What surviving companies teach us is that success is never accidental—it is always planned. What’s more, there’s never a moment when you’re actually done planning. It happens in stages throughout a corporate project’s lifespan, from conception to feasibility testing to proposals and later on.
Are you still kicking around a strategy for your business project, trying to manage everything from budgets to resource allocation and operational management? What do your official plans look like? These are the documents you may be asked to present in some form at board meetings and when pitching to clients and investors. Their benefits are obvious, but their outlines and formats are less so.
If you’re looking for a Project Plan Template, here is a portfolio of free samples to spark some insights.
Project Resource Planning Template
Project Management Planning Template
Project Budget Planning Template
Pre Project Planning Template
Construction Project Planning Template
Which Projects Require Planning?
The short answer is, Every project with any amount of company money and valuable time invested in it.
Naturally, the duration, complexity, scope, and overall magnitude you can expect from the project will determine whether you churn out a 20-page manuscript or a memo-style document. But safe to say, every project you can fit in any of the following categories will require a project plan:
- Administrative projects. E.g. renovating the office, reviewing performance, or installing new software on company computers.
- Construction projects. E.g. laying down a bridge or raising a skyscraper.
- Software development. For new or existing software.
- Design projects. Rebranding, restructuring, or re-engineering.
- Marketing campaigns. These can be generalized strategies or the marketing of a specific new product, such as a book launch.
- Events. E.g. a fundraiser or a gala event.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but the point is every significant project should be planned out formally and in writing.
What Is Involved in a Project Plan?
The first consideration is the feasibility report of the project idea. If you know how to draft a business proposal, the project plan is the same thing, but on a smaller scale confined to the project.
The same elements will apply. You will need to know
- the end goal or objective of the project;
- the target market, audience, or people who will be involved or affected;
- the action steps to achieve that goal;
- the resources and funding you have or will need;
- the time frame to accomplish it; and
- any limitations or predetermined issues to resolve.
These are the details you draft out in your project plan.
No matter your entrepreneurial drive, a project does not organize itself. Especially when you’re playing at high stakes, it makes no sense to go on without a Project Execution Plan Template or a Project Management Plan Template.
Software Project Planning Template
Annual Project Planning Template
Project Activity Planning Template
Project Action Planning Template
Building Project Planning Template
Pilot Project Plan Template
Download these free Word and PDF samples if you think any of them can help you in our own Project Implementation Plan Template. Just understanding what goes into creating a project plan can help focus your energies on the elements that really need the attention.