Project Plan Template

What is a Project Plan?

A project plan is the document that records what a project will deliver, what it will cost, when it finishes, who decides what, and what would change any of that. It is written before commitments are made and updated when they change.

It differs from a schedule, which sequences the work, and from a budget, which prices it. The plan holds both, plus the scope, the risks and the assumptions the other two rest on.

Where the need is a summary for a board rather than the full document, the project plan on a page condenses the same project to a single sheet.

Project Plan Example in Word

Here's an example of a project plan in Word format, showing the summary, the work breakdown by phase, key dates against baseline, and the budget.

What to Include in a Project Plan Template

A project plan needs six things at minimum: what is being delivered, what is excluded, what it costs, when it finishes, who is accountable, and what would force it to change.

This free downloadable template covers all of it across twelve sections.

How to Write a Project Plan in Word Using This Template

Write section 1 last. It summarizes everything below it, and a summary written first has to be rewritten anyway.

1. Complete the header: project, number, client, location, delivery method, plan version, and who prepared and approved it.
2. Write the background: the need, the options considered, and why this option was chosen.
3. Set the scope in two columns. Spend longer on the exclusions than the inclusions.
4. Break the work into phases, each with a description, dates, budget and percent complete.
5. List the key dates with a baseline against a current date, so movement is visible in days.
6. Build the budget by phase, with contingency shown separately from the works.
7. Record procurement packages and anything with a lead time longer than the gap before it is needed.
8. Name a person against every decision, with the limit of their authority.
9. List the key risks with a consequence, a response and an owner.
10. Write the assumptions down. An assumption not recorded is a risk nobody has priced.
11. Set the re-plan triggers, then write the summary.

Percent done is weighted by budget rather than by activity count, and phases overlap, so their durations do not sum to the project duration.

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Related Articles and Templates

Explore these resources for project planning, scope, scheduling, execution, and project controls:

• Project Execution Plan Template
• Project Charter Template
• Work Breakdown Structure Template
• Project Schedule Template
• Project Planning in Construction: Tools, Phases, and Tips
• Project Management Plan Template
• Project Life Cycle Template