The planning activity is where new projects have their efforts defined and scheduled.  The planning activity focuses on creating the parameters for managing and tracking the status of the project.  Planning is important for making sure critical business functionality is being delivered when it is needed.  Many disciplines partake in the planning activities.  Planning provides the basis for ongoing management activities.

Planning begins after a project is selected through the project request activity.  In many cases the planning activities start before the project is fully defined and continue through requirements definition.

Sub Activities

Although most organizations will have some variants, planning activities typically include the following:

• Creating project plans or work breakdown structures.
• Defining timelines, milestones and iterations.
• Determining resource plans.
• Defining communications and scope.