Another rant on Project Planning

AKA, common sense, where did you go?

Take the idea of building a house. No one would start the carpenter on the walls until the foundation is complete, right? It’s a simplistic example, but illustrates the point. Each project has a logical sequence of events. So, why is it that people want to skip the foundation and start building walls? Or completely ignore that electrical permits/inspections are needed on the electrical work before the construction crew can put up the gyprock?

This seems to be a recurring theme for me lately. Maybe I just don’t get it because I plan projects for a living.

Is it because the foundation of a project (the planning) doesn’t appear to be an end product? It’s not a tangible thing you can hold in your hand or view on a screen and see definite progress? Maybe it’s not sexy enough. Maybe we need to have our designers pretty our plans up so they look cool.

Or is it because we don’t bother to read and follow the plans developed for our project? I have suspicions that once the plan is complete, we throw the print out in a pile somewhere or file the PDF away, never to be referred to again.

Is it possible that the plans are so complicated that we take one look at the plan and our eyes glaze over? Maybe the plans developed are too busy or complex to comprehend quickly, so we give up trying?

I know that complicated advertising/marketing campaigns can sometimes be overwhelming. The timelines are tight and the spend is big. A good project manager will read the briefing document (scope definition) take a deep breath and dig in, breaking down the campaign into baby steps (work breakdown structure). From these baby steps and input from the team come estimates, resource planning and a timeline/schedule. A little extra effort and you can have a project communication plan, so check ins with creative teams, client updates, peer reviews, designer briefings all can be noted ahead of time and prepared for.  A really good project plan can serve double duty as a checklist to keep everyone on track and accountable to each other.

So, please, let your project manager build you a foundation before you start the walls. Chances are really good that the house you build will be more stable and will last longer if you do.

Please help me understand! Leave me a comment and let me know why project planning seems to be so painful in advertising and marketing. I would love your insight.