A well-crafted project plan is essential for the successful execution of any project, large or small. With increasing complexity in technical projects involving multiple teams, detailed project planning is crucial to keep all activities coordinated, on-time and within budget.
Fortunately, you don‘t need to create project plans from scratch. Using pre-built templates designed by experts can give you a headstart with best practices baked in. This guide will provide an in-depth look at project plan templates – what they are, key elements, top options and expert tips for customizing them to your specific needs.
What is a Project Plan and Why Do You Need One?
A project plan clearly defines all aspects of a project in one document – key goals, discrete activities and tasks, owners, timeframes, milestones, resources required and project reporting.
As per recent research by PMI, projects with a detailed project plan are up to 3 times more likely to be completed on time and within budget. Further, planned projects enable much better collaboration and transparency between team members and stakeholders.
In essence, a good project plan:
- Gives clarity on scope and sets expectations
- Allows tracking of progress to goals
- Facilitates better task coordination between team members
- Helps identify potential issues proactively
- Enables data-driven decision making with metrics
Key Elements of a Solid Project Plan
While specific project plans can vary based on the nature of work, some common components include:
Goals and Scope Definition: This section clearly articulates what the project aims to achieve, major deliverables, constraints like timelines/budget and reviews success criteria.
Work Breakdown Structure: Breaks down the entire project into smaller, manageable chunks of work/activities based on logical groupings. Goes down 3-5 levels.
Tasks and Activities: Specifies work items with owners, start/end dates, priority, dependencies, resource needs and status.
Milestones: Critical checkpoints to track progress usually at ends of phases.
Schedule/Timelines: Shows activity durations across resources and dependencies with buffers.
Resource Planning: Identifies team members, skills needed and allocation percentages across project timeline.
Budget Planning: Captures cost estimates and tracks actual spending for tasks, resources etc.
Risk Planning: Highlights potential issues, probabilities, impacts and mitigation steps. Updated regularly.
Reporting and Metrics: Dashboard views to track progress with metrics like completion %, budget variance etc.
Communication Plan: Specifies communication protocols for updates to team, stakeholders.
Benefits of Using Project Plan Templates
Trying to put together all these plan elements without help can quickly become overwhelming. This is where using pre-made templates comes handy:
1. Saves Significant Time and Effort
Templates have all sections, formatting, basic guidance in place so you don‘t have to create from scratch.
2. Brings Structure and Completeness
Built-in structure ensures you cover all key plan elements required for project success.
3. Incorporates Leading Practices
Leverages expertise from 1000s of projects conducted by experts.
4. Easy to Customize As Needed
Adjust activities, add custom fields and views based on project uniqueness.
5. Enables Standardization
Reuse templates across projects to drive consistency in planning.
6. Facilitates Collaboration
Central plan for entire team to review statuses, identify issues.
7. Keeps Historical Data
Retain data for analysis across project portfolios over time.
A Spectrum of Project Plan Templates
There are a wide variety of template options out there – from simple Word/Excel documents to full-fledged online project management tools.
Fig 1. Project plan templates span from basic documents to advanced online PM tools
On one end you have customizable documents and spreadsheets. These provide good structure but limited features.
On the other end are online project management platforms. These automate more functions around Gantt charts, dashboards, reporting and collaboration but come with a steeper learning curve.
Choose template type based on:
- Level of control over format needed
- Features like online collaboration, permissions etc required
- Integration needs with other systems
- Budget and expertise available
Next, let‘s showcase some of the top project plan templates available across the spectrum…
10 Best Project Plan Templates and Tools
1. Project Plan Template by Smartsheet
Smartsheet offers 25+ free templates for various project types – software development, construction, product launch etc.
Key Features:
- Lots of planning elements covered – tasks, schedules, resources, Gantt charts
- Resource management with allocation tracking
- Timelines with dependencies and critical path
- Access control and discussions
Best For: Medium complexity projects that need detailed task management.
2. TeamGantt Project Management Templates
Get access to over 100 free templates spanning industries and use cases.
Key Features:
- Online Gantt charts for schedule tracking
- Assign tasks to team members
- Bulk task edit, move and color code
- Print, export and sync plans
Best For: Highly visual planning needs with interactive timelines.
3. Project Management Doc Template by Bit.ai
Editable project template document for Word and Google Docs.
Key Features:
- Structure for goals, scope, risks, approvals etc
- Sections for tasks, schedules and discussion
- Real-time collaboration for teams
- Track changes and comments
Best For: Lightweight documentation needs with some task tracking.
4. ClickUp Project Management Templates
Get access to 250+ templates spanning different industries like marketing, construction, engineering etc.
Key Features:
- Tasks with assignees, statuses and priorities
- Interactive Gantt chart for timelines
- Custom fields and views
- Workload management
Best For: Customization flexibility for tailored plans.
5. Project Plan Excel Template by Vertex42
Downloadable Excel template with predefined tables and forms.
Key Features:
- Sheets for tracking task, schedules, risks, issues and meetings
- Resource planning with utilization tracking
- Budget planning with expense lines
- Printable forms and checklist
Best For: Simple documentation focused needs.
6. Project Plan PowerPoint Template by SlideModel
Branded PowerPoint slide deck for project overviews.
Key Features:
- Placeholders for goals, scope, phases, tasks, schedules
- Tables for risks, resources and budgets
- Visual milestones roadmap
- Easy to edit structure
Best For: High level project reporting/oversight.
7. [Monday.com Project & Task Management Template
](https://monday.com/templates/projects-task-management/)
Online work OS with ready project template.
Key Features:
- Project and subtask views
- Interactive Gantt charts
- Dashboard for tracking progress
- Workload management
- Time tracking
- Custom forms and fields
Best For: Software/IT projects with visual boards.
8. Project Management Doc Template by Bit.ai
PowerPoint-based project templates.
Key Features:
- Visual roadmap graphic
- Gantt chart for timelines
- Mark milestones
- Share progress via auto-generated slides
Best For: Stakeholder reporting with pictures.
9. Project Plan Word Template by Technovv
Downloadable Microsoft Word doc with instructional tables.
Key Features:
- Detailed structure for all plan sections
- Element descriptions and examples
- Printable forms for tasks, risks etc
Best For: Low complexity documentation focused planning.
10. Asana Project Management Templates
Online workspace with flexible Kanban templates.
Key Features:
- Backlog view for prioritizing asks
- Board views for To Do items
- Subtasks functionality
- Activity stream and calendar
Best For: Lightweight everyday task management needs.
These are just a small sample of available options. Many more free and paid project tools also offer great templates worth checking out.
Tips for Selecting and Customizing Project Plan Templates
No pre-built template will fit needs perfectly out-of-the-box. With some thoughtful customization effort though, they can work very effectively.
Here are expert tips for fitting templates to unique projects:
1. Map All Key Plan Elements to Templates
Go through entire project scope and identify gaps between needs and template coverage. Add missing sections.
2. Build Relevance Through Quality Examples
Replace placeholder examples with specifics from your actual business and project context.
3. Ensure Adequate Task Breakdown
Decompose high-level activities into discrete work items at 3-5 levels for better tracking.
4. Specify Measurable, Actionable Tasks
Define clear task expectations, owners, timelines and success criteria.
5. Overlay Project Schedule with Durations, Dependencies
Factor in task relationships, resource availability, buffers into project timeline.
6. Capture Comprehensive Budget Estimate
Itemize costs for activity resources and materials with contingencies.
7. Develop Risk Management Plan with Controls
Contently evaluate risks and specify mitigations proactively in plan. Review and update regularly.
8. Outline Precise Roles, Responsibilities
Specify exact expectations from cross-functional teams and external partners.
9. Build Project Views Relevant for Stakeholders
Create dashboards, views targeted for steering committees leadership.
10. Define Update Cycles for Status Reporting
Establish cadence and owners for plan revisions as project work progresses.
By approaching template customization methodically and incorporating elements that matter for project success, you can build plans that set up teams for delivering complex initiatives seamlessly.
Linking Plans to Other Critical Project Documents
Well-defined project plans don‘t exist in isolation. To drive effective execution, they should seamlessly integrate with related documentation like:
- Project Charter: High-level business case, sponsor, goals, scope definition
- Requirements Documents: Detailed specifications around deliverables
- Quality Plans: Evaluation methodology and success criteria
- Communication Plans: Tactics for stakeholder collaboration
- Technical Designs: Solution architecture for engineering teams
Identify connections during plan creation for traceability between project artifacts so assumptions, changes are handled proactively.
Many templates support linking documents directly or exporting/importing content via markup languages like XML.
Keeping Project Plans Ever-Green
Initial plans often go obsolete quickly as assumptions change and projects deviate from blueprint.
Schedule regular plan review meetings to discuss progress, surprises and identify activities needing re-planning.
Use change control processes to assess impacts of alterations before incorporating in plans.
Enable notifications/alerts in tools for risks materializing and milestones approaching.
Archive initial and revised plans for retrospectives.
Planning job doesn‘t end launch but continues iteratively over project lifecycles.
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
- Well-crafted project plans are crucial for delivering technical initiatives without cost/schedule overruns
- Pre-made templates let you hit the ground running with expert best practices
- Choose template design complexity based on specific needs
- Allocate sufficient time for thoughtful customization driven by project intricacies
- Integrate plans smartly with requirement documents for traceability
- Continuously update plans instead of archiving after launch
With these tips, your organization can leverage templates effectively to plan projects confidently and realize intended business value reliably.
Many online project management tools like Smartsheet and Wrike offer free tiers to test drive templates at low commitment.
So go ahead, pick an option in your project budget and start crafting plans for your next key initiatives!
