- [Narrator] At TeamGantt, we think there's more
than enough time to get the work done that we need to do.
It's just that so many of us shy away
from creating an honest to goodness plan for doing it.
Think about how many times you or someone on your team
wanted to forgo the planning phase
and just get to work.
And how many times has that ended up
not working out so well?
More often than not, I bet.
Plans are not optional.
Let me say that again,
plans are not optional.
But sometimes your management stakeholders
or team failed to see that.
So you have to spell out the benefits
because they far outweigh any perceived hit
to your productivity.
Because we know how important plans are to your projects
we've taken the time to spell out what we think
are the 10 biggest benefits of having
a well thought out project plan.
Plans minimize stress.
When you know what you have to do,
when it needs to be done,
and who's responsible for doing it,
you're gonna be less stressed about the project
and its deliverables.
Guess what a plan does for you?
It gives you detailed insight into what needs to be done
by when and who's responsible for it.
Having all those details in one place
and accessible to the whole team
means there's no room for stress
about your project.
Plans inspire confidence.
Without a plan it's difficult to give confident answers
to leadership and stakeholders about the status of a project
and its deliverables.
Imagine for a second,
never being caught off guard by a question from the C-suite
about whether the product release is on track or not.
A well thought out and documented plan
makes you a more confident project leader.
Plans drive communication.
Communication is key, as the saying goes.
How can you communicate effectively and efficiently,
if you don't know the details about your project,
where can you find all the details about your project?
In the plan.
In TeamGantt you can have discussions at the project
and task level, keeping all of the important communication
about your project in one place.
Plans unite and focus teams.
Think of your plan as a metaphorical sheepdog,
running circles around your teams
and keeping them on task, on time,
and on budget.
They may not say it in so many words,
but the folks on your team that are doing the work,
they wanna focus on what they have to do
so they can deliver their best work.
Plans give them that focus.
Plans create accountability.
No project leader wants to have hard conversations
with team members who may be falling behind,
but sometimes it's a necessary evil of project leadership.
Those hard conversations are made even harder
when team members aren't 100% clear
on their responsibilities to the project
or the team.
Having a plan clarifies and creates accountability
on your projects.
Plans keep deadlines on track.
Agile methods are great for staying focused
on the important tasks,
but it can fall apart when your projects
have a hard deadline.
A plan makes those hard deadlines clear
and visible to everyone on your project.
Plans prevent team overload.
Can your design team really take on that cool new project?
Does Beth from the development team have the bandwidth
to work on that new feature that just got added
to the project scope?
When you take the time to put together a project plan
with clear task estimates,
you can answer these questions immediately
and confidently.
Plans take fear out of change.
Have you ever been on a project
that didn't have unexpected changes?
If you have, you're lucky,
but it's only a matter of time
before you can no longer say that.
Changes won't strike fear into you
when you have a plan, though.
You'll be able to roll with the punches, update your plan
and keep moving toward a successfully completed project.
Plans mitigate risk.
Having a solid plan means you can see
the down the line effects of whatever changes
might come about.
When what to expect you can see potential risks developing
and address them before they become emergencies
on your project.
Plans increase profitability.
The best and easiest way to make your projects profitable
for your organization is to deliver on time
and on budget.
Without a plan, you run a much higher risk
of missing both of those metrics.
And there you have it.
I'll just say it again
because it can't be said too many times.
Plans are not optional.
Are you getting it yet?
When you take the time to put together a plan,
you'll start to see all these benefits and more.
Don't believe me?
Give it a try and see for yourself.
We're confident that in no time,
you'll see that plans are not a necessary evil,
but a positive and exciting part of your projects
that you'll wonder how you ever lived without.
Want more info?
Go to TeamGantt.com/planup
to download the free resources
and sign up for the weekly plan up class with TeamGantt's
Director of Education, Brett Harnett,
who brings over 20 years of project management
and planning experience to the table.
(soft music)