Obviously, as many people have said poor planning affects the outcome of the whole project. Inefficient planning will lead to many roadblocks in the project which will slow down the whole process. In my experience, since I have not been involved with many projects the only one I have had to plan for is my senior capstone this year. Since this is my first real project the planning could have definitely been better. Now that we are further into the project we are starting to hit some roadblocks in the process. If we took more time in the planning stages to really track out step by step of what we were going to do, we would be more efficient at this stage in the project. One example of what is going wrong with our project is that we didn't build in time for editing our 3D printed parts for the device. This has backtracked our group a little from our original schedule. Overall, preplanning is very important in the project process so that the project runs smoothly the whole way through.
Although I can't speak from personal experience, I believe that poor planning during project initiation can affect the project negatively in different ways. For instance, if a project starts without clearly outlining the people, money, and materials needed, it may result in shortages and delays because the team won't be able to obtain the resources in a given time .In addition, a poorly planned start of a project can lead to quality problems, excess costs, and unsatisfied stakeholders. In order to reduce risks and guarantee the project's success, it is crucial for project managers to do careful preparation at the beginning of the project.
Poor planning affects all phases of a project. It is important to make sure that they are able to meet all deadlines. Additionally, it is very important to make sure there is no bottle necks and make sure there is a never a point a phase becomes high risk.
In my experience, poor project planning leads to 2 issues: oversights and delays. When a project is not properly organized from the onset, work is often not delegated properly. Because of this, delays often occur. For instance, if the DID is not delegated to a team member, then the DSD will be delayed. Another issue with project planning is oversights. When a team is not organized, they are likely to be scrambling to finish documentation and do not have proper communication with the team. Because of this, oversights often occur. These oversights can lead to project delays or even project failure if major oversights are not detected relatively early on in the process.
In my experience, I think one of the biggest aspects of planning that is often overlooked and causes some trouble in the long run is not asking all the necessary questions in the beginning of a projects life cycle. I think this is important because not having a full understanding of the project in the beginning won't just go away over time while working on the project. In my experience, I had a concern about the design of our project that I did not voice in order to not go against the group. Later on that same issue arose and it was at a crucial point in the project's timeline, meaning we would have to scrap all of the work we have done and start over. If I had taken advantage of the planning phase and voiced my concern we would possibly have saved a lot of time and effort in the project.
Absolutely, the initiation phase of a project sets the tone for its entire lifecycle, and I've definitely encountered situations where better planning could have greatly improved outcomes. Capstone comes to mind where the initial scoping and requirements gathering were not thorough enough. We underestimated the complexity of the project and overestimated our resources and timelines. First and foremost, our team struggled with unclear objectives and conflicting priorities, which led to confusion and rework later on. Additionally, poor planning meant that we didn't allocate resources efficiently, leading to delays in deliverables. Moreover, without a solid plan in place, communication among team members suffered, leading to misunderstandings and missed expectations. Reflecting on this experience, it's evident that thorough planning during the initiation phase is essential for setting realistic expectations and ensuring the project's success from start to finish.
As many people have said, when it comes to executing a particular project, poor planning can have various negative effects to the overall success of the project. Some effects include missing deadlines, overrunning budgets, and compromising the quality of the project. While I have not been a part of many long-term projects over the course of my academic career, I can speak for the effects of poor preplanning on small projects that I have been a part of. In my experience, poor planning is most commonly seen for projects in which the professor has assembled your group for you. As a result of this, it takes time to reach out to your group-mates and get to know each of them. While this shouldn't hinder the preplanning aspect of the project, in most cases it does. This is because, speaking from experience, most students will usually wait until this last minute to plan for the project, as well as start the project. Fortunately, as a result of it being a short-term project that has low severity, the effects of poor preplanning are minimal. However, one common issue I seem to run into is the ineffective risk management that comes with poor preplanning. In each instance that we run into a situation or problem, we scramble to solve it before the deadline arrives. These experiences have made me realize how important preplanning is when it comes to any type of project and the effects poor preplanning can have on the success of the project.
As part of a project team in the past, the biggest issue we had with project planning was not setting clear team member roles/expectations. Because of this, there were many delays in getting work completed. Team members were unsure of what documents they needed to work on and what specifically they needed to do on the project. While this delayed the project, it also created conflict between team members as some team members were doing more work than others. From this, I saw the importance of clearly defining roles when planning a project.
I think it is important to create safety times and have like gaps between the projects to accommodate for any potential delays. This can be very helpful when you are in a time crunch.
Like many of those mentioned above, I share their overall sentiment that poor planning takes a significant toll on both project success and overall chemistry of the team. Team composition and chemistry is important when running a project because the group of individuals that makeup the probable success of the project needs to be knowledgable, cooperative, and aligned in completing the same objective that is needed overall based on their own personal assignments and roles. Poor planning that would result in misalignment of roles and assignment may result in overburdening individuals unnecessary or unrelated work that would be over-encumber them to the point where the quality and validity of the work is no longer at an optimal level.
It is also apparent how poor planning would lead to a decline in project success chance since there can be a plethora of issues that could factor in delays or misalignment in objectives being completed, such as lack of funding at the appropriate time, lack of personnel access to the necessary equipment, confusion on next steps, lack of project objective process flow, etc.
Considering the importance of project beginning and the consequences of inadequate planning, I agree with the views expressed by others about its crucial impact on project outcomes. Nevertheless, I would want to present an alternative viewpoint derived from my personal experiences.
Poor planning presents considerable obstacles, yet it is crucial to acknowledge that the commencement phase establishes the project's tone. Despite careful planning, unexpected events might occur, and initial mistakes can impact later stages. I have faced instances where initiatives started with well-defined plans and goals but failed because of unexpected external influences or internal obstacles that arose during execution.
One specific case stands out when external market changes had a substantial impact on the project's direction, despite comprehensive preparation at the beginning. The unexpected developments required quick adjustments and reorganizations of project objectives, resources, and schedules. The project's success was ultimately defined by the agility and adaptability displayed throughout the start phase, despite the robust structure supplied during the early planning phase.
Thus, it is essential to highlight the significance of thorough planning and equally important for project teams to develop adaptability and resilience throughout the commencement period. This involves creating backup plans, promoting a proactive problem-solving environment, and enabling team members to adapt efficiently to changing situations. Teams can enhance their ability to overcome unexpected obstacles and achieve success by including flexibility and resilience into the project launch process.
As I have luckily only had minor inconveniences from poor, or improper, planning, I have an idea of some issues it causes. Without first informing the team, senior management, or project managers, often set impractical goals before the project begins, which results in inadequate planning and unreachable timelines. Management might move forward in spite of team misgivings, which would only exacerbate the problem. Project managers must communicate effectively in order to address these issues early on, avoid delays, and satisfy customers. Project success depends on giving careful planning and communication top priority right away. I do not think the initiation phase of a project should come prior to the planning phase but while in the planning phase, minor inconveniences and "buffer time" need to be taken into account.
Poor planning can affect a project negatively. That is why it is ver important to have a contingency plan. Additionally, it might be beneficial to use a gantt chart. A gant chart is very helpful in making sure you are meeting the deadlines. Lastly, adding some buffer space in between the deadlines may also be helpful.
