7 Ps Planning
Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.
The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Chapter I: Laying Plans
The planning of an IT project requires careful consideration to ensure success.
Requirements
To often we see vague requirements. List all of your requirements and give them weight to help define your goals. A clear list of goals will make it easy to determine if your execution was successful?
Evaluation and prototyping
Evaluate a product against your requirements and/or build a prototype that demonstrates all of them.
Requirements redux
What was learned during evaluation and prototyping? Reevaluate your requirements based on what was learned.
Execution planning
Using your final requirements and what was learned during evaluation and prototyping to plan how to execute your project. Be thorough and precise. If there are any changes in your requirements at this point return to evaluation and prototyping.
Excellent execution
You've set your goals and tested them. You've planned how to execute your goals. This should be easiest part. Enjoy your success.
