The Project OneSheet Planner
We take you through the steps to plan your project including how to measure success – so you’re never left wondering where all that time and effort landed you.
Success is no accident. It comes from planning, learning, hard work, and perseverance.
The Project OneSheet offers a comprehensive overview of the crucial planning stage of your project, creating a strong foundation to see you through to the finish line. This sets the stage for assessing the initiative’s feasibility and re-envisioning its outputs and outcomes.
By using the Project OneSheet, you can ensure better communication and a clearer understanding of project goals and responsibilities right from the outset.
OneSheet Planner
Key Questions
What is it?
Briefly explain what the deliverable of this project is. Focus on the output of the project. This will give context to the rest of the sections. If done well, you should be able to keep this to 2 – 3 lines of text.
Why are we doing it now?
Briefly explain in plain English what the business reason is for doing this project and why it is the most important thing right now. Focus on the outcome of this project. Or, in other words, the impact the output of this project will have.
When is it?
Starting date – Ending date. A project with unclear start and end times is more likely to be rejected by the key stakeholders. Like everything else in the OneSheet planner, this can be revised after input from key parties.
Who is this for?
List who will benefit from the outcomes of this project. By understanding all the takeholders of the project, you will ensure you are producing the right deliverable as well as be able to manage expectations and communication.
What is included?
List the high-level deliverables for this project. Be sure to list the ones most meaningful to your stakeholders. Do not exhaustively list all the tasks of the project.
What is not included?
Sometimes more important than listing what is included is listing what is not included. Outlining what will not be done can further help define the scope of your project. If you previously had a brainstorming session that generated a lot of ideas, this can be a good place to list those that were not accepted into the project scope.
What could stop us?
Are there known or unknown risks – timing, regulations, costs – that could stop this project from being successful?
What is the investment?
Outline how much effort this project is expected to be. This could be in time (days – months) or cost. Remember to factor in the size of the team.
Be sure to distinguish between effort and duration. If the project will require some financial effort, list the budgeted costs here as well.
Who could stop us?
Are there known or unknown people risks – approvals or signatures needed, stakeholders risks (suppliers, customers, contractors), that could delay or cause the project to fail?
How will we know we are successful?
Identify how you will measure the success of the project when it is finished. Determining success often requires you to measure throughout the project.
What could stop us?
Are there known or unknown risks – timing, regulations, costs – that could stop this project from being successful?
Who could stop us?
Are there known or unknown people risks – approvals or signatures needed, stakeholders risks (suppliers, customers, contractors), that could delay or cause the project to fail?
What is the investment?
Outline how much effort this project is expected to be. This could be in time (days – months) or cost. Remember to factor in the size of the team.
Be sure to distinguish between effort and duration. If the project will require some financial effort, list the budgeted costs here as well.
How will we know we are successful?
Identify how you will measure the success of the project when it is finished. Determining success often requires you to measure throughout the project.
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Project OneSheet Planner
