Published 15 Aug 2023
What is a Project Plan Template?
A project plan template is a document detailing the guidelines, procedures, and other reminders necessary to follow or consider when planning and executing a project. This can be a simple list or, ideally, a checklist.
In this article
- What is the Purpose of a Project Plan Template?
- What to Include in a Project Plan Checklist Template
- FAQs about Project Plan Templates
- Create an Effective Project Plan Template With iAuditor
- Related Project Plan Templates
What is the Purpose of a Project Plan Template?
The main purpose of a project plan template is to guide the project planning process, and, later, the project execution. A project plan checklist template, in particular, serves to guide project managers, their stakeholders, their clients, and their other staff or partners to have a view of the project and its process before and during the project.
A project plan template should help with managing the project management process as a whole. However, specifically, it can also help with managing the following:
- Legal documents and processes necessary to execute the project
- Project milestones and goals, as well as when they should be completed or achieved
- Schedules of different tasks before and after project completion
- Budget for different resources such as materials, manpower, and permits
What to Include in a Project Plan Checklist Template
As a project plan template is based on the three main elements of a project plan, the template must contain sections for the following:
- The project scope and goals: What does the project hope to accomplish, and what can the project management team do for it? Additionally, what are the project management team’s limitations or constraints, and why?
- The project’s budget: What are the expected project deliverables and their related financial costs? Can the budget be extended beyond the agreed-upon amount?
- The project’s milestone schedule or timeline: What specific milestones should be met at certain points in time? And are these dates flexible, or should they be strictly followed?
In addition to the three main parts of a project plan, it would also be helpful to include:
- More details on the project, such as the name of it, if applicable, and who are involved
- Possible risks that may be encountered during the project execution stage
- Assumptions of different situations that may happen during the project management process
- Related documents concerning resources, legal requirements, and risks
Below is an example of a project plan template in use for your reference:
Project Plan Template Sample Report | SafetyCulture
FAQs about Project Plan Templates
Technically, no. Each project plan can differ in format depending on the project management team’s company and their client’s wishes. What is important is that the project plan contains the project’s scope, budget, and milestones.
Aside from a project plan template, you also need:
- Project Initiation Document (PID) templates
- Project execution forms
- Project monitoring forms
- Project closure forms
A project plan template can be used by anyone in a project management team, but it is usually used by:
- Project managers and their assistants, as well as project contractors, if any
- Clients, in order to stay updated with changes in the plans
- Stakeholders or other relevant businessmen, such as sponsors, to understand where their money will go to
Create an Effective Project Plan Template With iAuditor
Streamline your project planning process with project plan and general project management templates from SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor). iAuditor is a digital checklist and auditing tool that aims to streamline the project management process, from project initiation to planning, execution, monitoring, and closure. Through iAuditor’s smart checklists and secure cloud storage, you can digitize your paperwork and create and maintain your project plan records anytime and anywhere.
To get started, you can download a project plan template and other related checklists from iAuditor’s Public Library and edit them as you see fit. All checklists are then saved to your cloud, and each change and entry to them is reflected in real-time, ensuring no data is lost. Access controls and permissions for each checklist can also be modified, so you can control who gets to access what kinds of data. Offline use is also supported, with changes syncing to the cloud once an internet connection is available. The same can be done with checklists made from scratch as well as existing templates converted from Word, PDF, Excel, and PowerPoint.
You can also use iAuditor to:
- Report issues in project planning and assign actions to specific people to correct them
- Provide a Heads Up to your team whenever you need to make an announcement
- Export your templates and completed forms as PDF files, Word files, or web links for easy sharing with clients
- Generate analytical reports based on your project planning discussions’ forms
- Store your checklist templates in folders for organization, and bookmark them for easy access when you need them
Related Project Plan Templates
General Project Management Plan Template
This template is best used for the end of the project planning phase. Use this template to summarize the details of your project plan, your communication plans, and your change management plans for future reference.
Project Planning Risk Management Framework Template Checklist
Use this template to record identified risks, consequences, probable causes, effects, and control measures of your project during the project planning phase. With this template, you can describe the adequacy of existing controls and rate the likelihood of risks associated with the project.
Project Execution Plan Template
This project execution plan template aims to help project managers and teams draft strategies for implementing their projects. Start by supplying basic project details and delve into the specifics of the execution phase, including its scope, specifications, and steps for carrying out activities, then note any changes or recommendations before signing off.
