Five Key Project Planning Tools

February 12, 2009 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Project Plan Development

Five Key Project Planning Tools (#3 in the series How to Plan and Organize a Project)
By Michael D. Taylor

Planning “tools” can often assist the project manager with the project planning process. Like any such tools, not all may be required for every project. The five key project planning tools used most often by project managers are:

  • Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
  • Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS).
  • Responsibility Allocation Matrix (RAM).
  • Network Diagram.
  • Project Schedule (Gantt Chart).

MICHAEL D. TAYLOR, M.S. in systems management, B.S. in electrical engineering, has more than 30 years of project, outsourcing, and engineering experience. He is principal of Systems Management Services, and has conducted project management training at the University of California, Santa Cruz Extension in their PPM Certificate program for over 13 years, and at companies such as Sun Microsystems, GTE, Siemens, TRW, Loral, Santa Clara Valley Water District, and Inprise. He also taught courses in the UCSC Extension Leadership and Management Program (LAMP), and was a guest speaker at the 2001 Santa Cruz Technology Symposium. His website is www.projectmgt.com.

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