Project Outline to Ensure the Successful Project with Appropriate Planning
There is a quintessential part of the process of project planning. It is the process of outlining or initial mapping of the project. Creating a project outline is very challenging, perhaps even as challenging as conducting the tasks. Information that will be discussed in the next parts should be able to give an illustration of how to conduct this step properly.
Project Outline Development Steps
How can one develop a project outline? Here are the steps to make it through.
- Determining the scope
The scope of the project should be determined and stated before everything else. This particular step will make project development more focused. Hence, higher quality results and precise resource usage can be achieved.
- Conducting research
Once the scope has been determined, the team can start conducting research. It is done to obtain facts that are necessary to develop a certain idea. To do this correctly, the team needs to understand what the main objective of a project is. The information obtained should also be able to fulfill the client’s needs.
- Communicating with client
This is a very pivotal point in project development if one works for a client. To ensure that everyone is on the same page, each step of the outlining process must be communicated to the client directly. The client can provide plenty of insights when being involved in this stage.
- Developing a timeline
A project tends to run on a limited schedule due to certain milestones expected to be achieved and resource availability. Thus, the team must create a timeline that can accommodate those two aspects. It is important to follow the time through.
- Finding out possible issues
Possible issues that can occur in a project must be identified as soon as possible. This process can be done by analyzing the data obtained during the research process. Counter-measures for those issues must be created.
- Assessment parameter
There must be certain parameters that would determine whether a project is considered successful or not. These parameters must be decided beforehand. It is also crucial to determine how one can assess these aspects.
Project Outline Design
The design of a project outline depends on the team and the client’s style. Some people present project ideas and mapping in form of expositional paragraphs, which are alright. However, some people might find such a presentation hard to discern. Thus, the outline might be divided into sections based on its components. It would be helpful if the outline is supported by data visualization so that reader will understand a lot better.
Project Outline Main Components
The following list shows you what components should be included in the outline of a project.
- Statement of project scope
- Factor of success
- Project feasibility
- Timeline of the project
- Budgeting plan
- Quality control
- List of stakeholders
- Analysis of risk
- Human resources plan
- Procurement
- Tasks structure
Project Outline Template Download
Luckily, there are many templates of project outline that one can readily use. Such templates eliminate the stress of having to design the document out of nothing at all. The templates are also useful, especially for a beginner, because it provides a guideline on what to include and what not to. 
