The Planning Performance Domain is all about organizing, coordinating, and continuously adapting how the project will be delivered. While every project is different, one thing is constant: without proper planning, even the best teams and resources will struggle to deliver value.
This domain addresses activities and functions associated with the initial, ongoing, and evolving planning necessary to deliver project outcomes.
Why Planning Matters
Effective execution of this performance domain ensures that:
- The project progresses in an organized and deliberate manner.
- There is a holistic approach to achieving outcomes.
- Evolving information is progressively elaborated into deliverables.
- Time spent planning is appropriate i.e. not too much, not too little.
- Stakeholder expectations are managed through sufficient planning information.
- Plans remain adaptable to changes and emerging conditions.
In short, planning gives the project a structured path while leaving enough room for adjustment when things change.
Key Concepts and Definitions
- Estimate: A quantitative assessment of likely cost, effort, or duration.
- Accuracy: A measure of correctness.
- Precision: A measure of exactness.
- Crashing: Shortening the schedule by adding resources at additional cost.
- Fast Tracking: Performing activities in parallel instead of sequentially.
- Budget: The approved estimate of costs for the project.
Planning Overview
The purpose of planning is to proactively design the approach to deliverables. In an e-commerce website project, this could mean planning product catalog design, checkout process, and payment integrations.
Planning is not a one-time event. It evolves throughout the project and adapts to new information. Importantly, planning should be sufficient but not excessive. Spending weeks making detailed plans for work that may change is wasteful.
Today, planning also goes beyond financials. Projects may consider social and environmental impacts, such as using sustainable cloud services or minimizing carbon footprint during deployment.
Planning Variables
Each project is unique, and the timing and frequency of planning depend on factors such as:
- Development approach: Predictive approaches plan heavily upfront, while adaptive approaches plan in cycles or iterations.
- Deliverables: A physical construction project needs detailed upfront planning, while a software project benefits from adaptive planning.
- Organizational requirements: Policies may mandate certain planning artifacts like risk registers or project charters.
- Market conditions: In fast-moving markets, minimal upfront planning may be needed to reduce time-to-market.
- Regulatory requirements: Legal or compliance needs may force detailed planning before execution.
Delivery Planning
Planning begins with understanding the business case, stakeholder requirements, and scope.
In predictive projects, work is broken down into detailed tasks using tools like Work Breakdown Structures (WBS). In adaptive projects, planning is based on themes, features, and user stories, refined over time.
E-commerce example: Plan the catalog as an epic, break it down into features like product listing and search, and then user stories such as “As a customer, I want to filter products by price.”
Estimating
Estimates evolve with the project and address effort, cost, duration, and resources.
- Range: Wide at the start, narrow later.
- Accuracy: Improves with more details.
- Precision: Exactness in numbers (e.g., 10 days vs. “about 2 weeks”).
- Confidence: Increases with experience.
Techniques include deterministic (point estimates), probabilistic (ranges and probabilities), relative estimating (e.g., story points), and flow-based estimating (cycle time and throughput).
Example: Estimating that adding a “Wishlist” feature will take 3 sprints based on historical velocity.
Scheduling
Schedules define when work happens and how activities depend on each other.
- Predictive scheduling: Decompose, sequence, estimate, and adjust activities.
- Compression techniques:
- Crashing — add people to speed up.
- Fast tracking — start tasks in parallel.
- Dependencies: Mandatory, discretionary, external, or internal.
- Adaptive scheduling: Uses releases, iterations, and timeboxes.
Example: In an e-commerce site, Release 1 may deliver browsing and cart, Release 2 checkout and payment, Release 3 loyalty program.
Budgeting
Budgets come from cost estimates and must align with schedules.
- Contingency reserves: For risks (e.g., vendor delays).
- Management reserves: For unforeseen but in-scope work.
Example: Adding 15% contingency for unexpected security compliance updates.
Team Planning
Planning the project team means identifying required skills, deciding between internal vs. external hires, and choosing between co-located vs. virtual teams.
Example: Hire external experts for payment integration while using internal staff for catalog development.
Communication Planning
Communication is at the heart of stakeholder engagement. Planning addresses:
- Who needs information and why.
- What information is needed.
- When and how often updates are shared.
- Best channels to use.
Example: Sponsors get monthly dashboards, developers get daily stand-ups, and customers see feature updates on release notes.
Physical Resources
Physical resources include materials, equipment, and tools.
Example: Cloud hosting, SSL certificates, testing tools, and staging servers for the e-commerce site. Planning must consider lead times, ordering vs. storage costs, and sustainability.
Procurement
Procurement planning decides what to build in-house vs. outsource.
Example: Outsourcing mobile app development while handling the web platform internally.
Change Planning
Projects must plan for changes. Predictive projects use formal change control processes, while adaptive projects reprioritize the backlog.
Example: Adding a “Buy Now, Pay Later” feature mid-project may need formal approval in predictive mode but can be slotted into the backlog in agile.
Metrics
Metrics connect planning, delivery, and measurement. Only measure what matters.
Examples:
- Cart abandonment rate.
- Schedule variance.
- Budget burn rate.
Alignment
Planning artifacts must remain integrated across scope, quality, budget, and resources.
Example: If new features are added, planning ensures budgets and schedules adjust accordingly.
Interactions with Other Performance Domains
Planning integrates with all domains:
- Development Approach and Life Cycle: The chosen life cycle drives the depth of planning.
- Delivery: Planning defines how value will be delivered.
- Uncertainty: Planning includes risk responses.
- Stakeholder and Team: Planning ensures engagement and coordination.
Checking Results
Planning effectiveness is checked throughout the project:
- Are deliverables being produced as expected?
- Are plans adapting to new conditions?
- Are stakeholders aligned with progress?
Conclusion
The Planning Performance Domain ensures that projects move forward in a structured yet adaptable way. Effective planning balances detail with flexibility, integrates scope, cost, and schedules, and adapts to changing needs.
For our e-commerce example, careful planning of catalog, checkout, payments, and releases ensures a smooth journey from idea to live website. Whether predictive, adaptive, or hybrid, planning keeps the project on track and aligned with stakeholder expectations.
Check more articles on Performance Domains