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• Project planning |
• What is project planning? (Plus, 7 ste ...

What is project planning? (Plus, 7 steps to write a successful project plan)

Organize your projects with project plans to keep things on track—before you even start. A project plan houses all the necessary details of your project, such as goals, tasks, scope, deadlines, and deliverables. This shows stakeholders a clear roadmap of your project, ensures you have the resources for it, and holds everyone accountable from the start. In this article, we teach you the seven steps to create your own project plan.

Project plans are essential to keeping your project organized and on track. A great project plan will help you kick off your work with all the necessary pieces—from goals and budgets to milestones and communication plans—in one place. Save yourself time (and a few headaches) by creating a work plan that will make your project a success.

What is a project planning?

Project planning is the second stage in the project management process, following project initiation and preceding project execution. During the project planning stage, the project manager creates a project plan, which maps out project requirements. The project planning phase typically includes setting project goals, designating project resources, and mapping out the project schedule.

What is a project plan?

If you're still unsure about what a project plan is, here's how it differs from other project elements:

Project plan vs. work plan: A project plan and a work plan are the same thing. Different teams or departments might prefer one term or another—but they both ultimately describe the same thing: a list of big-picture action steps you need to take to hit your  project objectives .

Project plan vs. project charter: A project charter is an outline of your project. Mostly, you use project charters to get signoff from key stakeholders before you start. Which means your project charter comes before your project plan. A project charter is an outline of a simple project plan—it should only include your project objectives, scope, and responsibilities. Then, once your charter has been approved, you can create a project plan to provide a more in-depth blueprint of the key elements of your project.

Project plan vs. project scope: Your project scope defines the size and boundaries of your project. As part of your project plan, you should outline and share the scope of your project with all project stakeholders. If you’re ever worried about scope creep , you can refer back to your pre-defined scope within your project plan to get back on track.

Project plan vs. agile project: Agile project management is a framework to help teams break work into iterative, collaborative components . Agile frameworks are often run in conjunction with scrum and sprint methodologies. Like any project, an Agile project team can benefit from having a project plan in place before getting started with their work.

Project plan vs. work breakdown structure: Similar to a project plan, your work breakdown structure (WBS) helps you with project execution. While the project plan focuses on every aspect of your project, the WBS is focused on deliverables—breaking them down into sub-deliverables and project tasks. This helps you visualize the whole project in simple steps. Because it’s a visual format, your WBS is best viewed as a Gantt chart (or timeline), Kanban board , or calendar—especially if you’re using project management software .

Why are project plans important?

Project plans set the stage for the entire project. Without one, you’re missing a critical step in the overall project management process . When you launch into a project without defined goals or objectives, it can lead to disorganized work, frustration, and even scope creep. A clear, written project management plan provides a baseline direction to all stakeholders, while also keeping everyone accountable. It confirms that you have the resources you need for the project before it actually begins.

A project plan also allows you, as the person in charge of leading execution, to forecast any potential challenges you could run into while the project is still in the planning stages. That way, you can ensure the project will be achievable—or course-correct if necessary. According to a study conducted by the  Project Management Institute , there is a strong correlation between project planning and project success—the better your plan, the better your outcome. So, conquering the planning phase also makes for better project efficiency and results.

7 steps to write a project plan to keep you on track

To create a clear project management plan, you need a way to track all of your moving parts . No matter what type of project you’re planning, every work plan should have:

Goals and project objectives

Success metrics

Stakeholders and roles

Scope and budget

Milestones , deliverables , and project dependencies

Timeline and schedule

Communication plan.

Not sure what each of these mean or should look like? Let’s dive into the details:

Step 1: Define your goals and objectives

You’re working on this project plan for a reason—likely to get you, your team, or your company to an end goal. But how will you know if you’ve reached that goal if you have no way of measuring success?

Every successful project plan should have a clear, desired outcome. Identifying your goals provides a rationale for your project plan. It also keeps everyone on the same page and focused on the results they want to achieve. Moreover, research shows that employees who know how their work is contributing to company objectives are 2X as motivated . Yet only 26% of employees have that clarity. That’s because most goal-setting happens separate from the actual work. By defining your goals within your work plan, you can connect the work your team is doing directly to the project objectives in real-time.

What's the difference between project goals and project objectives?

In general, your project goals should be higher-level than your project objectives. Your project goals should be SMART goals that help you measure project success and show how your project aligns with business objectives . The purpose of drafting project objectives, on the other hand, is to focus on the actual, specific deliverables you're going to achieve at the end of your project. Your project plan provides the direction your team needs to hit your goals, so you can create a workflow that hits project objectives.

Your project  plan  provides the direction your team needs to hit your goals, by way of your project objectives. By incorporating your goals directly into your planning documentation, you can keep your project’s North Star on hand. When you’re defining your project scope, or outlining your project schedule, check back on your goals to make sure that work is in favor of your main objectives.

Step 2: Set success metrics

Once you’ve defined your goals, make sure they’re measurable by setting key success metrics. While your goal serves as the intended result, you need success metrics to let you know whether or not you’re performing on track to achieve that result. The best way to do that is to set  SMART goals . With SMART goals, you can make sure your success metrics are clear and measurable, so you can look back at the end of your project and easily tell if you hit them or not.

For example, a goal for an event might be to host an annual 3-day conference for SEO professionals on June 22nd. A success metric for that goal might be having at least 1,000 people attend your conference. It’s both clear and measurable.

Step 3: Clarify stakeholders and roles

Running a project usually means getting  collaborators  involved in the execution of it. In your project management plan, outline which team members will be a part of the project and what each person’s role will be. This will help you decide who is responsible for each task (something we’ll get to shortly) and let stakeholders know how you expect them to be involved.

During this process, make sure to define the various roles and responsibilities your stakeholders might have. For example, who is directly responsible for the project’s success? How is your project team structured (i.e. do you have a project manager, a project sponsor , etc.)? Are there any approvers that should be involved before anything is finalized? What cross-functional stakeholders should be included in the project plan? Are there any  risk management factors  you need to include?

Consider using a system, such as a  RACI chart , to help determine who is driving the project forward, who will approve decisions, who will contribute to the project, and who needs to remain informed as the project progresses.

Then, once you’ve outlined all of your roles and stakeholders, make sure to include that documentation in your project plan. Once you finalize your plan, your work plan will become your cross-functional source of truth.

Step 4: Set your budget

Running a project usually costs money. Whether it’s hiring freelancers for content writing or a catering company for an event, you’ll probably be spending some cash.

Since you’ve already defined your goals and stakeholders as part of your project plan, use that information to establish your budget. For example, if this is a cross-functional project involving multiple departments, will the departments be splitting the project cost? If you have a specific goal metric like event attendees or new users, does your proposed budget support that endeavor?

By establishing your project budget during the project planning phase (and before the spending begins), you can get approval, more easily track progress, and make smart, economical decisions during the implementation phase of your project. Knowing your budget beforehand helps you with resource management , ensuring that you stay within the initial financial scope of the project. Planning helps you determine what parts of your project will cost what—leaving no room for surprises later on.

Step 5: Align on milestones, deliverables, and project dependencies

An important part of planning your project is setting milestones, or specific objectives that represent an achievement. Milestones don’t require a start and end date, but hitting one marks a significant accomplishment during your project. They are used to measure progress. For example, let’s say you’re working to develop a  new product for your company . Setting a milestone on your project timeline for when the prototype is finalized will help you measure the progress you’ve made so far.

A project deliverable , on the other hand, is what is actually produced once you meet a milestone. In our product development example, we hit a milestone when we produced the deliverable, which was the prototype. You can also use project dependencies —tasks that you can’t start until others are finished. Dependencies ensure that work only starts once it’s ready. Continuing the example, you can create a project dependency to require approval from the project lead before prototype testing begins.  

If you’re using our free project plan template , you can easily organize your project around deliverables, dependencies, and milestones. That way, everyone on the team has clear visibility into the work within your project scope, and the milestones your team will be working towards.

Step 6: Outline your timeline and schedule

In order to achieve your project goals, you and your stakeholders need clarity on your overall project timeline and schedule. Aligning on the time frame you have can help you better prioritize during strategic planning sessions.

Not all projects will have clear-cut timelines. If you're working on a large project with a few unknown dates, consider creating a  project roadmap  instead of a full-blown project timeline. That way, you can clarify the order of operations of various tasks without necessarily establishing exact dates.

Once you’ve covered the high-level responsibilities, it’s time to focus some energy on the details. In your  work plan template , start by breaking your project into tasks, ensuring no part of the process is skipped. Bigger tasks can even be broken down into smaller subtasks, making them more manageable.

Then, take each task and subtask, and assign it a start date and end date. You’ll begin to visually see everything come together in a  cohesive project timeline . Be sure to add stakeholders, mapping out who is doing what by when.

Step 7: Share your communication plan

We’ve established that most projects include multiple stakeholders. That means communication styles will vary among them. You have an opportunity to set your expectations up front for this particular project in your project plan. Having a communication plan is essential for making sure everyone understands what’s happening, how the project is progressing, and what’s going on next. And in case a roadblock comes up, you’ll already have a clear communication system in place.

As you’re developing your communication plan, consider the following questions:

How many project-related meetings do you need to have? What are their goals?

How will you manage project status updates ? Where will you share them?

What tool will you use to manage the project and communicate progress and updates?

Like the other elements of your project plan, make sure your communication plan is easily accessible within your project plan. Stakeholders and cross-functional collaborators should be able to easily find these guidelines during the planning and execution phases of your project. Using project planning tools or task management software that integrates with apps like Slack and Gmail can ensure all your communication happens in one easily accessible place. 

Example project plan

Next, to help you understand what your project management plan should look like, here are two example plans for marketing and design projects that will guide you during your own project planning.

Project plan example: annual content calendar

Let’s say you’re the Content Lead for your company, and it’s your responsibility to create and deliver on a content marketing calendar for all the content that will be published next year. You know your first step is to build your work plan. Here’s what it might look like:

Goals and success metrics

You establish that your goal for creating and executing against your content calendar is to increase engagement by 10%. Your success metrics are the open rate and click through rate on emails, your company’s social media followers, and how your pieces of content rank on search engines.

Stakeholders and each person’s role

There will be five people involved in this project.

You, Content Lead: Develop and maintain the calendar

Brandon and Jamie, Writers: Provide outlines and copy for each piece of content

Nate, Editor: Edit and give feedback on content

Paula, Producer: Publish the content once it’s written and edited

Your budget for the project plan and a year’s worth of content is $50,000.

Milestones and deliverables

Your first milestone is to finish the content calendar, which shows all topics for the year. The deliverable is a sharable version of the calendar. Both the milestone and the deliverables should be clearly marked on your project schedule.

You’ve determined that your schedule for your content calendar project plan will go as follows:

October 15 - November 1: The research phase to find ideas for topics for content

November 2 - November 30: Establish the topics you’ll write about

December 1 - January 1: Build the calendar

January 1 - December 31: Content will be written by Brandon and Jamie, and edited by Nate, throughout the year

January 16 - December 31: Paula will begin publishing and continue to do so on a rolling basis throughout the year.

You’ll have a kick-off meeting and then monthly update meetings as part of your communication plan. Weekly status updates will be sent on Friday afternoons. All project-related communication will occur within a  project management tool .

How ClassPass manages project plans from start to finish

Kerry Hoffman, Senior Project Manager of Marketing Operations at  ClassPass , oversees all marketing projects undertaken by the creative, growth, and content teams. Here are her top three strategies for managing project plans:

Identify stakeholders up front: No matter the size of the project, it’s critical to know who the stakeholders are and their role in the project so you ensure you involve the right people at each stage. This will also make the review and approval process clear before the team gets to work.

Agree on how you want to communicate about your project: Establish where and when communication should take place for your project to ensure that key information is captured in the right place so everyone stays aligned.

Be adaptable and learn other people’s working styles: Projects don’t always go according to plan, but by implementing proper integration management you can keep projects running smoothly. Also, find out how project members like to work so you take that into account as you create your plan. It will help things run smoother once you begin executing.

Write your next project plan like a pro

Congratulations—you’re officially a work planning pro. With a few steps, a little bit of time, and a whole lot of organization, you’ve successfully written a project plan.

Keep yourself and your team on track, and address challenges early by using project planning software like Asana . Work through each of the steps of your project plan with confidence, and streamline your communications with the team.

Related resources

Understanding dependencies in project management

How Asana uses work management to optimize resource planning

Unmanaged business goals don’t work. Here’s what does.

How Asana uses work management to drive product development

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What is a Project Management Plan and How to Create One

By Midori Nediger , Dec 11, 2023

Have you ever been part of a project that didn’t go as planned?

It doesn’t feel good.

Wasted time, wasted resources. It’s pretty frustrating for everyone involved.

That’s why it’s so important to create a comprehensive project management plan   before your project gets off the ground.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to create and design a successful project management plan.

We’ll also showcase easy-to-customize project plan templates you can create today with our user-friendly drag-and-drop editor. Let’s get started!

  Click to jump ahead:

What is a project management plan?

5 things you need to know before creating a project management plan, what should a project management plan include, how do you write a project plan, project plan best practices, project management plan templates and examples, common mistakes to avoid when creating a project management plan.

A project management plan is a formal document that defines how a project is going to be carried out by outlining the scope, goals, budget, timeline and deliverables of a project. Its crucial role lies in ensuring the project stays on course.

You write a project plan  during the project planning stage of the  project life cycle , and it must be approved by stakeholders before a project can move on the execution stage.

If some of these terms are new to you, you can get up to speed with this post on project management terms . 

This means your project plan must be engaging, organized, and thorough enough to gain the support of your stakeholders.

Further Reading : New to project management? Read our blog post on the 4 stages of the project life cycle .

The importance of a project management plan

A well-developed project management plan sets the foundation for a successful project by providing a roadmap that guides the project team toward successful project completion. A good project management plan can ensure that:

• Project objectives and goals are clearly defined and understood
• Project scope is effectively managed
• Resources are allocated efficiently to maximize productivity and minimize waste
• Risks are identified, assessed and mitigated
• Project tasks and activities are well-organized and executed in a timely manner.
• Communication among team members , stakeholders and project sponsors is effective and transparent
• Changes to the project are properly evaluated, approved and implemented
• Lessons learned and best practices are documented for future reference and improvement
• Stakeholders are engaged and satisfied with the project outcomes
• The project is delivered within the specified timeline, budget and quality standards

Before diving into creating a project management plan, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of the project objectives and the expectations of stakeholders involved.

Without a firm grasp of these fundamental elements, your project may face significant challenges or fail to deliver the desired outcomes.

Here are key points to consider when creating a project management plan:

• Project Objectives: Clearly understand the project objectives and what you want to achieve. Identify the desired outcomes, deliverables and the purpose of the project.
• Scope of the Project: Determine the boundaries and extent of the project. Define what is included and excluded to ensure clarity and prevent scope creep .
• Stakeholders: Identify all stakeholders who will be impacted by or have an interest in the project. Understand their needs, expectations and level of involvement.
• Resources: Assess the resources required to execute the project successfully. This includes human resources, budget, equipment and materials. Determine their availability and allocation.
• Risks and Constraints: Identify potential risks, uncertainties and constraints that may affect the project. Understand the challenges, limitations and potential obstacles that need to be addressed.

Now that you have these key areas identified, let’s get started with creating your project plan.

Before you start assembling your own plan, you should be familiar with the main components of a typical project plan .

A project management plan should include the following sections:

• Executive summary: A short description of the contents of the report
• Project scope & deliverables: An outline of the boundaries of the project, and a description of how the project will be broken down into measurable deliverables
• Project schedule: A high-level view of project tasks and milestones ( Gantt charts are handy for this)
• Project resources: The budget, personnel, and other resources required to meet project goals
• Risk and issue management plan: A list of factors that could derail the project and a plan for how issues will be identified, addressed, and controlled
• Communication management plan: A plan for how team and stakeholder communication will be handled over the course of the project
• Cost and quality management plan: This section encompasses the project’s budget, cost estimation,and cost control mechanisms. It also includes quality assurance and control measures as well as any testing or verification activities to be performed.

Basically, a project plan should tell stakeholders what needs to get done, how it will get done, and when it will get done.

That said, one size doesn’t fit all. Every project management plan must be tailored to the specific industry and circumstances of the project. You can use a project management app for smoother project planning.

For example, this marketing plan looks client facing. It is tailored to sell the client on the agency:

Whereas this commercial development plan focuses on specific objectives and a detailed timeline:

With those basics out of the way, let’s get into how to write a project management plan that’s as engaging as it is professional.

Further Reading : If you’re looking to create a proposal, read our in-depth business proposal guide. Then try our job proposal templates or business proposal templates .

To write a successful project plan, follow these 5 steps below to create an effective project plan that serves as a valuable tool for project management:

1. Highlight the key elements of your project plan in an executive summary  

An executive summary is a brief description of the key contents of a project plan .

I t’s usually the first thing stakeholders will read, and it should act like a Cliff’s-notes version of the whole plan.

It might touch on a project’s value proposition, goals, deliverables, and important milestones, but it has to be concise (it is a summary, after all). First, make sure you develop a proof of concept .

In this example, an executive summary can be broken into columns to contrast the existing problem with the project solution:

The two-column format with clear headers helps break up the information, making it extremely easy to read at a glance.

Here’s another example of a project management plan executive summary. This one visually highlights key takeaways with big fonts and helpful icons:

In this case, the highlighted facts and figures are particularly easy to scan (which is sure to make your stakeholders happy).

But your executive summary won’t always be so simple.

For larger projects, your executive summary will be longer and more detailed.

This project management plan template has a text-heavy executive summary, though the bold headers and different background colors keep it from looking overwhelming:

It’s also a good idea to divide it up into sections, with a dedicated header for each section:

Regardless of how you organize your executive summary, it should give your stakeholders a preview of what’s to come in the rest of the project management plan.

2. Plot your project schedule visually with a Gantt chart

A carefully planned project schedule is key to the success of any project. Without one, your project will likely crumble into a mess of missed deadlines, poor team management, and scope creep.

Luckily, project planning tools like Gantt charts and project timelines make creating your project schedule easy. You can visually plot each project task, add major milestones, then look for any dependencies or conflicts that you haven’t accounted for.

For example, this Gantt chart template outlines high-level project activities over the course of an entire quarter, with tasks color-coded by team:

A high-level roadmap like the one above is probably sufficient for your project management plan. Every team will be able to refer back to this timeline throughout the project to make sure they’re on track.

But before project kickoff, you’ll need to dig in and break down project responsibilities by individual team member, like in this Gantt chart example:

In the later execution and monitoring phases of the project, you’ll thank yourself for creating a detailed visual roadmap that you can track and adjust as things change.

You can also use a project management tool to keep your team organized.

Further Reading:   Our post featuring  Gantt chart examples  and more tips on how to use them for project management.

3. Clarify the structure of your project team with a team org chart

One of the hardest aspects of project planning is assembling a team and aligning them to the project vision.

And aligning your team is all about communication–communicating the project goals, communicating stakeholder requests, communicating the rationale behind big decisions…the list goes on.

This is where good project documentation is crucial! You need to create documents that your team and your stakeholders can access when they have questions or need guidance.

One easy thing to document visually is the structure of your team, with an organizational chart like this one:

In an organizational chart you should include some basic information like team hierarchy and team member contact information. That way your stakeholders have all of the information they need at their fingertips.

But in addition to that, you can indicate the high-level responsibilities of each team member and the channels of communication within the team (so your team knows exactly what they’re accountable for).

Here’s another simple organizational structure template that you can use as a starting point:

Create an organizational chart with our organizational chart maker .

4. Organize project risk factors in a risk breakdown structure

A big part of project planning is identifying the factors that are likely to derail your project, and coming up with plans and process to deal with those factors. This is generally referred to as risk management .

The first step in coming up with a risk management plan is to list all of the factors at play, which is where a risk breakdown structure comes in handy. A risk breakdown structure is a hierarchical representation of project risks, organized by category.

This risk breakdown structure template, for example, shows project risk broken down into technical risk, management risk, and external risk:

Once you’ve constructed your risk breakdown structure, you’ll be ready to do a deep dive into each risk (to assess and plan for any triggers and outcomes).

Streamline your workflow with business process management software .

5. Plan ahead: create project status reports to communicate progress to stakeholders

As I mentioned earlier, communication is fundamental in any project.

But even so, something that’s often overlooked by project managers is a communication management plan–a plan for how the project team is going to communicate with project stakeholders . Too often, project communication defaults to ad-hoc emails or last-minute meetings.

You can avoid this by planning ahead. Start with a project kickoff meeting and include a project status report template as part of your communication plan.

Here’s an example of a simple project status report that you might send to stakeholders on a weekly basis:

This type of report is invaluable for communicating updates on project progress. It shows what you’ve accomplished in a clear, consistent format, which can help flag issues before they arise, build trust with your stakeholders , and makes it easy to reflect on project performance once you’ve reached your goals.

You might also want to include a broader status report for bigger updates on a monthly or quarterly basis, like this one:

The above template allows you to inform stakeholders of more major updates like new budget requirements, revised completion dates, and project performance ratings.

You can even include visualization of up-to-date project milestones, like this example below:

Want more tips on creating visuals to enhance your communications? Read our visual communication guide for businesses . 

Before you dive in, remember: a clear and adaptable plan is crucial for project success. Here are some best practices to keep your project plan on track:

• Use headers, columns and highlights to make your executive summary easy to read
• Plot your project schedule with a Gantt chart (with tasks color-coded by department or team member)
• Use visuals like organizational charts and risk breakdown structures to communicate across your team and with stakeholders
• Pick a flexible template that you can update to align with stakeholder requests

A project management plan is probably the most important deliverable your stakeholders will receive from you (besides the project itself).

It holds all of the information that stakeholders will use to determine whether your project moves forward or gets kicked to the curb.

That’s why it’s a good idea to start with a project management plan template. Using a template can help you organize your information logically and ensure it’s engaging enough to hold your stakeholders’ attention.

Construction project management plan template

Time is money, especially with construction projects. Having a construction plan template brings order to the chaos.

Instead of staring at a messy pile of construction stuff, you’ve got a plan that breaks everything down into bite-sized pieces.

And let’s not forget the paperwork. Construction projects have rules and regulations to follow. Your project plan helps you stay on the right side of the law with all the necessary documentation and compliance measures.

Start with a meticulous project overview, like in the second page of this template:

Though you may think this project will be similar to others you’ve done in the past, it’s important to nail the details.

This will also help you understand the scope of work so you can estimate costs properly and arrive at a quote that’s neither too high or low. Ontario Construction News has great advice on this process.

Simple project management plan template

This simple project management plan template that clearly lays out all of the information your stakeholders will need:

Simple project management communication plan template

A key part of project management is making sure everyone’s in the loop. A project communication plan ensures everyone knows how, where, who and when the team will communicate during the course of the project. Also construction scheduling is a critical aspect of the project management plan as it helps to ensure that all necessary tasks are completed within the allocated time frame and budget.

The key is to figure out what kind of communications is valuable to stakeholders and what is simply overwhelming and won’t lead to better decisions.

This template clearly outlines all of these factors to help manage expectations and eliminate confusion about what will get communicated and when:

Commercial development project plan template

The below project management plan template is simple and minimal, but still uses a unique layout and simple visuals to create an easy-to-read, scannable project overview.

This template is perfect for building or construction management , or any technical projects:

When picking a project plan template, look for one that’s flexible enough to accommodate any changes your stakeholders might request before they’ll approve the project. You never know what might change in the early planning stages of the project! You can also use project management tools to help you with your planning !

Creating a solid project management plan is crucial for setting your project up for success. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

• Lack of clear goals: Don’t just have a vague idea of what you want to achieve. Define clear, SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) for your project. That way, everyone will be on the same page and it’ll be easier to measure progress effectively.
• Unrealistic timelines: Be optimistic, but also realistic. Don’t underestimate the time required for tasks. Factor in potential delays and buffer time when creating your project schedule.
• Scope creep: New requirements mid-project can affect deadlines and budgets. Plan the project clearly upfront, and take into consideration any changes that might come up.
• Poor communication: Communication is key throughout the project lifecycle. Regularly update stakeholders, team members and clients on progress, roadblocks and changes.
• Ignoring risks: Things don’t always go according to plan. Identify potential risks upfront and have a mitigation strategy in place for each one.
• Not involving stakeholders: Get key stakeholders involved early on. This helps manage everyone’s expectations and that you have the buy-in you need for success.
• Neglecting resource constraints: Don’t overload your team or underestimate the resources needed. Carefully consider the skills, time and budget available when planning your project.
• Micromanaging: Trust your team! Delegate tasks effectively and give them the autonomy they need to do their jobs.
• Failing to document: Keep good records. Document project decisions, plans and communication. This helps maintain transparency and ensures everyone has access to the latest information.
• Not adapting to change: Be prepared to adapt your plan as needed. Projects are rarely static, so be flexible and willing to adjust your approach based on new information or developments.

So, that’s the scoop on project management plans! I hope this piece will help you to avoid confusion, keep expectations in check and be ready to tackle any bumps for your upcoming projects.

If you ever need a revision, just follow the steps we talked about, use those best practices and you’ll have a plan that sets your project up for a win. Just remember, even the best plans need some tweaking sometimes. Be flexible and adjust as needed and you’re good to go!

How to Write a Project Outline

By Lulu Richter | August 23, 2022

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An effective project outline sets your project up for success. In this article, you’ll learn the essential components of project outlines and how project managers use them to guide teams. Plus, get expert tips and free, downloadable templates. 

Included on this page, you’ll find a list of key outline components , a step-by-step guide to writing project outlines , a customizable example template , and more.

What Is a Project Outline?

A project outline is a foundational document in project management. Project managers create the outline to formally define the project. A project outline includes project goals, objectives, necessary resources, and timeline. Once approved, it becomes the blueprint for future documents. 

Like a project overview , the project outline is a central part of project planning. It connects the project’s goals and objectives to larger business goals. The designated project leader writes this approximately two-page document as a high-level overview of the project vision and the work necessary to accomplish it. The project overview is also called a project charter or project definition document (PDD) . 

Eric Verzuh, President and Founder of The Versatile Company, stresses the importance of a project outline: “Writing the outline is arguably the most important thing you do on a project. It’s probably the first time someone has put the project down in writing. It takes all the gray out or at least figures out what the project actually is.”

“It’s the starting point for one of the top five project success factors: agreement on the goal,” Verzuh continues. “It answers, ‘Why are we doing this, what do we mean when we do this, and what do we expect when we’re done?’ This is the key moment to resolve any disagreements rather than spend money and make mistakes.”

In addition to agreeing on a goal, the project outline should address each of the top five project success factors noted in Verzuh’s book, The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management . 

Here are the success factors Verzuh describes and how the outline accomplishes each:  

An assigned project owner (typically the project manager or project sponsor ) formally defines the project during the project initiation phase . This phase is the first of five in the project management lifecycle , in which the project owner completes the outline and presents it to management for approval. 

Once approved, the outline becomes the basis for the next phase’s project planning documents . Throughout the project, the team frequently references the outline to ensure that their actions align with the initial goals. 

It is important to note that the project outline is not to be confused with a project proposal , which is a business case for why the project is necessary. An outline communicates how the work will be done, whereas a proposal communicates why.

Who Should Create a Project Outline?

A project sponsor or project manager should create the project outline. The person responsible for leading the project is also responsible for the outline, regardless of their title. This project owner involves stakeholders and team members to assemble the document. 

Joe Heagney, President of QMA International, LLC and author of Fundamentals of Project Management , points out that "the information populating the project outline/charter is often provided by the project sponsor or another senior person within the organization, but the project manager should try to get involved as soon as possible. Remember, it is your project." 

If you are assigned as the project owner, it is crucial for you to write an outline, even if it is not required. Verzuh shares, “You may not always be asked to write one, but you always should if you’re leading a project. It shows that you understand what you’re being asked to do and is best practice for clarifying the assignment.” 

As the sponsor or manager assembles the document, they’ll involve project members as needed. These may include team members, clients, or stakeholders. The outline then helps to create a shared understanding between all project contributors and decreases miscommunication during stakeholder management activities.

Project Outline Components

The components of a project outline inform the reader of key project information. This information includes project scope, background, timeline, team members, resource requirements, and more. These items provide context and clarify any ambiguities prior to project execution.

Here are the components of a project outline: 

• General Information: This section includes basic information, such as the project name, project sponsor, project manager, and creation date. 
• Project Summary: The project summary is a concise overview of the project that briefs the reader on the project’s context. 
• Background: This includes all pertinent information supporting each project activity. Background information can be a separate section or be used throughout the document to help the reader understand why you included certain factors in the outline. 
• Project Scope: A project scope is a detailed list of what the project entails and the methods needed to deliver the work. The scope also outlines the project boundaries or what it does not include.  
• Objectives: Objectives are measurable statements specifying how the project will meet its goals and how the team will know the goals have been met. 
• Constraints and Assumptions: Constraints are any known project limitations. These might relate to budget, quality, or other factors. Assumptions , on the other hand, are factors believed to be true by the team.
• Key Stakeholders: Include a detailed list of the internal and external stakeholders involved in the project, as well as their roles and responsibilities. 
• Key Team Members: Include a list of team members, each of their roles, and their responsibilities. 
• Deliverables: Include deliverables , or a brief description of the project’s inputs, outputs, and ancillary results, such as reports.  
• Project Timeline: The project timeline should include the start date, end date, and significant milestones. 
• Resource Requirements: Include any resource requirements , or a list of the activities and components necessary to complete the deliverables. 
• Comments: This section includes any project notes or action items that will help the team understand the document or clarify details about the project. 
• Budget: This final section is optional. Include initial budget information if it is available.

Verzuh also recommends including potential risks, even at a basic level: “Risk is always worth pointing out. Significant risks are always worthwhile because it tends to influence a lot of individual things and the overall project.”

Writing a solid project outline takes thought, communication, and planning. As you write it, your primary activity will be to collect and assemble information that defines the project. Make time to gather feedback and revise the document before submitting it. 

Before you get started, create a timeline and completion checklist to keep yourself on track. While the time it takes to write the outline varies per project, plan enough time to collect information, populate the document, and review it before the submission date. 

You can use an existing project outline template to get started or create your own from scratch. Follow the steps in the order we’ve listed below, or do them in the order that makes the most sense for your project. For any step, be sure to get feedback and contributions from team members. 

Here is a step-by-step guide to writing your project outline:

• Add Basic Information: Start by filling in the project title, basic information, author, and version date at the top. 
• Identify Key Stakeholders and Team Members: Determine and recruit the best possible members for the team, and record their names, roles, and responsibilities. You may need to ask for recommendations from trusted colleagues. List all team members, sponsors, stakeholders, clients, and customers who will at some point be affected by the project. Confirm with each team member that they understand their role. For team members and stakeholders, Verzuh shares that it’s helpful to include information about the “time team members will spend (for example, if they’re on the project part-time) and, in addition to key stakeholders, helpful information such as who’s paying and who’s the executive sponsor, specific clients, or internal customers.” 
• Summarize the Project: Write a brief overview that helps the reader understand the project and how it creates business value. The summary can be as short as two or three sentences.  Verzuh reminds us that “projects are meant to deliver business value. The PM’s job is to keep an eye on business value and keep all stakeholders moving toward business value. The project summary is important because it creates the context.” 
• Articulate Project Goals: Take time to specify the aims of the project. What does it need to deliver? Why does it need to deliver it? How will this project achieve that goal? Write the goal succinctly, and include any background rationale for the project decisions. Keep the goal at a high level, and make sure it connects to the overall business goals. Example: Increase our social media presence in order to triple inbound website traffic within the next fiscal year.
• Example 1: We will launch four campaigns per quarter for each existing social media channel, increasing impressions and views by a factor of 10.
• Example 2: Our engagement will increase an average of 80 percent per quarter, per channel, tracked by click rate and number of user comments. 
• Example 3: We will drive campaign messaging based on user feedback collected from the previous quarter’s campaign in order to increase site retention by 25 percent each quarter and decrease bounce rate by 20 percent. Pro Tip: Verzuh says, “Think of the project summary and project objectives as the North Star to return to and ask, ‘Are we still on track with these?’”
• Define the Scope and Deliverables: According to Verzuh, “Scope and deliverables go hand in hand. The scope is written as a verb. The deliverable is the noun that results.” Clarify what scope of work is within the project boundaries and what is outside. It is especially important to detail what is out of scope. 
• List Required Resources: Provide a broad overview of any required resources, including people, facilities, costs, equipment, time, or information. You don’t need to get too detailed during this step. Once the project is approved, you’ll expand on your initial estimation. Cite any supporting background information, such as historical data or comparisons to previous projects, as evidence. 
• What if we don’t get it done by the decided date?
• Will that be a problem if we go past the date? Is there a penalty for missing it?
• Is there a business reason for having it done by that time?
• How does it sync up with your purpose statement? 
• Identify Project Constraints and Assumptions: Consider all constraints within which the project needs to be accomplished. Use the six constraints as you consider what factors might impact your project. 

• Next, list the assumptions, or what your team believes to be true. For example, what do you expect to rely on or hold to be true about time, staff, resources, costs, or equipment? In this section, also consider and include any significant risks that will impact or interfere with the project’s success.
• Note the Costs: You do not need a detailed budget, but it is helpful to include costs. Verzuh suggests writing “something basic so that it’s acknowledged, such as ‘We expect to spend X amount on personnel.’” 
• Get Feedback: If you haven’t already, ask team members and stakeholders to review the document or pertinent sections. Be receptive to their perspective, and be open to making changes. 
• Review and Revise: Read through the document, and modify any language that is unclear. Make final revisions based on your review and the feedback from the previous step. Take your revisions back to team members to get input on the adjustments. Repeat until you have crafted a high-quality document. 
• Present the Outline: If you are required to present the outline, enter the meeting prepared with a presentation deck. Practice discussing the project outline with colleagues. Anticipate any questions that might occur during the presentation.

Project Outline Sample Template

Download a Sample Project Outline Template for Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs

Download a Blank Project Outline Template for Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs

Use this project outline sample template to help you articulate your project goals and align your team to them. Download the one-page sample template to see an example of how to write a high-level project overview, project summary, objectives, scope, and key deliverables. Then use the blank template to create your own project outline.

Tips for Writing a Project Outline

We’ve rounded up expert tips to help you write a great project outline. Use these tips to keep your document focused and effective. A successful outline will help align stakeholders and team members to the project goals. 

Here are our top tips for writing a project outline: 

• Use a Template: Start with a template. You can create your own or use a pre-existing project outline template . 
• Stay Organized: Keep the document well-structured. 
• Don’t Rush: Set aside enough time to create a quality outline. 
• Identify Conflicts: Act as a detective who is finding out where stakeholders disagree. Verzuh says, “We always know there's a disagreement; we don’t know what it is until we discover it. This is a great time to discover those problems.”
• Get Feedback: Be open to feedback, and be ready for revisions. 
• Be Persuasive: Write for the reader with the goal of getting everyone on board. Keep in mind that the outline could be the first critical gate of the project, as the project's approval most likely relies on the document. Verzuh says, “Devise your project outline to address the key things that need to be said about the project. Particularly for internal work, this could be the basis for deciding whether to move forward on a project.” 
• Remember Your Audience: Read all completed sections with your audience in mind. Make sure the content clearly answers what each group or person needs to know. View the process as a means to shed light on the project. Heagney says, “The process of creating the outline is one of clarification. The project manager must engage with stakeholders, identify their wants and needs, then begin constructing requirements.”
• Edit and Revise: Cross-check your work by having team members from multiple areas review it. By doing so, they might discover information gaps or sections that are unclear. 
• Keep It Simple: Simple is best. After reading your outline, flag sections that didn’t make sense and rewrite them. If you don’t easily understand it, your reader won’t either. Use formatting, such as bullets, to your advantage. 
• Use Quantifiable Data: When writing requirements, Heagney recommends making sure they “are measurable and verifiable.”
• Acknowledge Constraints: Be realistic when determining the triple constraint (scope, schedule, and cost). Verzuh recommends asking yourself, “Are there any threats within the project environment that would prevent you from meeting the schedule, goals, or project objectives, or cause it to be much more expensive than anticipated?”
• Acknowledge Risks: Don’t make decisions based on the perfect execution of the project. Assume that at least 20 percent of the project will encounter challenges.

Benefits of Writing a Project Outline

The benefits of writing a project outline make it worth taking the time to create one. Doing so supports your project’s success, avoids costly miscommunication, and empowers your team. Ultimately, it eases your job as a project manager.  

Here are the benefits of writing a project outline: 

• Better Team Alignment: By clearly stating goals and objectives, the outline aligns all team members to the project goals. 
• Clearer Communication: Establish unambiguous communication from the outset with a project outline.
• Clearer Roles: The project outline clarifies roles and responsibilities from the start.
• Fewer Disagreements: By aligning team members from the outset, project outlines help resolve disagreements before they become costly. 
• Improved Stakeholder Relations: Keeping stakeholders apprised of project goals means you are better able to manage stakeholder expectations and relations.
• Improved Time Management: Help the team manage time by including a timeline and schedule in your outline.
• More Helpful Milestones: Create success points within the project with milestones.
• Optimized Workflow: By clarifying team roles and responsibilities in the project outline, you help foster efficient workflows.
• Reduced Scope Creep: Defining your project’s scope in the outline helps avoid or mitigate scope creep .

Additionally, Verzuh notes that creating a project outline “builds your own expert authority, demonstrates you’re the person who’s competent and organized to lead the project, establishes the document as an authority over stakeholders as a touchpoint to remind them of the agreement, and serves as the first project success factor.”

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How to Give Assignments to Team Members

Last updated on: March 21, 2024

The project has been divided into milestones, goals and objectives broken into tasks, and now it’s time to assign them. But as you open the project management platform, you’re faced with the unflattering process of wording the tasks, and choosing whom to assign them to.

Well, in this article, we offer advice on how to make that jumbled first moment a little clearer. There are actionable tips, learning the difference between allocating and delegating tasks, and suggested criteria on how to choose the best person for the job.

For a more precise overview, here’s a table of contents:

Table of Contents

How do you assign employees tasks?

We normally think that assigning tasks is a time-consuming process that focuses on clearing out task lists to keep the project going. However, task assignment should actually be a more employee-oriented process that requires additional dedication and effort, which yields incredible results. But what do we mean by that?

Properly assigned tasks push your employees, projects, and the overall company forward. Here’s how.

• They strengthen accountability and trust between managers and employees;
• They help teach new skills and perfect old ones;
• They allow employees to get familiar with other teams and avenues of work;
• It becomes easier to make project estimates;
• Makes for great bases for performance reviews, etc.

The list could go on, but we’ll stop there for now.

Of course, such long-term benefits don’t come without some proverbial blood and sweat in the planning stage. Let’s take a look at the general ideas on assigning employee tasks, and specific steps you can take.

Motivation comes from knowing the bigger picture

When we talk about the bigger picture in project management, we talk about each team member’s task affecting their peer’s down the line. Since all tasks are usually small pieces of the puzzle, it helps to remind employees how their work contributes. For example:

• A high-quality draft can make a great foundation for the final version, and it can be completed more quickly.
• A well-prepared presentation can shave time off unnecessary questions and additional email inquiries.

It comes as no surprise that people work better and are more productive, when they know that their work has an impact on the company level.

And so, when you assign tasks, try to emphasize how they fit in the bigger picture. Simply saying: “ You doing X will help with Y and Z ” and how it reflects on the project as a whole will let an employee know that the task they were assigned is important.

Get your employees excited to commit

Telling people about the bigger picture and showing them what’s possible can only get them so far. It’s enough to ignite the initial spark, but for them to fully commit to the task, you need to define what that task entails.

They should be able to picture how to go about the work, what skills to use, and how to reach the desired result. The clearer the instructions, the more motivated they will be to work.

Simply put, give directions on how the task should be done, and make sure they understand. You can’t read each other’s minds, so it’s important everyone is on the same page.

Ask for task transparency

One of the best practices a company can employ is transparency among coworkers.

This is achieved by having everyone input their tasks for the day in a timesheet. The purpose of timesheets is to get an accurate idea of what everyone is working on at any given time.

When people know who works on what tasks, it’s easier for them to know if a person is available or busy, how far along they are with a task, etc.

So, when you give assignments to employees, label them with deadlines. Alternatively, you can ask for employees’ assessments on how long the work would take them, and use those timeframes.

Source: Clockify team timesheet

Timesheets are a great way to keep an eye on tasks and the people doing them. You get to:

• see who struggles with what (helps assess people’s skill sets);
• who burns through their workload and is available for additional tasks;
• whether your time estimates need correction;
• identify any wasted time.

💡 If your employees are insecure about keeping public records of their tasks, here are a few resources that can help:

• How to create order in your daily work tasks
• How to be more efficient with your tasks

Keep a crystal clear timeframe

While we’re discussing timesheets and deadline transparency, it’s important to mention that the times you set for task completions need to be clear-cut.

As we’ve mentioned, the safest way to assign deadlines is to consult the employees. They are better at assessing how long it will take them due to the tasks’ difficulty, overall deadlines, the standards that need to be met, and the skill required to complete it.

When they get a say in how long they should be doing an assignment, people tend to feel more accountable for the whole process. They will do their best to finish in time, since they actively participated in setting the deadline.

Set very clear expectations

Assigning a task should always include your (the supervisor’s) expectations pointed out. For example:

• Does a logo pitch need as many drafts as possible, or just a few finished pieces?

If you ask a designer to make some drafts for a logo pitch, you must specify the kind of quality you’re looking for. Explain whether you are looking for some sketches and drafts for a brainstorming meeting, or if you want clean, presentable pieces to show.

Additionally:

• How many pieces should the designer do?
• Is there a specific color palette they need to follow?
• How important is the task? Is this the day they finally decide on a logo, or is it still in the brainstorming stage? (decides on the quality of the work itself)

Assigning the task using the above questions, you help the designer understand how much effort precisely they need to invest. They become more motivated with clear instructions, as they know what is expected of them. There’s no fear of having their work criticized for something that wasn’t communicated in the beginning. And on your end, it prevents breached deadlines or subpar results.

Avoid creating dependency by being less involved

It’s not unusual for employees to ask their supervisors for their opinion on a certain task, or their performance.

The problem arises when a supervisor makes themselves too involved with the process. When they feel like the project might fall apart if they don’t have their eyes on every moving part all of the time. And when you have, say, 20 people waiting for that person’s approval, advice, or consultation, the workflow runs into a gridlock.

And wait time is wasted time.

Plus, people lose motivation, patience, and grow frustrated, as they could be doing other things.

So, learn not to jump in every time people call for your aid. Assign reliable people who can address smaller issues, while you handle the big picture. Learn how to expend your own energy where it is needed more.

For example – making a pitch presentation for potential investors keeps getting put off because one person needs you to check a client email they want to send, another wants your signature on a form, and the third wants to ask something about employee feedback that’s coming up.

In order to not be stretched thin, and have your time wasted on menial tasks, here’s where you can start:

How to mitigate the risk of being over-involved when assigning

• Remember that you match tasks to people

Which means that, by matching the right people with the right tasks, your involvement will be minimal. Take time to carefully choose who gets to do what. What is the point of assigning tasks if they can’t be done without you?

• Have a 10-point scale to judge the importance of items

How important are certain aspects of your leadership role? Are you absolutely necessary in every meeting, or during every call? Which tasks need your approval, and which ones can be approved by someone under you?

Rank these items on a scale of 0 to 10, based on their importance to you and the project. Top priority tasks should get your undivided attention. And what can be delegated, should be.

• Analyze your schedule

Your energy and time are needed on a much broader scale. The best way to spot if you’re wasting time being too involved is to look at your schedule. Identify how much time you’ve spent on low-priority items, and assess which issues could’ve been solved without you.

• Take into account priorities and deadlines

Step in only when absolutely necessary. You are in charge of things getting done on time, by people most qualified for assigned tasks. Determine what your priorities are for each project, and concern yourself only with those issues, unless there is a risk of breaching a deadline.

• Formulate a list of dependable people

If you know your employees (or team members) well enough, then you should be able to single out those who are more dependable and ready to take on a little more responsibilities. Write out the reasons how they could help by getting involved on low-priority items instead of you. When the time comes, rally them and present them with the idea, keeping in mind that this solution helps push the project forward. When authority is delegated to several people, there’s fewer chances of a hold-up in the workflow.

This also falls into the realm of task delegation , which we’ll get into later.

How do you decide what tasks to assign to which employees?

1. assign based on priority.

Naturally, some tasks will be more important than others. When you break down a project into tasks , spend some time assessing their priority level.

High-priority tasks should be the first on your list to allocate. Whether it’s because they’re time-sensitive, or require more effort and dedication.

Low priority tasks can be allocated as fillers to the first available person.

2. Assign based on employee availability

Another factor to consider when assigning tasks is who is available at the moment.

As the project moves along, new tasks will be added. You will have to allocate new work, but odds are you won’t always be able to pick who you want. Especially if a deadline is approaching, the person with the smallest workload should be your first choice.

Overloading an already busy individual just because they’re more skilled or you have faith in them the most puts an unnecessary strain on them. It’s cause for frustration, poorer results, and decreased productivity.

And as we’ve mentioned, if you have a timesheet with an overview of all the tasks and employees working on them, it’ll be much easier to spot who is free and who isn’t.

3. Assign based on employee skill level

High-priority tasks should go to employees with more experience in a given field or skill. However, you should occasionally give such tasks to other employees as well, to help them grow and become just as dependable. Giving people challenging tasks that can boost their experience is essential to productivity and morale.

Not to mention you get to have multiple high-skilled employees.

Low-priority tasks can be assigned to anyone, despite their experience level. They’re a good opportunity to practice, pick up new skills, or get smaller tasks out of the way to make room for more important ones.

4. Assign based on preference

Last, but not the least, preference can also play a big part in how you assign tasks.

It’s a given that some employees will prefer certain tasks over others. So it could be good to assign tasks at a meeting with the team. As you discuss priorities, deadlines, and availability, ask them which tasks they would like to work on.

If someone shows interest in a specific type of work, they should (with some consideration), be allowed to take it. After all, people are more productive when they’re assigned to something they find new or exciting.

Note: Apply this rule with caution. Letting people do only the tasks they want can stunt their career growth. Getting out of our comfort zones and occasionally doing tasks that we don’t like is how we develop and learn. So, don’t forget to document assignments as you hand them out, to spot these potential issues early on.

Allocating vs delegating tasks

While semantically similar words, delegation and allocation in terms of tasks are two different things.

When you allocate tasks , you are assigning tasks without giving the employees much authority, challenge, or room to grow. It includes you keeping all of the responsibility – writing out the tasks, making deadlines, providing resources, tools, etc. These are usually recurring tasks that can become repetitive.

When you delegate tasks , you allow for some of that responsibility to fizzle out from your fingers. All you think about are the objectives, while letting the employees figure out the details and means to get there.

However, that doesn’t mean delegation is right and the allocation is wrong.

Task allocation has its own place. It is just as important, as a lot of tasks come down to repeated processes that are still vital to the project progress. Task delegation is just a good opportunity for employees to learn, challenge themselves, and assess their skills and performance.

When should you allocate tasks?

Management and BizDev consultant Artem Albul shared his concept on task assignment, which he dubbed an “algorithm”. He emphasized how these criteria are useful only and only when you wish that employees perform the tasks based on your guidelines and instructions (aka allocation).

Here is how Albul broke down the algorithm:

Source: Artem Albul, TWA Consulting

As we can see, task allocation, while the more “controlling” of the two, also gives in-depth instructions and asks for confirmation on task clarity. A lot of it comes down to everyone being on the same page, leaving little to no room for misinterpretation (but also creative freedom).

How should you allocate tasks?

With all that we’ve mentioned in the previous section, here’s how your task allotment could look like, step by step.

• Break down your project

Detail out the goals, objectives, and some individual tasks (not all, be careful not to start micromanaging). Place the most important deadlines.

• Prioritize tasks and sort them

It’s important to know what tasks need to be done faster/better, to properly allocate your resources and manpower from the start.

• Make a list of teams and team members

Assign team leaders (if you don’t have them), and alternatively, ask for their input on individual employees skills, for a more informed decision on who gets what.

• Schedule a meeting

Make a meeting with the team leads and go through the points above. Assign tasks according to each team’s availability, interest, and skill required to successfully push the project forward.

• As team leads – assign tasks further down the pipeline
• Track task completion and make necessary changes along the way

Whether it’s pushing deadlines, reassigning tasks, or shifting around resources. This is perfectly fine and expected, so long as it doesn’t happen on every task you’ve assigned. Then, it is an indicator of poor pre-planning.

• Offer feedback and write performances

Don’t forget to track the progress and make notes of important details that might help the next task allocation/delegation process. It’s also a useful piece of information for the employees on what they need to improve on.

Allocating tasks is somewhat more complicated than we want it to be. But, this kind of thorough research and preparation will make projects run more smoothly. Employees will also be more satisfied with their work, and there will be less hurdles as deadlines approach.

When should you delegate tasks?

Delegation is a great practice in trust for both the employer/supervisor and the employee. The employer learns how to give away some of their control over the process, while the employee learns how to take more accountability for their work.

This lets you focus on big-picture aspects of your job, since you deal less with assignments that are low-priority for you. You save time and energy, while helping others move up in their careers.

How do you effectively delegate tasks as a leader?

As we’ve mentioned, delegating includes more employee independence. There are some additional components which make this type of task assignment more appealing than allocation, with great opportunities for growth.

Focus on delegating objectives instead of actual tasks

When you delegate, you focus on the objective that needs to be done. You shouldn’t give employees a “color by numbers” instruction on how to complete a task.

Communicate clearly what the end result should be and what expectations you (or the higher-ups) have. Leave the means for reaching that end goal to the employees themselves. Because how you solve a task may be completely different to how they will. And that is perfectly fine, so long as the result is the one you are looking for.

Keep the objectives challenging

When the objectives you’re delegating are too easy, chances are the person will either procrastinate, or feel like you don’t trust them enough. And if they’re too difficult, they get frustrated, anxious, and begin to panic.

It’s a good idea to be aware of an employee’s skill level, so you can gauge how much challenge and responsibility they can take on. For them to be the most productive and achieve great results, they need to enter “the state of Flow”.

Source: Optimal Experience , M. Csikszentmihalyi

💡 We’ve discussed the state of Flow in more detail in an article on time organization.

Encourage discussion and feedback

Let employees voice their opinions on the topic.

They should ask anything about the task, the goals, or the overall impact their work will have on the later stages or others’ workflow. It means they are interested in the task, and getting involved.

And if they aren’t asking questions themselves, you can always nudge them into proactivity.

• Is there something you’d like me to clarify?
• Do you already have any ideas on how to go about the task?
• Is the time we agreed upon enough for you?
• Will you need other resources, tools, or support?
• Do you see any problems or risks?

Questions like these help them feel valued, their efforts acknowledged, and let them know you care about the task and how well they perform. Just be careful not to overdo it, or you’ll start to look like a micromanager.

Give employees free rein, but offer support

Speaking of micromanaging, delegation means you let people problem-solve their way out on their own. There should be no reason for a manager to step in and control or supervise any step of the process, unless absolutely necessary.

However, what you should do is let them know you’re available for any advice should they feel stuck. Just because employees get authority on a certain task, and are left to their own devices, doesn’t mean the project has to suffer until they pull themselves up.

From time to time, ask them if they need anything from you, and make sure they know you’re there for any kind of support, consultation, or mediation. ANother good practice is to also give them additional learning opportunities – such as training, conferences, courses, etc.

Delegate objectives that move people forward

Choose assignments that boost the skills and employ all of their experiences, instead of something that simply needs to be done. For example:

• Tasks that require they brush up on their team communication skills;
• Learning how to allocate smaller tasks;
• Supervising others’ work and doing quality control;
• Learning to work with a new tool;
• Holding a meeting (or more), etc.

Find out which skills your employees may want or need to develop, and then plan your delegations accordingly. You want them to complete the task while having learned something new at the same time.

How to choose who to delegate to

Paul Beesley, senior director and consultant at Beyond Theory proposed a nifty checklist for when you’re choosing an employee to delegate to. It’s meant to simplify and speed up the process.

To successfully complete the delegated task, your chosen employee needs:

S – the skill to perform and complete a task

T – the time to complete the task, and if needed, learn the required skill

A – the authority to handle everything concerning the task

R – the necessary level of responsibility

R – the recognition for successfully completing the task

This list is a set of important criteria that should be covered when you consider who to assign to a specific task. However, depending on your niche, type of service, company size and the project at hand, the criteria are likely to change. And it should accommodate your needs, not the other way around.

Common task delegation mistakes to avoid

With all being said, there are some common mistakes managers and employers make, sometimes without even realizing it.

• Being too vague concerning deadlines (using: as soon as possible, when you get to it, I need it by yesterday). It creates unnecessary pressure.
• Being unavailable for questions and concerns. While you shouldn’t micromanage, you should still be present for support if an employee feels stuck. Ignoring them or handing them over to someone else could cause distrust. However, if you are usually swamped with work, set consultation hours each day or week.
• Having unclear directions. Specifying the allotted time for task completion and expectations should be the bare minimum when delegating tasks.
• Not providing feedback. No feedback is worse than bad feedback. Employees need to be aware when they’re doing good work, as well. In one company I worked for, the mantra was: “If no one is complaining about your work, that means you’re doing good”. And while it sounds like sound logic, it actually caused a lot of frustration. We were left directionless, and simply “floating” from task to task, never knowing if any of them had a positive impact on our performance.
• Not listening to employees. Take into account how they feel about a task or the objective. Let them give you feedback and if there are potential problems from the get-go.
• Assigning other people to the same task. If you notice a person struggling, the first instinct should be to ask them how they’re faring, and if they need any help. Some managers tend to assign other employees to help them without consultation, which leaves a sore taste. The employee will feel even more incompetent and will be less likely to take on a similar task in the future.
• Assuming people will know what you mean. This is one of the biggest problems. When you’re formulating a task, be as clear as possible about the goals and expectations. Oftentimes managers think that these things are implied, but the truth is – no one is a mind reader. To avoid having information misconstrued or misunderstood, communicate clearly and directly.

There could be more mistakes, especially for every different field and industry. If at all possible, identify the most common ones, made either by you or your peers. Note down all the instances where certain tasks weren’t up to par, and see what you could have changed in your assignment process to fix it. Maybe there wasn’t enough time or resources, you were unclear, or the employee wasn’t ready for such responsibility. Use the same procedure in all future task delegations. It’s the only way to learn and make the process quicker.

To conclude

Task assignment should be a very careful, thought-out process. It’s not just about reaching milestones in time. It’s about helping employees learn new skills, feel more satisfied with their position in the company, strengthen the trust between you and them, and ultimately help you refocus on the big picture.

By following the advice we’ve gathered, you will be on the right track to make some effective, healthy long-term changes to your company.

✉️ Have you found these tips helpful? Is there something we could have covered in more detail? What are your experiences with assigning tasks?

Send your answers, suggestions, and comments to [email protected] and we may include them in this or future posts.

Marijana Stojanovic is a writer and researcher who specializes in the topics of productivity and time management.

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Project Management Plan: Samples, Examples & Free Template

Learn how to create a project management plan that actually works and ensures you get your project over the line on time and on budget, with samples and examples

Table of Contents

What is a project management plan, what is a project management plan used for, what are the main elements of a project plan, how to write a project management plan, sample project management plan outline, using our project management plan template to build your project plan, project management plan: faq's.

A project management plan is a comprehensive document that outlines how a project will be executed, monitored, controlled and closed. For project managers and their teams, it's the ultimate toolkit for achieving their objectives while managing day-to-day pressures such as time, cost, scope, resourcing and risk. This guide outlines what a project management plan is used for, why it's important , and offers a step-by-step guide on how to make one that actually works.

Your project plan document is where you go deep on the ins, outs, overs, and unders of your project. It's where you break this vision down into the day-to-day execution of your project, covering everything you need to do to reach your project goals.

A detailed project plan will plot out everything from timelines to budget, resourcing to deliverables, and more, giving you a blueprint of what needs to be done (and when) that you can use to guide — and assess — your project.

The key components of a project management plan are:

Project Objectives

Scope Statement

Schedule Management

Cost Management

Resource Management

Communication Plan

Stakeholder Management

Procurement Management

Closure Criteria

Project Organization

Ready to get down to business? Here are 5 key things you need to do when writing a project plan.

1. Identify the baselines for your project

Before you begin writing a project plan, you need to make sure you have the basics down. Start by identifying the baselines for the project’s scope, schedule and cost, as the rest of your project planning will need to fit in around those constraints.

As mentioned above, these baselines should already be roughly outlined in your project charter — but here’s where you really start to map them out and create accurate estimates. And the more detailed, the better, because these are what you’ll be using for comparison to measure how your project performs.

2. Identify your project dependencies

Or in other words, ask yourself: what needs to happen before this other thing can happen? Identifying your project dependencies at the outset of your project means you can plan your timelines more efficiently, spot potential blockers, and ensure that you avoid unnecessary delays.

3. Identify project stakeholders

You’ll already have done the groundwork for this in your stakeholder analysis, but as you flesh out your project management plan and think through the phases of your project in more detail, you’ll likely start to find more project stakeholders at each phase.

Now is also a good time to go deeper on which stakeholders need to be informed and involved at which stages, for a more comprehensive stakeholder management plan you can use at each phase of your project.

4. Identify project milestones

What are the key markers of your project’s progress? It can be a concrete deliverable, the end of a phase in a stage-gate process — whatever milestones make sense to you, breaking your project down into manageable chunks, each with a defined goal, helps to keep the team motivated, allows you to celebrate each achievement, and signposts how the overall progress is coming along.  Learn more about using Milestones here .

5. Identify who’s responsible for what

Once you start to get a big-picture understanding of the work that’s needed and the resources you have to complete it, you can start deciding who should do what. Giving each item an owner is essential to getting things done. No more “oh, was I supposed to do that?” — once you identify who’s responsible for what, you can ensure accountability and transparency.

The 5 Stages of Team Development

All teams develop according to some natural patterns and using that knowledge, you can offer some guidance to build the kind of team that communicates well and finds better ways to collaborate and achieve the goals you’ve established. Here’s what you need to know.

Now let's go through a sample project plan. In the below example, we highlight the main sections of the plan and what needs to be included in each one to set your project up for success.

Section 1: Executive summary

The executive summary offers a concise overview of the entire project. It includes key highlights such as the project's purpose, objectives, scope, timeline, budget, and major stakeholders. It's often the first section stakeholders read to get a high-level understanding of the project.

Section 2: Project introduction

This section sets the stage by providing context and background information about the project. It explains why the project is being undertaken and introduces the main objectives and scope of the project.

Section 3: Project objectives

Here, the project's specific goals and objectives are outlined in detail. Objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) to provide clarity and guidance.

Section 4: Project scope

The scope section defines what is included and excluded from the project. It helps prevent scope creep by establishing clear boundaries and also mentions any assumptions and constraints that may affect the project.

Section 5: Schedule management

This section details the project's timeline, including milestones and deadlines. It breaks down the project into tasks and identifies task dependencies. Often, visual representations like Gantt charts are used for clarity.

Section 6: Cost management

Here, the project budget is presented, including cost estimates for various project components. It may also outline cost control measures to ensure the project stays within budget.

Section 7: Quality management

This section focuses on the quality standards and objectives for the project. It describes quality control and assurance processes, as well as any inspection and testing procedures that will be implemented.

Project management template

Save time on setup without sacrificing attention to detail. With our project management template, you can quickly create project management plans that help you complete your project on time and on budget.

Section 8: Resource management

In this section, the project team is introduced, and roles and responsibilities are defined. It addresses resource allocation, scheduling, and, if applicable, procurement needs.

Section 9: Risk management

The risk management section identifies potential risks and uncertainties that could impact the project. It discusses risk assessment, prioritization, and mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of these risks.

Section 10: Communication plan

The communication plan outlines how project information will be shared with stakeholders and team members. It specifies communication methods, frequency, and reporting channels to ensure effective communication throughout the project.

Section 11: Stakeholder management

This section lists project stakeholders and analyzes their interests, influence, and expectations. It also outlines strategies for engaging and managing these stakeholders to ensure their needs are addressed.

Section 12: Procurement management

If procurement of goods or services is involved, this section explains the procurement strategy, vendor selection criteria, and how contracts will be managed.

Section 13: Change management

Change management procedures are detailed here, including how changes to the project scope, schedule, or other aspects will be requested, evaluated, approved, and communicated.

Section 14: Closure criteria

Criteria for determining when the project is complete and ready for closure are specified in this section. It may also include plans for project handover and post-project evaluation.

Section 15: Project organization

This section describes the project team's structure, roles, and responsibilities, ensuring everyone understands their positions and reporting lines. It may also mention external stakeholders and their roles if applicable.

Once you’ve documented your project management plan, bring it to life with a project management tool that will help you to stay on track, keep your team accountable, and promote transparency.

Here are 3 ways you can use Teamwork.com to supercharge your project management plan.

Add your supporting documentation to Teamwork Spaces

Use the Teamwork.com and Teamwork Spaces integration to link a project in Teamwork.com with a space in Teamwork Spaces, so your important project documents are only ever a click away.

Some documents you might want to add in addition to your project charter and project management plan include:

Scoping documents

Risk assessments

Change management plans

SOPs for important project processes

List of stakeholders and their roles

Outline of approval processes

Communications management plan

Any other best practices documentation or supporting info as necessary

You can even embed task lists into your pages and mark tasks as complete right from Teamwork Spaces, so you can keep work flowing without even needing to switch tabs.

Start adding your Milestones

Break down your work into Milestones and task lists that are going to help you reach them. With Teamwork.com, you can assign an owner to each Milestone, map out your Milestone due dates and see them represented in the project calendar, and even get a full change history for milestones so you can track any edits.

Visualize your task dependencies with a Gantt chart

Gantt chart-style views are a useful way to get a visual representation of your tasks and their dependencies, allowing for better scheduling and resourcing. In Teamwork.com, you can drag and drop to quickly rearrange your project schedule , without throwing everything out of order or straying off-plan.

Remember: software should support the way you work, not dictate it. So regardless of methodology or team type, create a project plan that works for you and your team — and find a tool that helps you put it into action.

Use our project plan template

Now that you know how to create a project management plan that actually works, you’re ready to implement using our team management software . To help you get up and running quickly, we’ve created a ready to use project plan template . Our project template will help you quickly create project plans that ensure all of your projects are completed on time and on budget

What is a project management plan template?

A project management plan template is a pre-designed framework that provides a structured format for creating a project management plan. It serves as a starting point for project managers and teams to develop their specific project plans, saving time and ensuring that key project management components are properly addressed.

How can a template help you build a great project management plan?

A template can help you build a great project management plan by saving time, ensuring comprehensive coverage of project management aspects, and incorporating industry best practices and visual aids for clarity. They also support collaboration, version control, and customization to fit the unique needs of each project, making them a valuable tool for project managers in achieving successful project outcomes.

What is the main purpose of a project management plan?

The main purpose of a project management plan is to provide a comprehensive and structured roadmap for successfully executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing a project. It serves as a central document that outlines project objectives, scope, schedule, budget, quality standards, resource allocation, risk management strategies, and communication approaches.

What tools do I need to help manage a project plan?

To effectively manage a project plan, you'll need a set of tools and software that cover various aspects of project management. These include project management software, communication and collaboration platforms, file and document management solutions, time and task tracking apps, and budgeting and financial management tools.

What steps are involved in the project planning process?

The steps involved in the project planning process include defining specific project objectives and scope, identifying deliverables and key milestones, budgets, risk assessment and quality control measures. It should also include a communication plan and stakeholder engagement strategies.

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• How-to Guides

Tips for Students: Writing Project Management Assignments

by MyMG Team · Published March 23, 2020 · Updated February 7, 2024

Is it confusing for you to kickstart the writing process for your project management assignment? Does all that jargon like sustainability strategies, project feasibility, or risk mitigation make you feel stressed?

What is the best way to highlight your challenging project management topic acceptably?

‘Phew, what a challenging paper! How can I find a professional writer to deal with these boring assignments?”

Ok, we hear you. You can do it online in a matter of minutes. In fact, assignment writing help services can take all your project management paper worries away and deliver you a custom essay or even a 5-star dissertation without any hassle for you.

Sounds fantastic? That’s exactly what they do.

“Ok, cool. Is this a reliable way to deal with my papers?” Sure. Unless you are super lazy and want to turn them in without any modifications.

“What do you mean?” If you want to avoid any troubles in your college or university and have no time/desire to write your assignment on your own, you can look for expert help online.

However, once you get a well-written paper on your topic from the expert writer in that subject area, you need to rewrite it and modify it to some extent.

If you do this, nobody will ever accuse you of cheating or plagiarism, and you’ll save tons of time instead of completing your assignment from scratch.

Now, let’s explore the top tips for writing your project management assignments.

Get Enough Time for Writing

Essay writing is an essential academic skill. To create amazing papers, it’s crucial to have a great essay writing competence. How do you get it? Through practice. Write often. Write a lot.

One of the golden rules of writing any kind of essay is to make sure you get enough time in your schedule for research and writing.

Understand that you need some time to complete the work without being in a rush. Rarely, you can come up with an exceptional essay overnight. For this, you need to be really motivated, inspired and loaded with facts, arguments, and brilliant ideas.

Of course, there needs to be adequate time for choosing a topic, doing the research, reading all the materials and taking notes, gathering the notes into a logical order to form an outline, and writing the essay. Without doing all these things, you won’t be able to submit a top-grade paper on time.

Once you finish writing your paper, you still need to put in some work. What does it mean? Your essay needs to be proofread, edited, and polished up.

Every student works at a different pace, so discovering how much time is needed is an individual thing, and the first most crucial essay writing skill.

Choosing a topic

This step is central to a knockout essay. That’s because the topic can make or break the article. Choose it carefully if you have such an opportunity. If the instructor has assigned a topic, then it is up to you to find a perfect angle on the topic to base your essay on.

Photo by Dollar Gill on Unsplash

Research and taking notes

The research phase is where the student dives into what others have written about the general topic. This step could be done before step 2 if the student needs help narrowing down the topic or the angle on the topic.

Jotting down notes during the reading and referencing the source for the notes will save tons of time later on in writing.

Forming the Outline and Writing the Essay

The notes are organized into groups that logically fit together. A description for each set is like a subheading. These can be arranged in chronological order or organized in a fashion that flows well from one idea to the next. This is the outline of the body of the essay.

Writing the essay consists of filling in the details for each of the sections in the outline. It includes writing a captivating opening paragraph and a memorable summary at the end.

Proofreading and editing

Unfortunately, this important step is often missed. Even the best essays will fail without detailed proofreading and in-depth editing.

It is best if this step is done by another person, as it is easy for a writer to overlook their own mistakes in assignment writing.

The proofreader and editor should be someone who is really good at writing, not just a neighbour or friend because they are available and free.

So now you know all the basic steps that you need to take to be able to submit a winning project management assignment on time. Don’t just sleep on these tips. Put them into work and you will see the results.

Alternatively, you may always choose a service for you to assist.

Tags: project manager student tasks writing

We are a small group of professionals specializing in project management. We wish you success in your career, business, studies, or whatever else you think is worth your time and effort—we are pleased to know that our advice is helpful.

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Understanding Assignments

What this handout is about.

The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects. See our short video for more tips.

Basic beginnings

Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well :

• Read the assignment carefully as soon as you receive it. Do not put this task off—reading the assignment at the beginning will save you time, stress, and problems later. An assignment can look pretty straightforward at first, particularly if the instructor has provided lots of information. That does not mean it will not take time and effort to complete; you may even have to learn a new skill to complete the assignment.
• Ask the instructor about anything you do not understand. Do not hesitate to approach your instructor. Instructors would prefer to set you straight before you hand the paper in. That’s also when you will find their feedback most useful.

Assignment formats

Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.

An Overview of Some Kind

The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example:

“Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”

The Task of the Assignment

Pay attention; this part tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. (See the section in this handout titled “Key Terms” for more information.)

“Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution”, or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”

Additional Material to Think about

Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic.

“You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils, or Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”

These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations:

“Be concise”, “Write effectively”, or “Argue furiously.”

Technical Details

These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines.

“Your paper must be typed in Palatino font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.”

The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.

Interpreting the assignment

Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:

Why did your instructor ask you to do this particular task?

Who is your audience.

• What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?

What kind of writing style is acceptable?

• What are the absolute rules of the paper?

Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.

Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that he or she will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor. For help with this, see our handout on getting feedback .

Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.

Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs

Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:

Information words Ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.

• define —give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning
• describe —provide details about the subject by answering question words (such as who, what, when, where, how, and why); you might also give details related to the five senses (what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell)
• explain —give reasons why or examples of how something happened
• illustrate —give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject
• summarize —briefly list the important ideas you learned about the subject
• trace —outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form
• research —gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you have found

Relation words Ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.

• compare —show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different)
• contrast —show how two or more things are dissimilar
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation
• cause —show how one event or series of events made something else happen
• relate —show or describe the connections between things

Interpretation words Ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.

• assess —summarize your opinion of the subject and measure it against something
• prove, justify —give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth
• evaluate, respond —state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons
• support —give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe)
• synthesize —put two or more things together that have not been put together in class or in your readings before; do not just summarize one and then the other and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together that runs all the way through the paper
• analyze —determine how individual parts create or relate to the whole, figure out how something works, what it might mean, or why it is important
• argue —take a side and defend it with evidence against the other side

More Clues to Your Purpose As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class:

• What kinds of textbooks or coursepack did your instructor choose for the course—ones that provide background information, explain theories or perspectives, or argue a point of view?
• In lecture, does your instructor ask your opinion, try to prove her point of view, or use keywords that show up again in the assignment?
• What kinds of assignments are typical in this discipline? Social science classes often expect more research. Humanities classes thrive on interpretation and analysis.
• How do the assignments, readings, and lectures work together in the course? Instructors spend time designing courses, sometimes even arguing with their peers about the most effective course materials. Figuring out the overall design to the course will help you understand what each assignment is meant to achieve.

Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, he or she still has to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.

Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.

• Tone means the “voice” of your paper. Should you be chatty, formal, or objective? Usually you will find some happy medium—you do not want to alienate your reader by sounding condescending or superior, but you do not want to, um, like, totally wig on the man, you know? Eschew ostentatious erudition: some students think the way to sound academic is to use big words. Be careful—you can sound ridiculous, especially if you use the wrong big words.
• The level of information you use depends on who you think your audience is. If you imagine your audience as your instructor and she already knows everything you have to say, you may find yourself leaving out key information that can cause your argument to be unconvincing and illogical. But you do not have to explain every single word or issue. If you are telling your roommate what happened on your favorite science fiction TV show last night, you do not say, “First a dark-haired white man of average height, wearing a suit and carrying a flashlight, walked into the room. Then a purple alien with fifteen arms and at least three eyes turned around. Then the man smiled slightly. In the background, you could hear a clock ticking. The room was fairly dark and had at least two windows that I saw.” You also do not say, “This guy found some aliens. The end.” Find some balance of useful details that support your main point.

You’ll find a much more detailed discussion of these concepts in our handout on audience .

The Grim Truth

With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”

So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with bourbon.” Instead, you could say, “Of all the oral cleaning methods, sandblasting removes the most plaque. Therefore it should be recommended by the American Dental Association.” Or, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”

Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present. For help with understanding the role of argument in academic writing, see our handout on argument .

What kind of evidence do you need?

There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.

Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly—see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.

Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality she or he expects.

No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal. For specific help with style, see our handout on style .

Technical details about the assignment

The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format (see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial ) are negotiable. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.

Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.

Tricks that don’t work

Your instructors are not fooled when you:

• spend more time on the cover page than the essay —graphics, cool binders, and cute titles are no replacement for a well-written paper.
• use huge fonts, wide margins, or extra spacing to pad the page length —these tricks are immediately obvious to the eye. Most instructors use the same word processor you do. They know what’s possible. Such tactics are especially damning when the instructor has a stack of 60 papers to grade and yours is the only one that low-flying airplane pilots could read.
• use a paper from another class that covered “sort of similar” material . Again, the instructor has a particular task for you to fulfill in the assignment that usually relates to course material and lectures. Your other paper may not cover this material, and turning in the same paper for more than one course may constitute an Honor Code violation . Ask the instructor—it can’t hurt.
• get all wacky and “creative” before you answer the question . Showing that you are able to think beyond the boundaries of a simple assignment can be good, but you must do what the assignment calls for first. Again, check with your instructor. A humorous tone can be refreshing for someone grading a stack of papers, but it will not get you a good grade if you have not fulfilled the task.

Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How to Start an Assignment

Last Updated: January 29, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Michelle Golden, PhD . Michelle Golden is an English teacher in Athens, Georgia. She received her MA in Language Arts Teacher Education in 2008 and received her PhD in English from Georgia State University in 2015. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 105,817 times.

Getting started on an assignment or homework can often times be the hardest step. Putting off the assignment can make the problem worse, reducing the time you have to complete the task and increasing stress. By learning how to get started and overcome the urge to procrastinate, you can get your assignments done on schedule and with less stress, opening up more free time.

Restructuring Your Assignment

• For example, you might research areas of a report that you find most interesting before moving on to other areas.
• If your math assignment has different types of questions, try doing those that you enjoy the most before moving on to the others.
• You might also try tackling smaller or easier tasks first so you can cross a few items off your list. Seeing that you've already made progress may help you feel motivated to continue.

• Promise yourself that you will meet your goal of working for five minutes on the assignment.
• Once you get started, you may find that you don't want to stop working. Otherwise, you can take a break and come back to the assignment, knowing you're at least five minutes closer to finishing than you were before.

• Try to set reasonable periods of time that you know you can meet. For example, you might set aside two hours on a Friday to dedicate to your assignment. If you don't have that much time all at once, try to carve out a few 20- or 30-minute blocks.
• You may or may not wish to continue working after your time limit has gone by.
• Have a realistic understanding of how fast you can write and plan your schedule accordingly.

• It can help to read the assignment as soon as you get it and then ask any questions you might have.
• If you're not sure if you understand the assignment, try rewriting it in your own words or explaining it to someone else. If you find you can't or have a lot of questions, you may need more information.
• You should have an overview of the assignment, understand the main task, and understand the technical and stylistic requirements.
• Look for important words in the instructions to understand the assignment. These words might include define, explain, compare, relate, or prove.
• Keep your audience in mind and write a paper that would best deliver information to them.

• Goals that are too big or not well defined can be difficult to start working towards.
• Smaller and well defined goals can seem easier to achieve than larger ones.
• For example, you could break a research paper down into several smaller tasks: 1) do preliminary research, 2) write an outline, 3) draft an introduction, 4) draft body paragraphs, 5) write conclusion, 6) revise. Each of these is much more do-able on its own.

Changing Your Focus

• You might want to go for a quick walk after working for a set amount of time.
• Try reading a website or book that you enjoy for a few minutes after working.
• Alternatively, try a quick burst of exercise before setting to work. Exercise releases feel-good chemicals called endorphins and can also help boost your memory. [8] X Research source

• Instead of dreading your work, focus on how good it will feel to make progress. You won't have it hanging over your head. You can actually enjoy the weekend instead of feeling guilty.
• Keeping your eye on long-term rewards can help you stay motivated to finish your assignment.

• Avoid moving your workspace constantly.
• Don't get lost on tangential research.
• Don't take constant breaks to get a snack.

• For every hour you waste procrastinating, you can limit how much television you watch that night.
• If you waste too much time procrastinating, you might deny yourself a favorite snack later on.

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/solving-unsolvable-problems/201408/4-steps-stop-procrastinating
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/friendship-20/201405/the-surefire-first-step-stop-procrastinating
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/procrastination/
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/homework.html
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/understanding-assignments/
• ↑ https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/ab22ff64-3358-4387-9761-8c58878a6b84/resource/3ee38320-17e4-46f9-b24f-c95f9f345eb9/download/ipp7.pdf
• ↑ http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/how-exercise-can-help-us-learn/
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/happy-life.html

About This Article

To start an assignment, try working on the most enjoyable or easiest parts of the assignment first to get the ball rolling. Even if no part of the assignment seems enjoyable or easy, set a timer and try to make yourself work for at least 5 minutes, which is usually enough time to build momentum and overcome procrastination. You can also try breaking your assignment up into smaller, more manageable tasks and scheduling yourself regular breaks so it doesn't seem as overwhelming. To learn how to stay positive and avoid procrastination while working on your homework, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Teaching, Learning, & Professional Development Center

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How Do I Create Meaningful and Effective Assignments?

Prepared by allison boye, ph.d. teaching, learning, and professional development center.

Assessment is a necessary part of the teaching and learning process, helping us measure whether our students have really learned what we want them to learn. While exams and quizzes are certainly favorite and useful methods of assessment, out of class assignments (written or otherwise) can offer similar insights into our students' learning.  And just as creating a reliable test takes thoughtfulness and skill, so does creating meaningful and effective assignments. Undoubtedly, many instructors have been on the receiving end of disappointing student work, left wondering what went wrong… and often, those problems can be remedied in the future by some simple fine-tuning of the original assignment.  This paper will take a look at some important elements to consider when developing assignments, and offer some easy approaches to creating a valuable assessment experience for all involved.

First Things First…

Before assigning any major tasks to students, it is imperative that you first define a few things for yourself as the instructor:

• Your goals for the assignment . Why are you assigning this project, and what do you hope your students will gain from completing it? What knowledge, skills, and abilities do you aim to measure with this assignment?  Creating assignments is a major part of overall course design, and every project you assign should clearly align with your goals for the course in general.  For instance, if you want your students to demonstrate critical thinking, perhaps asking them to simply summarize an article is not the best match for that goal; a more appropriate option might be to ask for an analysis of a controversial issue in the discipline. Ultimately, the connection between the assignment and its purpose should be clear to both you and your students to ensure that it is fulfilling the desired goals and doesn't seem like “busy work.” For some ideas about what kinds of assignments match certain learning goals, take a look at this page from DePaul University's Teaching Commons.
• Have they experienced “socialization” in the culture of your discipline (Flaxman, 2005)? Are they familiar with any conventions you might want them to know? In other words, do they know the “language” of your discipline, generally accepted style guidelines, or research protocols?
• Do they know how to conduct research?  Do they know the proper style format, documentation style, acceptable resources, etc.? Do they know how to use the library (Fitzpatrick, 1989) or evaluate resources?
• What kinds of writing or work have they previously engaged in?  For instance, have they completed long, formal writing assignments or research projects before? Have they ever engaged in analysis, reflection, or argumentation? Have they completed group assignments before?  Do they know how to write a literature review or scientific report?

In his book Engaging Ideas (1996), John Bean provides a great list of questions to help instructors focus on their main teaching goals when creating an assignment (p.78):

1. What are the main units/modules in my course?

2. What are my main learning objectives for each module and for the course?

3. What thinking skills am I trying to develop within each unit and throughout the course?

4. What are the most difficult aspects of my course for students?

5. If I could change my students' study habits, what would I most like to change?

6. What difference do I want my course to make in my students' lives?

What your students need to know

Once you have determined your own goals for the assignment and the levels of your students, you can begin creating your assignment.  However, when introducing your assignment to your students, there are several things you will need to clearly outline for them in order to ensure the most successful assignments possible.

• First, you will need to articulate the purpose of the assignment . Even though you know why the assignment is important and what it is meant to accomplish, you cannot assume that your students will intuit that purpose. Your students will appreciate an understanding of how the assignment fits into the larger goals of the course and what they will learn from the process (Hass & Osborn, 2007). Being transparent with your students and explaining why you are asking them to complete a given assignment can ultimately help motivate them to complete the assignment more thoughtfully.
• If you are asking your students to complete a writing assignment, you should define for them the “rhetorical or cognitive mode/s” you want them to employ in their writing (Flaxman, 2005). In other words, use precise verbs that communicate whether you are asking them to analyze, argue, describe, inform, etc.  (Verbs like “explore” or “comment on” can be too vague and cause confusion.) Provide them with a specific task to complete, such as a problem to solve, a question to answer, or an argument to support.  For those who want assignments to lead to top-down, thesis-driven writing, John Bean (1996) suggests presenting a proposition that students must defend or refute, or a problem that demands a thesis answer.
• It is also a good idea to define the audience you want your students to address with their assignment, if possible – especially with writing assignments.  Otherwise, students will address only the instructor, often assuming little requires explanation or development (Hedengren, 2004; MIT, 1999). Further, asking students to address the instructor, who typically knows more about the topic than the student, places the student in an unnatural rhetorical position.  Instead, you might consider asking your students to prepare their assignments for alternative audiences such as other students who missed last week's classes, a group that opposes their position, or people reading a popular magazine or newspaper.  In fact, a study by Bean (1996) indicated the students often appreciate and enjoy assignments that vary elements such as audience or rhetorical context, so don't be afraid to get creative!
• Obviously, you will also need to articulate clearly the logistics or “business aspects” of the assignment . In other words, be explicit with your students about required elements such as the format, length, documentation style, writing style (formal or informal?), and deadlines.  One caveat, however: do not allow the logistics of the paper take precedence over the content in your assignment description; if you spend all of your time describing these things, students might suspect that is all you care about in their execution of the assignment.
• Finally, you should clarify your evaluation criteria for the assignment. What elements of content are most important? Will you grade holistically or weight features separately? How much weight will be given to individual elements, etc?  Another precaution to take when defining requirements for your students is to take care that your instructions and rubric also do not overshadow the content; prescribing too rigidly each element of an assignment can limit students' freedom to explore and discover. According to Beth Finch Hedengren, “A good assignment provides the purpose and guidelines… without dictating exactly what to say” (2004, p. 27).  If you decide to utilize a grading rubric, be sure to provide that to the students along with the assignment description, prior to their completion of the assignment.

A great way to get students engaged with an assignment and build buy-in is to encourage their collaboration on its design and/or on the grading criteria (Hudd, 2003). In his article “Conducting Writing Assignments,” Richard Leahy (2002) offers a few ideas for building in said collaboration:

• Ask the students to develop the grading scale themselves from scratch, starting with choosing the categories.

• Set the grading categories yourself, but ask the students to help write the descriptions.

• Draft the complete grading scale yourself, then give it to your students for review and suggestions.

A Few Do's and Don'ts…

Determining your goals for the assignment and its essential logistics is a good start to creating an effective assignment. However, there are a few more simple factors to consider in your final design. First, here are a few things you should do :

• Do provide detail in your assignment description . Research has shown that students frequently prefer some guiding constraints when completing assignments (Bean, 1996), and that more detail (within reason) can lead to more successful student responses.  One idea is to provide students with physical assignment handouts , in addition to or instead of a simple description in a syllabus.  This can meet the needs of concrete learners and give them something tangible to refer to.  Likewise, it is often beneficial to make explicit for students the process or steps necessary to complete an assignment, given that students – especially younger ones – might need guidance in planning and time management (MIT, 1999).
• Do use open-ended questions.  The most effective and challenging assignments focus on questions that lead students to thinking and explaining, rather than simple yes or no answers, whether explicitly part of the assignment description or in the  brainstorming heuristics (Gardner, 2005).
• Do direct students to appropriate available resources . Giving students pointers about other venues for assistance can help them get started on the right track independently. These kinds of suggestions might include information about campus resources such as the University Writing Center or discipline-specific librarians, suggesting specific journals or books, or even sections of their textbook, or providing them with lists of research ideas or links to acceptable websites.
• Do consider providing models – both successful and unsuccessful models (Miller, 2007). These models could be provided by past students, or models you have created yourself.  You could even ask students to evaluate the models themselves using the determined evaluation criteria, helping them to visualize the final product, think critically about how to complete the assignment, and ideally, recognize success in their own work.
• Do consider including a way for students to make the assignment their own. In their study, Hass and Osborn (2007) confirmed the importance of personal engagement for students when completing an assignment.  Indeed, students will be more engaged in an assignment if it is personally meaningful, practical, or purposeful beyond the classroom.  You might think of ways to encourage students to tap into their own experiences or curiosities, to solve or explore a real problem, or connect to the larger community.  Offering variety in assignment selection can also help students feel more individualized, creative, and in control.
• If your assignment is substantial or long, do consider sequencing it. Far too often, assignments are given as one-shot final products that receive grades at the end of the semester, eternally abandoned by the student.  By sequencing a large assignment, or essentially breaking it down into a systematic approach consisting of interconnected smaller elements (such as a project proposal, an annotated bibliography, or a rough draft, or a series of mini-assignments related to the longer assignment), you can encourage thoughtfulness, complexity, and thoroughness in your students, as well as emphasize process over final product.

Next are a few elements to avoid in your assignments:

• Do not ask too many questions in your assignment.  In an effort to challenge students, instructors often err in the other direction, asking more questions than students can reasonably address in a single assignment without losing focus. Offering an overly specific “checklist” prompt often leads to externally organized papers, in which inexperienced students “slavishly follow the checklist instead of integrating their ideas into more organically-discovered structure” (Flaxman, 2005).
• Do not expect or suggest that there is an “ideal” response to the assignment. A common error for instructors is to dictate content of an assignment too rigidly, or to imply that there is a single correct response or a specific conclusion to reach, either explicitly or implicitly (Flaxman, 2005). Undoubtedly, students do not appreciate feeling as if they must read an instructor's mind to complete an assignment successfully, or that their own ideas have nowhere to go, and can lose motivation as a result. Similarly, avoid assignments that simply ask for regurgitation (Miller, 2007). Again, the best assignments invite students to engage in critical thinking, not just reproduce lectures or readings.
• Do not provide vague or confusing commands . Do students know what you mean when they are asked to “examine” or “discuss” a topic? Return to what you determined about your students' experiences and levels to help you decide what directions will make the most sense to them and what will require more explanation or guidance, and avoid verbiage that might confound them.
• Do not impose impossible time restraints or require the use of insufficient resources for completion of the assignment.  For instance, if you are asking all of your students to use the same resource, ensure that there are enough copies available for all students to access – or at least put one copy on reserve in the library. Likewise, make sure that you are providing your students with ample time to locate resources and effectively complete the assignment (Fitzpatrick, 1989).

The assignments we give to students don't simply have to be research papers or reports. There are many options for effective yet creative ways to assess your students' learning! Here are just a few:

Journals, Posters, Portfolios, Letters, Brochures, Management plans, Editorials, Instruction Manuals, Imitations of a text, Case studies, Debates, News release, Dialogues, Videos, Collages, Plays, Power Point presentations

Ultimately, the success of student responses to an assignment often rests on the instructor's deliberate design of the assignment. By being purposeful and thoughtful from the beginning, you can ensure that your assignments will not only serve as effective assessment methods, but also engage and delight your students. If you would like further help in constructing or revising an assignment, the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center is glad to offer individual consultations. In addition, look into some of the resources provided below.

Online Resources

“Creating Effective Assignments” http://www.unh.edu/teaching-excellence/resources/Assignments.htm This site, from the University of New Hampshire's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning,  provides a brief overview of effective assignment design, with a focus on determining and communicating goals and expectations.

Gardner, T.  (2005, June 12). Ten Tips for Designing Writing Assignments. Traci's Lists of Ten. http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/034.shtml This is a brief yet useful list of tips for assignment design, prepared by a writing teacher and curriculum developer for the National Council of Teachers of English .  The website will also link you to several other lists of “ten tips” related to literacy pedagogy.

“How to Create Effective Assignments for College Students.”  http:// tilt.colostate.edu/retreat/2011/zimmerman.pdf     This PDF is a simplified bulleted list, prepared by Dr. Toni Zimmerman from Colorado State University, offering some helpful ideas for coming up with creative assignments.

“Learner-Centered Assessment” http://cte.uwaterloo.ca/teaching_resources/tips/learner_centered_assessment.html From the Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, this is a short list of suggestions for the process of designing an assessment with your students' interests in mind. “Matching Learning Goals to Assignment Types.” http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/How_to/design_assignments/assignments_learning_goals.html This is a great page from DePaul University's Teaching Commons, providing a chart that helps instructors match assignments with learning goals.

Additional References Bean, J.C. (1996). Engaging ideas: The professor's guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Fitzpatrick, R. (1989). Research and writing assignments that reduce fear lead to better papers and more confident students. Writing Across the Curriculum , 3.2, pp. 15 – 24.

Flaxman, R. (2005). Creating meaningful writing assignments. The Teaching Exchange .  Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008 from http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Sheridan_Center/pubs/teachingExchange/jan2005/01_flaxman.pdf

Hass, M. & Osborn, J. (2007, August 13). An emic view of student writing and the writing process. Across the Disciplines, 4. 

Hedengren, B.F. (2004). A TA's guide to teaching writing in all disciplines . Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Hudd, S. S. (2003, April). Syllabus under construction: Involving students in the creation of class assignments.  Teaching Sociology , 31, pp. 195 – 202.

Leahy, R. (2002). Conducting writing assignments. College Teaching , 50.2, pp. 50 – 54.

Miller, H. (2007). Designing effective writing assignments.  Teaching with writing .  University of Minnesota Center for Writing. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008, from http://writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/designing.html

MIT Online Writing and Communication Center (1999). Creating Writing Assignments. Retrieved January 9, 2008 from http://web.mit.edu/writing/Faculty/createeffective.html .

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How to Write a Perfect Assignment: Step-By-Step Guide

Table of contents

• 1 How to Structure an Assignment?
• 2.1 The research part
• 2.2 Planning your text
• 2.3 Writing major parts
• 3 Expert Tips for your Writing Assignment
• 4 Will I succeed with my assignments?
• 5 Conclusion

How to Structure an Assignment?

To cope with assignments, you should familiarize yourself with the tips on formatting and presenting assignments or any written paper, which are given below. It is worth paying attention to the content of the paper, making it structured and understandable so that ideas are not lost and thoughts do not refute each other.

If the topic is free or you can choose from the given list — be sure to choose the one you understand best. Especially if that could affect your semester score or scholarship. It is important to select an  engaging title that is contextualized within your topic. A topic that should captivate you or at least give you a general sense of what is needed there. It’s easier to dwell upon what interests you, so the process goes faster.

To construct an assignment structure, use outlines. These are pieces of text that relate to your topic. It can be ideas, quotes, all your thoughts, or disparate arguments. Type in everything that you think about. Separate thoughts scattered across the sheets of Word will help in the next step.

Then it is time to form the text. At this stage, you have to form a coherent story from separate pieces, where each new thought reinforces the previous one, and one idea smoothly flows into another.

Main Steps of Assignment Writing

These are steps to take to get a worthy paper. If you complete these step-by-step, your text will be among the most exemplary ones.

The research part

If the topic is unique and no one has written about it yet, look at materials close to this topic to gain thoughts about it. You should feel that you are ready to express your thoughts. Also, while reading, get acquainted with the format of the articles, study the details, collect material for your thoughts, and accumulate different points of view for your article. Be careful at this stage, as the process can help you develop your ideas. If you are already struggling here, pay for assignment to be done , and it will be processed in a split second via special services. These services are especially helpful when the deadline is near as they guarantee fast delivery of high-quality papers on any subject.

If you use Google to search for material for your assignment, you will, of course, find a lot of information very quickly. Still, the databases available on your library’s website will give you the clearest and most reliable facts that satisfy your teacher or professor. Be sure you copy the addresses of all the web pages you will use when composing your paper, so you don’t lose them. You can use them later in your bibliography if you add a bit of description! Select resources and extract quotes from them that you can use while working. At this stage, you may also create a  request for late assignment if you realize the paper requires a lot of effort and is time-consuming. This way, you’ll have a backup plan if something goes wrong.

Planning your text

Assemble a layout. It may be appropriate to use the structure of the paper of some outstanding scientists in your field and argue it in one of the parts. As the planning progresses, you can add suggestions that come to mind. If you use citations that require footnotes, and if you use single spacing throughout the paper and double spacing at the end, it will take you a very long time to make sure that all the citations are on the exact pages you specified! Add a reference list or bibliography. If you haven’t already done so, don’t put off writing an essay until the last day. It will be more difficult to do later as you will be stressed out because of time pressure.

Writing major parts

It happens that there is simply no mood or strength to get started and zero thoughts. In that case, postpone this process for 2-3 hours, and, perhaps, soon, you will be able to start with renewed vigor. Writing essays is a great (albeit controversial) way to improve your skills. This experience will not be forgotten. It will certainly come in handy and bring many benefits in the future. Do your best here because asking for an extension is not always possible, so you probably won’t have time to redo it later. And the quality of this part defines the success of the whole paper.

Writing the major part does not mean the matter is finished. To review the text, make sure that the ideas of the introduction and conclusion coincide because such a discrepancy is the first thing that will catch the reader’s eye and can spoil the impression. Add or remove anything from your intro to edit it to fit the entire paper. Also, check your spelling and grammar to ensure there are no typos or draft comments. Check the sources of your quotes so that your it is honest and does not violate any rules. And do not forget the formatting rules.

with the right tips and guidance, it can be easier than it looks. To make the process even more straightforward, students can also use an assignment service to get the job done. This way they can get professional assistance and make sure that their assignments are up to the mark. At PapersOwl, we provide a professional writing service where students can order custom-made assignments that meet their exact requirements.

Expert Tips for your Writing Assignment

Want to write like a pro? Here’s what you should consider:

• Save the document! Send the finished document by email to yourself so you have a backup copy in case your computer crashes.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to complete a list of citations or a bibliography after the paper is finished. It will be much longer and more difficult, so add to them as you go.
• If you find a lot of information on the topic of your search, then arrange it in a separate paragraph.
• If possible, choose a topic that you know and are interested in.
• Believe in yourself! If you set yourself up well and use your limited time wisely, you will be able to deliver the paper on time.
• Do not copy information directly from the Internet without citing them.

Writing assignments is a tedious and time-consuming process. It requires a lot of research and hard work to produce a quality paper. However, if you are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty understanding the concept, you may want to consider getting accounting homework help online . Professional experts can assist you in understanding how to complete your assignment effectively. PapersOwl.com offers expert help from highly qualified and experienced writers who can provide you with the homework help you need.

Will I succeed with my assignments?

Anyone can learn how to be good at writing: follow simple rules of creating the structure and be creative where it is appropriate. At one moment, you will need some additional study tools, study support, or solid study tips. And you can easily get help in writing assignments or any other work. This is especially useful since the strategy of learning how to write an assignment can take more time than a student has.

Therefore all students are happy that there is an option to  order your paper at a professional service to pass all the courses perfectly and sleep still at night. You can also find the sample of the assignment there to check if you are on the same page and if not — focus on your papers more diligently.

So, in the times of studies online, the desire and skill to research and write may be lost. Planning your assignment carefully and presenting arguments step-by-step is necessary to succeed with your homework. When going through your references, note the questions that appear and answer them, building your text. Create a cover page, proofread the whole text, and take care of formatting. Feel free to use these rules for passing your next assignments.

When it comes to writing an assignment, it can be overwhelming and stressful, but Papersowl is here to make it easier for you. With a range of helpful resources available, Papersowl can assist you in creating high-quality written work, regardless of whether you’re starting from scratch or refining an existing draft. From conducting research to creating an outline, and from proofreading to formatting, the team at Papersowl has the expertise to guide you through the entire writing process and ensure that your assignment meets all the necessary requirements.

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How to Plan and Carry Out a Project or Assignment

Introduction: How to Plan and Carry Out a Project or Assignment

This Instructable is aimed mainly at Middle and High School students who have been sent away to work independently on a project, but it could be adapted for use by other people. However, if your project is more complex, especially if it involves more than two or three people, you are probably going to get better use out of Gantt charts . If you are a teacher, I have also added some notes (step 6) so that you can use this with your own classes.

Step 1: Starting

Every project starts somewhere. Maybe you are all working to a theme, maybe you've been set a specific task, or maybe you've just had an idea pop out of the blue. Whatever the origins of the project, you need to bounce some ideas around - write them all down, no matter how odd, and then pick your favourite one or two. If you are working on the project alone, find a couple of friends or family members to brainstorm with, or maybe even your teacher!

Step 2: Negotiation.

Once you've got your ideas, you need to make sure they are acceptable to your intended audience (usually your teacher). Remember that every project should be a learning process - you should come out of it in some way a "better" person, maybe with greater knowledge, maybe with greater skills, or maybe in some way less easy to define. You need to make sure you know what relevant skills you already have and what skills you need to acquire. If the project is in school, you need to consider what parts of the curriculum will be covered in the execution or presentation of the project.  Be open to cross-curricular opportunities (maybe it's a History project, but you will be working on your literacy skills). When your negotiations with your teacher (or boss, supervisor etc) have turned into a working idea, you need to know in advance how your success (or failure) will be measured.  Maybe it will be a checklist of facts covered, a score from some judges, hits on a website, or even box-office returns.

Step 3: Time and Resources

By this point, you (and your group) will probably be working with only the lightest supervision, so you really need to pay attention to what you actually need to do , and when you need to do it by . What material resources do you need to gather together or gain access to?  This might be as simple as time at a computer, specialist tools, sculpting materials or space to rehearse. What information do you need to accumulate?  You may already know the facts you are going to present, but how do you know you are correct?  Depending on the information you need, there are many ways of collecting it, from a couple of minutes on Wikipedia, to spending cold and miserable days counting dog faecal matter in the streets around your town.  Don't forget that human beings are a valuable resource as well. You also need to work out when you need these things.  You will have a good idea of your final deadline, so work backwards from that.  You need so many days to rehearse your speech, so you need the speech written before that.  You need to have the main facts arranged before that, you need to survey public opinion before that, and you need to create the actual survey before that... Write your deadlines down! You should at least have a calendar or diary to write down deadlines, but if your project is complex, or involves a lot of people, this is the point you wish you'd listened to me in the introduction and done some research into Gantt charts. Now, get on with it. Do what you need to do, stay focused, and keep one eye on your mini deadlines.

Step 4: Outcome

After all your work, you will, eventually, finish your project, hopefully to the pleased surprise of your teacher. Whether you have been drawing a poster, making a movie, creating a website, performing a piece of interpretive dance or building a garden wall, just do your thing, relax and go with it.  Things are out of your hands now. Take a moment to be proud of yourself and your colleagues.

Step 5: Judgement!

As the philosopher says, failure is always an option .  But, so is success. Once you have presented your final piece of work, it will be judged against the criteria you agreed to all the way back in step 2. Hopefully, you will have succeeded, maybe you will fail miserably, more probably you will end up somewhere in between. Whatever the result, be constructive about it.  Pay attention to where you went wrong, and figure out how to make it right next time. Highlight what went right, and remember to do the same next time. Whatever the result of this project, there will always be more in future, and if you learn your lessons now, future projects will only be better.

Step 6: For Teachers.

Whenever you get the chance, you should give students the chance to become independent learners. Unfortunately, because they get so few chances, students are often not very good at it. I was first involved in fully-independent learning in the last year before my school closed (they were already closing us, so there was nothing else they could do to us for missing out a few formal tests).  We gave over-arching themes* to classes of 11 to 13 year olds, and then gave them a significant amount of time (nearly half the weekly timetable for a month) to produce something, anything, to prove they had learned something by themselves. In the first attempt, there was one factor upon which most students failed, and that was in planning - they'd have a good idea, then wander off into unimportant details without achieving much. So, for the second project they attempted, I put together the lesson you have just read through, and presented it to every class involved.  Although it's aimed at making students independent, the lesson was very chalk-and-talk, with every student had a copy of the flowchart which they annotated as we went along.  They kept the flowchart in the front of their folder for reference, along with a copy of their agreed success criteria and deadlines. During the period of the project, on noticeboards around the school, I posted large versions of the flowchart, with highlights showing where they should be, and count-downs of how long they had left before the presentation deadline. This second time through, the projects were much more successful - in the same year-group, working to the same theme, small groups produced books, posters, magazines, paintings, scale models, short plays, video documentaries and even one business proposal. If you're a bit stuck in your ways, teaching like this can be stressful, since your entire class will be whizzing off in different directions, often outside your own area of speciality.  At the same time, you'll feel surplus to requirements, because you will not be the centre of attention. Do it properly, though, and it is a lot of fun.  You can almost join in as if you were a student yourself, and every group should be able to teach you at least one thing by the end of the topic. Be brave.  Prove Calvin wrong. * Such as "the history of our town", "Fair Trade" and "the Olympic legacy".

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7 Strategies for Taking Group Projects by Storm

It’s day one of the new semester, and you see it…staring ominously from the syllabus, it lurks in eager waiting…haunting unlit corners of your lecture hall, the beast inches closer every class until one day, it strikes — sinking its teeth in. No silver tokens or wooden stakes will save you now. It’s time for mandatory group projects.

For even the most scholarly students, the mere suggestion of a group project can send shivers down the spine. These projects plague the mind with many questions. What if I get stuck with someone who does nothing? Will communication break down into a chaotic mess of emojis? And, sometimes, above all else, why do I have to do this?

So, fellow Purple Knights, let’s turn that stress into success — equip yourself with these 7 strategies to help you make the most of group assignments.

1. Acknowledge your anxiety and self-assess

Let’s take a moment to commemorate the ghosts of group projects past. Remember that paper from history class? The one on the American Revolution? Your whole team was supposed to write it, yet your group dedicated more time to scrolling through TikTok than typing. Oh, and how about that PowerPoint presentation for your accounting class? You know, the one nobody pulled their weight on, shaving a few precious points off your final grade?

Although you should never begin a group project with the attitude that failure is inevitable, being honest with yourself about any anxiety you feel helps repurpose the stress of past projects into lessons with future applicability.

So, when you see a group assignment on your syllabus, don’t panic. Instead, ask yourself a few questions, such as:

• What were some issues I encountered during previous group projects?
• How could these issues have been avoided or addressed?
• Did I give the project my all and contribute to the best of my ability?
• What did I learn about the subject I was studying?
• What did I learn about working with a group?
• More specifically, what did I learn about how I work with others?

If this self-assessment only serves to raise more questions, consider talking to your instructor or visiting the Academic Success Center . Expressing your concern about group work, and consulting with supportive and experienced professionals, can help you kickstart your collaboration with confidence.

2. Assemble your A-Team

Now that your head is in the game, it’s time to assemble the A-Team! Whether your group is self-selected or pre-assigned, first things first — for a cohesive collaboration, every teammate must cooperate.

Think of it like building a boat. Each crewmate takes on a different, albeit pivotal, role to ensure the ship will stay afloat. While some people lay floor plans and foundations, others gather materials, create sails, or complete safety assessments. Although every team member has their own purview, everyone must cooperate to achieve a common goal. If one person drops the ball, the vessel might not be seaworthy. The same goes for your group project — without joint effort, your crew may flounder in the face of challenges.

To take the helm, create team roles with the project’s guidelines in mind. Weigh the academic expectations with the skills and strengths of your teammates. Does one partner have a head for facts and figures? Group Researcher , reporting for duty! How about the group member with an eye for design? PowerPoint Coordinator may be the perfect fit!

Scenario snapshot

You and your best friend want to be in the same group for an English presentation. They’re a stand-up pal and astute problem-solver, but they often slack off on assignments. Let’s turn procrastination into collaboration. How can you help establish a healthy group dynamic without boxing out your bestie? 

3. Planning is power

Collaborating on an assignment isn’t as simple as casting roles for each group member. You will also need a plan of attack outlining what must be done (and when).

During your initial group meeting, roll up your sleeves to brainstorm ideas and generate timelines for the different components of your project. To keep all the most vital information in an accessible location, utilize project management tools like Google Docs or Trello — providing a clear, shared resource teammates can refer to when working independently.

What would you do?

It’s been two weeks, and one of your group mates still hasn’t opened the shared document outlining their role and the project schedule. They were attentive when your team first met to discuss the presentation, but you’re concerned the assignment has fallen from their radar. How can you address your concerns?

At University of Bridgeport, your personal and professional success is our priority. Learn more about our comprehensive support services today!  

4. keep up communication.

Determining guidelines for group check-ins is essential to success. Whether you’re meeting in person or virtually, it’s critical to establish when, where, and how your team will update one another.

You may even consider setting parameters for your group pow-wows. How long should each check-in last? Should one teammate have the floor during each meeting, or will everyone provide updates? Agreeing on these expectations can facilitate smooth sailing ahead.

Your four-person biology group includes a pair of close friends. Each time your team meets to discuss the project, the duo brings little to the table, filling most of the hour with fits of giggly gossip.

The last group check-in was the biggest bust yet — extending an hour longer than the agreed-upon time due to constant distractions and derailments. The following afternoon, your third partner privately messaged you, expressing the same frustrations you’re feeling. How can you and your partner constructively address this issue with your other teammates?

5. Be fair and flexible…

When collaborating with classmates, it’s crucial to remember that   is difficult. With academic, personal, and professional demands competing for space, everybody has more than one ball in the air. If someone on your team needs an extension for their part of an assignment, show grace and understanding — most people are doing their best to meet all the expectations tossed their way, and a little leniency can go a long way.

6. …but remember to set boundaries

Flexibility may be paramount, but have you ever flexed too far? If you’re always happy to go with the flow, your willingness to bend could cause your group to break. If you and your teammates are always cleaning up after one partner, burnout will ensue — potentially leading to an underwhelming final project.

If you have a teammate who isn’t pulling their weight, it’s time to set boundaries and reiterate your group’s agreed-upon expectations. If you’re uncomfortable breaching the topic, consult with your professor. Even if they expect you to start the conversation on your own, they can offer support and strategies for addressing conflicts in your group. Moreover, communicating these concerns keeps your instructor in the loop about your team’s progress.

Last month, you were randomly assigned to group for your nursing project. You were pleasantly surprised by how well it was going — at least, at first. Over the past few weeks, one of your partners has missed every meeting due to a personal problem. While they didn’t disclose the specifics, they’ve missed three deadlines and have been completely incommunicado.

With the deadline quickly approaching, you and your other teammates are starting to sweat. What could you do to help your team overcome this challenge?

7. Celebrate success

Group projects are full of peaks and valleys alike. When you hit “submit” and the game is over, take some time to acknowledge your dedicated team. Collaborative assignments can present an invaluable opportunity to connect with classmates, learn from each other, and create something truly impressive.

While the anxiety of an impending group project can be overwhelming, don’t let it overshadow the fact that these ventures can be rewarding and, dare we say, enjoyable experiences. Furthermore, in our increasingly interconnected world, nurturing your collaborative aptitude provides you with a career-ready skill — sought after by employers across all industries.

At University of Bridgeport, #UBelong. Begin your UB journey today — learn more about becoming a Purple Knight !

16 Ideas for Student Projects Using Google Docs, Slides, and Forms

July 31, 2016

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As you probably know, Google Drive is far more than a place to store files online. It also includes a suite of versatile creation tools, many of which perform the same functions as the ones we use in other spaces. These include  Google Docs,  a word processing program that behaves similarly to Microsoft Word,  Google Slides,  a presentation program similar to PowerPoint, and  Google Forms,  a survey-creation tool similar to Survey Monkey.  Although Drive also includes other tools, these three are particularly useful for creating rigorous, academically robust projects. If your school uses Google Classroom or at least gives students access to Google Drive, your students are probably already using these tools to write papers or create slideshow presentations, but there are other projects they could be doing that you may not have thought of.

Below I have listed 16 great ideas for projects using Google Docs, Slides, and Forms.

Annotated Bibliography By the time a student reaches the later years of high school, and certainly by the time she’s gotten to college, it’s likely that she’ll be required to write an annotated bibliography, a list of resources that not only includes the bibliographical information of each source, but also a short paragraph summarizing the resource and reflecting on its usefulness for a given project. Usually an annotated bibliography is required as a part of a larger research paper, but it could stand alone as an assignment that tasks students with seeking out and evaluating sources just for the practice of doing so. And the research tools in Google Docs allow students to locate, read, and cite their sources all in one place. To learn more, see this guide from Cornell University Library on How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography .

Book Review Instead of a book report, have students write a book review instead. This is certainly not a new idea, but publishing the work electronically allows students to enhance the final product with the book’s cover image, a link to the book’s page on Amazon, and even links to other titles the author has written or articles on related topics. For models and inspiration, elementary and middle school students can read student-written reviews on sites like Spaghetti Book Club . Older or advanced students might work toward more sophisticated, nuanced review styles like book reviews written on Oprah.com .

Collaborative Story Because Google Docs is cloud-based, multiple people can work on a Doc at the same time. So students can work together on a story, a script for a play, or any other kind of group writing project. They can use the comments feature to give each other feedback and make decisions together. And because students can work from any location with an Internet connection, collaboration isn’t restricted to school hours; each group member can work on the project from any location whenever they have time.

Media-Rich Research Paper Any kind of research paper can be given a big boost when done in a Google Doc, because students can insert images, drawings, and links to other relevant resources, like articles and videos. Using the research tools built into Docs, students can research their topics and include in-text citations with footnotes.

Super Simple Blog If you don’t want to mess with actual blogging platforms, but want students to be able to experience writing blog posts that contain images and hyperlinks to other websites, this could be accomplished easily in a single running Google Doc.

Table Being able to organize information visually is an important skill, and students who understand how to build a table in Google Docs will have a skill for presenting all kinds of information in the future. They can be used as a compare and contrast exercise, to display data from an experiment, or even put together a schedule. Yes, you could do these things yourself, print them, and have students fill them out, but why not have students practice creating the tables themselves? 

Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Story Because slides can contain hyperlinks to other slides, students could build a whole story where the reader chooses different options at key points in the story, leading them down completely different paths. The reader would consume the content as a slideshow, clicking on the links themselves as they go through. This could be a pretty massive undertaking, but we all know students who would be totally up for the challenge.

E-book These could take a variety of forms: mini-textbooks, children’s books, cookbooks or how-to manuals, personal art or writing portfolios, even yearbook-style memory books. To learn more about the possibilities, see my post from earlier this year on  Student E-Books .

Magazine Along the same lines as an e-book, students could use a similar template to create a PDF magazine or newsletter that is shared online on a regular schedule. The possibilities here are endless, useful for student clubs or sports teams, classroom or grade-level newsletters, or magazines put out by groups of students who share a common interest, like gaming systems, soccer, or books.

Museum Kiosk Imagine if we could enhance science fair projects with a looping video display that provides the audience with vivid visuals and text about our topic. Or imagine an art show, where a self-running informational slideshow could be placed beside an art display to share the story behind the piece and photos of the work in progress? This is possible and EASY in Google Slides: Simply create a slideshow, then use the “Publish to the Web” feature to create a slideshow that auto-advances and has no need for a presenter. Pop that up on an iPad or laptop and you’re all set. This mock-up of a slideshow on Coral Reefs shows you what it could look like (click the image to open in a new window).

Short Film Students can upload their own images and add text boxes to a slideshow to create an animated story, then record the slideshow with a Google extension called Screencastify . They can either record their own voice as narration, add background music, or both. There are so many different kinds of films students could produce: illustrated stories or poems, final reflections for a 20 Time or Genius Hour project, video textbooks on content-related topics, or news-like feature stories of school or community events. In this quick sample, I added music from YouTube’s library of royalty-free music that anyone can use to enhance their recordings:

Video Tutorial Using the same screencasting software mentioned above, students could also create their own video tutorials by creating a Slides presentation on their topic (such as “How to Open a Combination Lock”), then recording the slideshow with narration. This would make a nice final product for a unit on informational writing or a way for students to demonstrate their learning at the end of a unit in science (“How to Take Care of Lab Equipment”), social studies (“How to Measure Distance on a Map”), or math (“How to Multiply Fractions”). Student-made tutorials could even be created to teach classroom procedures. And any tutorials students make could be stored for later, so other students can also benefit from them.  Learn more about how Screencastify works right inside Chrome .

Peer Survey Whenever students need to gather data to support an argumentative essay or speech, let them gather data quickly and easily by creating a survey with Google Forms. Links to the survey can be sent out via email, QR codes , or through a post in a learning management system like Edmodo or Google Classroom. When results come in, students can use them to support whatever claim they are trying to make in their argument, or make adjustments based on what they discover in their research.

Feedback Form Have students provide feedback to each other’s presentations, speeches, even videos using Google Forms. Here’s how it would work: Each student creates her own form, asking for the kind of feedback she wants on the project. As other students view or the project, they can be sent to a form to offer praise or constructive criticism, which the creator would then be able to view privately and use to improve the project. Students could even use their feedback to write a reflection on their process after the project is done.

Quiz One great way to learn material is to create a test or quiz over the content. Have students use Google Forms to create their own multiple-choice, True/False, fill-in-the-blank, or open-ended quizzes on the content they are learning.

Visual Representation of Data Sets Whenever people enter responses to a Form, Google allows the form creator to view responses in charts and graphs. Have students gain a better understanding of how data can be represented visually by accepting responses (or entering their own fake ones) into a Form, then looking at how the numbers are represented in graphs. This could work well as a series of math lessons.

Way Beyond Worksheets

Just this morning on Twitter, someone posted a comment along these lines: “A worksheet on a Google Doc is STILL a worksheet. Students should be using tech to create!” I’ve heard this sentiment over and over, and it’s exactly why I’ve put this list together. Google offers some incredibly powerful tools if we know how to use them. I hope this list has given you a few new ideas to put into your students’ hands. ♦

What to Read Next

Categories: Instruction , Technology

Tags: assessment , content area literacy , English language arts , Grades 3-5 , Grades 6-8 , Grades 9-12 , project-based learning , teaching with tech , tech tools

51 Comments

This is wonderful.

This is my first year teaching in an alternative high school. All students have IEP’s as well as social and emotional disabilities. I really want to focus on literacy as many are well below grade-level, ability wise. Writing of course is a big part of literacy. I’m looking for ideas that they can collaborate on, via Google Docs, Slides, etc. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Check out Boomwriter: A Fun Twist on Collaborative Writing . Lots of good resources there that you might like. Also take a look at Student-Made E-Books: A Beautiful Way to Demonstrate Learning .

I am an RSP teacher in Anaheim. For summer school I am going to have them build a “Bucket List” in Google slides.

Thanks for compiling these resources. I use many already but haven’t tried Screencastify yet. My district uses Google Classroom, but the forms app is blocked on student accounts- I think because it’s a perfect medium for under-the-radar cyberbullying (“How much do you hate Linda?…A little, a lot, a ton…”). Before teachers plan a lesson using forms, they should make sure the feature is enabled for students in their district. In my district, students can access forms and create them but they cannot send them to other students.

Thanks, Robyn. Good to know!

I love these ideas! You are so creative and now I have GREAT ideas for my SS project! Thanks! XD

this is all true

Our district is allowing extra credit this year and I have always been totally opposed to offering extra credit. These ideas are worth extra credit, and my focus this year is on what the students can teach me and the rest of their peers.

This gave me some good ideas for culminating activities. Thanks!

Thank you so much for sharing these ideas about creating projects by using the Google Drive! The middle school I teach at implemented a 1:1 program last year with Chromebooks, so the students have easy access to all of the Google apps. I had always grown up using Word docs and I was a little hesitant to start using Google docs at first. After just a few weeks, I absolutely fell in love with it! It is amazing how you can access all of your docs, forms, slides that you create from any device you’re using and the fact that everything automatically saves is just the cherry on top. I am grateful for this feature, especially working in a middle school where it is easy for students to forget to save something before exiting out. Although I teach Math, I found a lot of your project ideas to be utilized cross-curriculum and I truly appreciate it. I got my feet wet last year and had my students create google slides presentations in groups. At the beginning of this year, I started with a google form I created where students answered review questions from 6th grade Math. I love that when you get the results from all of the forms, you can easily see which areas students are struggling in and which areas they are proficient in because it is presented the results in graphs and charts. I just learned recently that you can create quizzes now, which is awesome because all of the testing in my district is done on the computers, so this will help prepare my students. I want to borrow your idea of having students create peer surveys that they can post on Google classroom in order to gather information and analyze results. This is a great skill for students to have. Thanks again, I truly enjoy reading your blogs!

Be positive at all time

Great collection of resources! Easy to read and very helpful for teachers who often do not get the tutorials they need to instruct with GAFE. I particular like the Museum Kiosk idea. It will work great will my history classes.

– Kevin

Hi everyone! I also would like to suggest my own (free) templates site. Im designing these presentations using “free” resources from other sites such as FreePik, FlatIcon,… and I think the result is pretty good. I invite you to have a look. The site is https://slidesppt.com

In the section of student blog posts, can you clarify how all the students in one class could be writing and posting a running blog which everyone in the class can read and respond to ?

This is Holly Burcham, a Customer Experience Manager. The idea Jenn laid out here is to simply create a shared Google Doc where each student would basically be responsible for his/her own page (literally page 1, page 2, etc.). Within a shared Doc, everyone with permission can be in and typing at the same time. Once “posts” are written, students can go in and add comments to others’ work. The comments would show up in the margins and would be arranged by corresponding content, not time like a typical blog post.

But, as you can imagine, this could quickly become very convoluted and a bit messy. The thought behind using Docs as a student blog is more for writing practice, getting the feel for writing a blog post without doing the real thing…

So, if you’re interested in your students truly creating a blog, we highly recommend checking out Edublogs and Kidblog . Hope this helps!

How are these good for projects? you said that these are for kid presentations, all I see are essay templates and idea’s for teachers to map out their classroom jobs(other then the coral)

Hi, Isaac! I’m not sure what could be used to map out classroom jobs specifically from this post, and I think the ideas here go way beyond essay outlines–please get back to me to clarify exactly what you’re referring to, because we believe all the ideas here are good for student use. Thanks!

You might update this post. Google Forms now supports branching which would be much easier to create a “choose your own” adventure type experience.

Thanks for the suggestion. I can picture how that would work, yes, but I guess the aesthetic experience might be lacking in a Google Form. With Slides you have complete creative freedom to design the slides like a real book. I guess it would be a matter of personal preference?

Where do I go to find accessibility features of Google docs, slides, and forms? I am a teacher of the blind and visually impaired. This technology is wonderful but without the ability to navigate the site independently, my students are at a lost. Can you direct me?

Hi! A couple of things that may be of help: Go to “Tools” in the menu bar and select Voice Typing (use Google Chrome). You can also click on Add-Ons in the menu bar and add the Speech Recognition Soundwriter extension for free. Here’s a link to find more Google Accessibility features — you just have to spend a bit of time looking through the list to see what may be relevant to your needs. I hope this helps!

You can also combine Google forms and docs to simplify book reports for elementary students: https://electriceducator.blogspot.com/2016/03/elementary-book-report-machine.html?m=1

Is there an available rubric or assessment piece for the museum kiosk activity?

Hi Colleen! No, sorry, I don’t have anything on that!

Hi I am a teacher at a elementary school and I was wondering if you had any ideas for what I could do for an autobiography book report.

Hi Madison,

There really are so many things you can have the kids do — I would first think about what you’re expecting the kids to be able to do in the end. What will actually be assessed and what will they be accountable for? (I suggest checking out Understanding Backward Design if you haven’t already.) From there, they can choose how to present what they learned, meeting the assessment criteria. I think using some of the ideas in the Slides section of the post could work really well, especially Student Made E-Books , or making a short film.

Madison, I love the idea of using Google Slides for autobiography book report. I’m thinking about Jennifer’s Slides suggestions and just tailoring it to your book report criteria/rubric. Thoughts?

thank you very much!!

Thank you! I can’t wait to explore some of these options more. This list is very much appreciated! 🙂

I really appreciate your kindness and your efforts and I’m going to try everything you have mentioned in this wonderful article

Thanks. Higher Ed ESOL Prof -no lesson prep for me… but I DO have my reading list for the next several (10-12) hours! All suggestions added to the original post are appreciated.

I am a huge fan of Google resources, but you have showed me some new ways I can use these. Thank you for sharing!

Thanks for some great ideas! I have another suggestion that I have used before- my students really liked it- a collaborative Google Slides presentation. I did this for types of organic molecules as an intro to organic chemistry. Each pair of students in the class was assigned a specific molecule to research. They had to create 1 slide with some specific information and add to a collaborative google slides presentation that I shared on Google Classroom. When the slideshow was complete, they could all access it, and they used it to take notes.

Great suggestion Susan! Thanks so much for sharing this idea.

I am wondering if I can find similar google instructions to send to my students now that we are teaching remotely and 90% of them probably don’t know how to use Google. This would be a fantastic use of their time. Thank you

Take a look at Jenn’s Google Drive Basics video course ! I think it’s got what you’re looking for – it’s for teachers and students!

I am thinking about doing a Rap Challenge in which they (as teams based on which class period they are in) create lyrics using WWII vocabulary we have used.

I create raps for my students and my though was that I would take parts of ALL of their submissions and create a WWII rap to add to the collection they have heard already.

Which of the Google Drive features would be my best bet for collaboration like that while the students are all working from home?

Hi Jim! I think this could be done in Google Docs pretty easily, as they are just writing a script, correct? If you want to share video or audio, you can just put these files into a shared folder in Drive and give all students access to those files. I hope this helps!

Amazing ideas

An innovative way to eliminate paper.

Hi! I love this site. I am beginning to use technology in my higehr education classroom. Could you help me to suggest some kind of game to use in Communication Skilss? Thanks a lot

Hi! Check out our Gamification Pinterest board and see what might be relevant. Hope this helps!

I’m a college student (who is now a nanny which brought me to this page) and for the screen recording, I highly reccomend Loom over Screencastify. In my experience using both during the remote learning period, the video quality is much higher on Loom, the user interface is easier, and you can’t edit Screencastify videos in an external editor like iMovie. (I had to do a group presentation and since partner lived in Kuwait we used this vs Zoom, etc. to record the presentation since we weren’t recording at the same time. It was very difficult to figure out how to merge our parts of the presentation into a single file.)

Also with screencastify the time limit per video on the free version (5 min I think) was frustrating as my work was longer. May not be a problem for students but for educators using the tool who don’t have the premium, this could be highly inconvenient. With Loom there isn’t a time limit.

What an adventure for me, who’s relatively new to this google drive thing. Mind blowing resources. It’s amazing. I’m excited as to what I can do with and in google drive. I’m definitely taking it one day at a time, will surely enjoy this ‘CRUISE’. Thank you Jennifer.

What does it mean to type I am from Germany?

Hi Flannery! It can mean a few different things depending on the context–either typing on a keyboard or the “kind” of something (“What type of ice cream do you like?”). We’d love to give a specific answer, so please let us know which part of the post or which comment you saw that you’d like more clarification on. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing these ideas. July 2021

I love all the awesome ways to incorporate technology in the classroom. This post had so many options to choose from and some that I personally loved when I was in school. There are so many different ways to make learning fun with technology!

So glad you enjoyed the post!

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9 best free project planning software for teams

Software for project planning accounts for, carefully plans, and meticulously times every piece of a complex project. These programs support various project planning needs so teams can spend more time on the project they’re working on. Understanding and aligning project requirements with software features will help in choosing the best option. This article will highlight the top options for project planning and help you determine which software is right for your team.

What is project planning software?

Project planning software is a digital tool crucial for managing complex projects. It breaks them down and provides a comprehensive project plan . It streamlines project planning and execution through task creation, assignments, and reporting capabilities. Project planning software also increases efficiency and ensures effective communication and accountability. Many companies offer free project planning software, allowing teams to improve their workflow at no extra cost.

Project planning software provides a centralized platform for simplifying tasks, resource planning , setting deadlines, facilitating team collaboration , and monitoring progress. It organizes, manages, and tracks various aspects throughout the project life cycle . It empowers project managers and teams to stay on track and make data-driven decisions that lead to successful project completion.

How is project planning software useful?

Project planning software offers several advantages that enhance project success, such as building a foundation for more effective team meetings . This is only one benefit businesses can receive from incorporating project planning software.

Other key benefits include:

• Improved collaboration: Dedicated software for project planning provides a central hub for communication and collaboration, eliminating silos and supporting teamwork.
• Increased efficiency: Software automation streamlines repetitive tasks, enabling teams to focus on more strategic activities. Task dependencies facilitate a logical flow with minimal delays.
• Better resource allocation: Project planning software allows managers to visualize resource allocation across tasks and projects. This enables efficient planning while identifying potential bottlenecks and triggering proactive adjustments.
• Improved project visibility: Through a centralized platform, stakeholders and team members gain real-time insights into project progress, deadlines, and potential roadblocks. This 360-degree view fosters transparency, facilitates informed decision-making, and enables course correction when necessary.

Implementing project planning software creates structure, enhances collaboration, and increases efficiency. This improves the likelihood that teams can complete their projects with the desired outcomes on time.

What to look for in project planning software

Choosing the right project planning software means identifying must-haves that align with the team’s goals, resources, and budget. 

Below are key features to look for in project planning software:

• Task management: Create, assign, prioritize, and track tasks with clear deadlines and dependencies.
• Communication tools: Facilitate smooth communication and collaboration through chat, document commenting, and real-time updates.
• Schedules and deadlines: A Gantt chart and automatic reminders or notifications help set timelines with visualized project progress.
• Reports and analytics: Gain project insights through data visualization and reports.
• Flexibility and customization: Ensure the software supports customized workflows, views, and dashboards.
• Integrations: Identify compatible integrations to enhance efficiency and streamline workflows.
• Security and access control: Select software with robust security features and user access controls. These are critical for data privacy and confidentiality.

Confluence is a connected workspace that offers valuable features for planning and collaborating on projects, especially when integrated with tools such as Jira . Confluence collects relevant context around the project scope , such as goals, rationale, decisions, and history, which helps align teammates and stakeholders.

Confluence features include:

• Flexible documentation: Confluence supports comprehensive project documentation using text, images, code, tables, and more. This promotes clear communication and knowledge sharing.
• Structured planning elements: These comprise project calendars that showcase timelines in table formats. They’re helpful for time-based actions and provide a visual project flow.
• Collaborative editing: Multi-user editing enables real-time collaboration by allowing team members to edit documents simultaneously.
• Version control: Page history reveals tracked changes and revisions within project documents. This is essential for full transparency and creating a simple way to revert to prior versions.
• Templates: Confluence templates simplify collaboration through product releases, marketing, and other strategic planning initiatives. 
• Integration potential: Confluence integrates seamlessly with Atlassian tools such as Jira, fostering a unified project management ecosystem. Third-party integrations can further connect project workflows and centralize data.

9 free project planning software programs

Here are some of the best project planning software tools that assist with every aspect of project management . 

1. Confluence: Best for project planning and collaboration

Confluence is a comprehensive project planning software solution featuring a centralized, connected workspace. This eliminates the challenges of scattered emails, disconnected documents, and misaligned goals. Teams can create, edit, and share project plans within the platform. 

Many companies suffer from a lack of organization, slowing down business operations and causing confusion between teams. With a project planning tool like Confluence, team leaders can have peace of mind knowing every team member is in lock-step, working toward the same goals.

This unified approach keeps everyone on the same page throughout the project life cycle, making it ideal for collaboration and knowledge sharing. It also empowers teams from across the business to work together. Teams can get started quickly with Confluence’s project plan template .

2. Confluence whiteboards: Best for collaborative brainstorming

Confluence whiteboards are free-form visual spaces for teams to generate ideas. Directly embedded within a Confluence workspace, they’re perfect for collaborative brainstorming . Team members can use sticky notes, drawings, images, and text to capture thoughts and concepts. 

Everyone involved can see the contributions in real-time. This sparks discussion and enables ideas to develop rapidly in a shared visual format.

3. Jira: Best for project management and task tracking

Jira is ideal for Agile project management , making it an excellent choice for Agile software development teams and business teams alike. It breaks projects into manageable tasks, creating detailed assignments and tracking. Visual tools like Kanban and Scrum boards offer real-time progress tracking. This enables teams to identify bottlenecks and adjust. 

This free project management software is also an excellent tool for measuring bandwidth across teams. By getting a clear picture of the workflow through visual tools like a Kanban board, team leaders can determine who on their team may be overworked, and whether or not to pull back. 

Bug tracking with Jira allows teams to track issues while boosting productivity through streamlined processes and reduced administrative overhead. It achieves this by providing customizable workflows, real-time reporting, and automation tools. 

4. Jira Product Discovery: Best for prioritization and road mapping

Jira Product Discovery provides a focused environment for strategic product management by streamlining ideation, assisting with prioritization, and creating roadmaps. It enables product managers to collect and organize insights from customers, stakeholders, and data analytics. It then consolidates those data points into one central location. The tool’s flexible prioritization frameworks empower teams to score and rank ideas based on objective criteria.

5. Hubstaff: Best for time tracking and team management

Hubstaff is a reliable tool for time tracking and team management. Employees can accurately and efficiently track time allocated to specific projects through desktop and mobile apps. The tool provides automated timesheets, detailed reports, and real-time project dashboard insights. This helps track project progress and evaluate resource allocation. 

6. MeisterTask: Best for automations

MeisterTask’s unlimited automation significantly streamlines project planning by automating repetitive tasks and workflows. Users can configure rules that trigger actions such as assigning tasks, updating due dates, sending notifications, and moving tasks between project sections based on conditions. Automating these actions saves time, reduces errors, and invites the team to focus on more strategic needs.

7. Zoom: Best for video conferencing

Zoom is a powerful platform with exceptional video and audio to support large-scale meetings. It’s a viable solution for connecting face-to-face virtually, fostering collaboration and communication across locations. Zoom has interactive features such as screen sharing, breakout rooms, real-time chat, and reactions, making meetings more engaging and productive.

8. Slack: Best for real-time communication

Slack is a real-time communication and messaging tool that offers private and public channels for focused discussions. Direct messages make it easy to communicate 1:1, while threaded conversations and file sharing keep everyone informed. Slack offers seamless integration with complementary tools and services, including Confluence.

9. Loom: Best for async communication

Loom is a leader in asynchronous videoconferencing for recording and sharing short videos with others. It is simple and has features such as screen sharing, annotations, and captions. These aspects make it ideal for explaining complex concepts, providing feedback, and fostering engagement without requiring real-time scheduling.

Elevate project planning with Confluence

Confluence is a robust project planning and collaboration platform for creating a unified workspace. Its ability to centralize documentation, foster real-time collaboration, and integrate seamlessly with other project management tools, such as Jira, makes Confluence a valuable project planning tool. 

With templates that can outline a project plan , provide a project poster , and launch a project kickoff , Confluence is a great free project planning software tool for launching new projects or organizing existing projects.  Try Confluence to experience this powerful project planning solution.

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How to Create a Timeline in Excel (Free Templates Included)

Excel is a versatile spreadsheet tool that can create a variety of graphs, charts and forms, including timelines for projects. In this blog, we’ll go through each step needed to create a timeline in Excel and explain the advantages and disadvantages of doing so.

Why Should You Create a Project Timeline in Excel?

Learn how to create a timeline that can be used to visualize how tasks or projects will be executed over time, identify who will be responsible for completing them and identify milestones and deliverables. The best part is that it’s helpful for any type of team or organization that’s executing a plan regardless of its industry.

Once you create this Excel project timeline, you can use this template to estimate future project timelines using project tasks and due dates. Templates are extremely helpful in creating and executing a successful project, so we encourage you to download our free Excel timeline template below.

Get your free

Timeline Template

Use this free Timeline Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

Even though Excel can be helpful in some scenarios, the platform can only do so much. Static timelines are only a weaker version of a collaborative Gantt chart which is an integral project management tool. If you’re looking for best-in-class timelines, ProjectManager has award-winning Gantt charts that populate data in real time.

Use ProjectManager’s Gantt chart to plan projects, define phases, link tasks, build a WBS, set a baseline and link all four types of task dependencies. Since everything is online, it’s easy to collaborate with your team as the project progresses. You can import an Excel file and get started in a matter of minutes. Get started with ProjectManager today for free and build a better timeline.

How to Create a Project Timeline in Excel

Creating a timeline in Excel using this method takes only five simple formatting steps and doesn’t require any formulas or complicated Excel features. This Excel timeline was created using Excel for Microsoft 365.

1. Define the Length of the Timeline

First, think about the best scale for the timeline. For this example, we’ll make a timeline that spans over one year. To start, list all the months of the year horizontally as shown below. Then merge all the cells above them and write the year for your timeline. Then select all the cells that were just edited and add a border to them.

2. Create Rows for Assigning Work to the Team

Now, edit the column on the left side of the monthly timeline, which will be used to list tasks or projects and indicate who will execute them .

In this case, we’re creating a timeline for a business that needs to map the projects that each of its business departments will execute over a year, but instead of business departments, one can write the names of their team members, too.

Next, format all the cells on the right side of the column that was just created. To do so, start by merging the columns next to the first row and then merge them by clicking the “Merge & Center” button at the top of the screen.

Now, select the merged cell, click the format painter button and then select all the cells as directed below. This automatically formats the cells as the one above.

Edit the borders and after completing those steps, the timeline should look like this.

3. Add a Row for Tracking Milestones and Deliverables

Now create a row for tracking milestones and deliverables by right-clicking the top cell in the work assignment column, clicking insert and selecting “Entire row.”

Once you insert this new row, adjust its height. We suggest using a cell height of at least 100 pixels so you can add a marker for each milestone and deliverable and write a description.

4. Make a Task List and Add Task Bars

Once done formatting the timeline, it’s time to start mapping tasks or project plans. In the example below, we’ll use the Excel timeline to visualize a project that the product team will execute, which is to develop the new product called “XYZ.”

That project is intended to start at the beginning of January and should be completed in mid-May. So, we’ll need to create a bar that shows the project duration in the Excel timeline by inserting a shape and then adjusting its size by holding the left-click button.

Repeat this process to add all the projects or tasks to the timeline. Then, identify milestones and deliverables to get a summarized view of all the key events from all the projects or tasks in the timeline.

5. Mark Milestones and Deliverables

We’ll use shapes again to identify when milestones and deliverables will be delivered, but instead of bars, we’ll need a marker like an arrow. For our example, we’ve used the pentagon arrow.

Then add some text to explain what the deliverable or milestone is. In this case, the milestone is that the new product has gone through all the stages of product development and testing and is ready to be launched into the market.

Continue to edit the timeline in Excel by color coding projects or tasks, such as assigning a different color for each team or individual who will be executing the work.

Excel Timeline Template

As stated above, you can also download a free Excel timeline template. It was created using the same process we’ve just gone through. On top of that, this template offers six-month, one-year, three-year and five-year Excel timelines that can be used for planning short, medium and long-term projects for a team or organization.

Advantages of Making a Timeline in Excel

As we’ve explained, the main reasons for using Excel to make a timeline are that it only takes a few steps and Excel is a software that most people are familiar with. But there are some other advantages of learning how to make a timeline in Excel using our method.

• Create a timeline that works similarly to a Gantt char t or a milestone chart
• Make a timeline in Excel from scratch and it can be customized to fit the particular characteristics of a project
• Excel timelines are simple to understand, which makes them a good addition to project documentation such as project plans or project proposals

However, while Excel templates can be helpful for project and business management, they have their limitations, too.

Disadvantages of Making a Timeline in Excel

The main disadvantage of making a timeline in Excel is that Excel isn’t a project planning or time management tool and therefore lacks the features needed to create and track a timeline for professional purposes such as managing your business operations or managing a project.

• Excel files don’t allow for online collaboration with team members
• When changes are made to the timeline an updated copy of that timeline must be sent to all team members, which makes them hard to share
• Lacks features that Gantt chart software like ProjectManager offer, such as task dependency mapping, critical path analysis or cost tracking
• Any changes to the project timeline require a labor-intensive process

More Free Project Scheduling Templates for Excel

Other tools can be used to create a timeline, which is why we’ve created dozens of free project scheduling templates for Excel and Word to help with the process of creating a timeline.

Gantt Chart Template

This free Gantt chart template for Excel automatically generates a visual timeline with a stacked bar chart based on a list of project tasks, their estimated duration and due dates.

Project Calendar Template

Project calendars are familiar to most people and offer another popular way of making a timeline. Our free project calendar template helps visualize how tasks and projects span over time and can be color-coded.

Resource Plan Template

Creating a timeline for a project or business requires estimating the time it will take to complete tasks and achieve objectives. In addition, knowing resources, such as raw materials, people and equipment, is necessary to execute that work. This free resource plan template can list all project resources and specify when they’re needed.

Using ProjectManager Is Better Than Creating a Timeline in Excel

ProjectManager is award-winning project management software equipped with all the tools needed to create a project timeline. These features include Gantt charts, kanban boards, project calendars, dashboards and much more. Here are some reasons why ProjectManager is better than making timelines in Excel.

Plan, Schedule and Track Timelines With Powerful Gantt Charts

Gantt charts are the most important project management tool because they can be used for planning, scheduling and tracking the timeline of any type of project or process. They map tasks in a visually stacked bar chart that shows the whole project on one screen. However, not all Gantt chart makers offer the same features as ProjectManager, which combines a user-friendly interface with advanced project planning features such as critical path analysis, task dependency mapping, resource monitoring, cost tracking and timesheet management.

Manage All Key Areas of Projects

The main advantage of using ProjectManager over a simple Excel timeline is that it allows organizations to manage other areas of plans besides timelines. For example, use ProjectManager to estimate the progress of projects, identify risks, estimate the costs of project resources and then use online project dashboards to compare those estimates against the actual cost of your project in real time. In addition, it’s easy to make a variety of project management reports and timesheets in minutes.

Related Content

Making a timeline is very important for the success of a project, no matter how big or small. For this reason, we’ve created dozens of blogs, templates and guides to help anyone master this process. Here are some of them.

• Project Timeline Software – Create a Project Timeline Online
• Gantt Chart vs. PERT Chart vs. Network Diagram
• How to Make a Gantt Chart In Excel Step-By-Step

ProjectManager is online project management software that delivers real-time data to help you better monitor and track your project timelines. Choose between a variety of tools to schedule your projects such as Gantt charts, kanban boards, task lists and project calendars and then use live dashboards and dynamic reporting to keep stakeholders informed. If you want to streamline your processes and work more efficiently, try ProjectManager for free today . 

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Start planning your projects.

• Implementing Project Financial Management and Grants Management

How Task Dates Work with Assignment Dates

Project application administrators can specify the task planned dates and task assignment date options when defining project planning options. These settings determine how planned and transaction dates are set for tasks and how dates are set for task assignments.

Use Task Planned Dates as Task Assignment Dates

When you select this option, task assignments last for the entire task duration. Let's say the project manager set the task duration from January 1 through May 31, and the task assignment is from February 1 through March 1. The task assignment now runs from January 1 until May 31.

If you don't select this option, the project manager can set the task assignment dates in the project and edit individual task dates.

Automatically Roll Up Task Planned Dates

When you select this check box on the Edit Project Plan Type page, task dates automatically roll up to project dates on the financial plan. On the Manage Financial Project Plan page, the project manager can edit the planned dates for the lowest level tasks. Planned dates at the summary and project levels are the earliest start date and last end date of the tasks.

• Select the Define Common Financial Task Dates Across Work and Financial Planning check box. To select this check box, navigate to the Setup and Maintenance work area and search for the Manage Project Management Implementation Options task.
• Run the Update Financial Project Plan and Progress action on the Manage Project Plan page if the Define Common Financial Task Dates Across Work and Financial Planning check box isn’t selected.

When the Define Common Financial Task Dates Across Work and Financial Planning check box isn’t selected and the Automatically roll up task planned dates check box is selected, you can plan task dates outside of the project dates and run the Update Financial Project Plan and Progress action on the Manage Project Plan page to sync the dates on the financial plan.

• Updates the planned finish date of the financial task to 8/31/23 and rolls up the project finish date as per the task finish date to 8/31/23 on the Manage Financial Project Plan page.
• Displays 8/31/23 as the finish date of the project on the Manage Financial Project Settings page.

Synchronize Task Transaction Dates with Planned Dates

When you select this option, planned dates and task transaction dates are synchronized. The transaction dates always match task planned dates, plus or minus the number of days specified as a date adjustment buffer.

If you don't synchronize the dates, the project manager can edit the project, summary, and lowest-level transaction dates in the project. This table lists the available options for each task level.

You can modify the date synchronization option until you charge transactions to a task. Let's see the implications of changing between options.

Final Project Details

The final project for CIT 5940 is an open-ended group project to be completed in teams of three.

You should choose a project idea that interests you and your group. The broad requirements are listed below. In order for a project to be approved, you must indicate how you plan to satisfy several important requirements. Keep in mind that features like GUIs, web deployments, or the use of libraries in other programming languages are acceptable to include in your project but that they do not count towards the overall completeness & grading of your project.

• Your project must show meaningful, novel, and rigorous use of material from one unit in this course. There should be at least one data structure or topic that is central to your project and shows thoughtful application of the material from that unit to the specific problem at hand.
• Your project should show efficient and well-motivated use of other at least two data structures covered in this course. These uses & implementations can be “off-the-shelf” to some degree, but should show that you have thought about the problem and chosen the right data structure for the job.
• Your project should feature one of the software design patterns discussed in this course. You are allowed to choose patterns not discussed in the course as long as you get approval.
• story points
• feature branches + pull requests
• a UML design diagram
• interfaces for all non-trivial classes
• thorough testing
• a clear README
• neat & informative comments

The first point is one that will likely shape the direction of your project, and is also one that is likely to generate the most questions. There is a list of acceptable & unacceptable project ideas at the end of this writeup that can be used to help gauge whether your project develops an idea to a sufficient degree.

Final Project Proposals

By April 23rd @ 11:59pm, please upload a 1 page PDF of your Final Project Proposal. Additionally, one person from your group must fill out this form .

Each proposal should include:

• A list of participants.
• An explanation of the project idea, including a discussion of why your group chose this idea.
• Mark which feature or features is the one that you feel is the most meaningful and novel use of material from this course.
• Which software design pattern you intend to implement.
• Any outstanding questions you have that you would like the course staff to help you answer about your project.

Project Update & Check-In

By May 3rd @ 4:59pm, please email the instructors and your project TAs with:

• any questions you would like answered
• What have you completed so far?
• What is giving you trouble?
• UML diagram(s) & interfaces for feedback

This will count for a portion of your final project grade. A template for this email is provided here .

Final Project Deliverables

The final project deliverables (detailed below) will be due on May 10th. Each group will be assigned TAs; please check in with them if you have any project-specific questions! Groups are encouraged to finish the project & present it early—start your summer break as soon as you can!

Interfaces + Documentation

Full credit will be given for clear method input/output (methods should always have an input and an output for testing), minimization of instance variables, and high cohesion/low coupling. Each class should have its own unique and clear purpose. A class should avoid requiring the use of another class for a significant portion of its methods.

Uploaded to Git + emailed to assigned Project TAs by May 10 and at least 2 hours before project presentation.

GitHub requirements

• Assignment created in GitHub
• milestones, issues, story points, code review

Code coverage minimum: 80% (only for Java parts). Will be checked during live/final presentation.

Final Presentation:

Sign up for a timeslot on May 9th here (TBD), or reach out to your assigned Project TAs to potentially schedule an earlier demo.

Detailed 15-20 minute explanation of problem, interfaces, data structures, design, GitHub use, testing, project demo, and individual team member contributions.

• This category includes the portion of your grade that comes from correctly using appropriate data structures to implement your project.
• This category includes the portion of your grade that comes from completing the project to the extent that you proposed.
• Same rules apply as for the homework assignment for all components of the project written in Java.
• This category accounts for your successful implementation of the chosen software design pattern.
• Presentation: 5%

Acceptable and Unacceptable Ideas

There might be several ideas for projects that center around the use of graphs. Some will be suitably novel and complex and others will not. A graph representing physical adjacency (such as the Engineering Quad example from lecture) or a graph representing a social network are both examples that do not represent sufficiently large developments from straightforward uses of graphs. On the other hand, finding data that can constitue a matching problem and representing that data in a graph in order to find some solution to the problem could be acceptable.

Indexing is often a suitable topic for a project, but it requires data that can be organized and queried in several useful ways. Maintaining a database of image files like the Facebook Haystack architecture would be suitably complex, but building an individual primary key index over a series of text files would not be. For an indexing project to be acceptable, it should be able to answer queries that are not trivially answered by a linear search or binary search over a single view of the data.

Some other potentially interesting data structures & project combinations:

• An experiment demonstrating the effectiveness and drawbacks of several different hashing implementations, including different choices of hash functions and collision resolution strategies.
• Creative uses of graph algorithms to solve problems like matchings, set packing
• Modeling particles in a simulation using a point-based quadtree or octree
• Exploring the use of a kd-tree for nearest neighbor search in a high-dimensional space
• Implementing a bloom filter and benchmarking its performance with different settings and also against a deterministic hash table
• Using the UNION-FIND data structure.

Some data structures or topics that are unlikely to be suitably complex to base a project around:

• queues & stacks
• trees & graphs for well-known problems like shortest path, minimum spanning tree, etc.
• lists, sets, maps

Assignment Owner (assignment field)

Data Type     Enumerated

Entry Type     Calculated or entered

Description     The Assignment Owner field contains the name of the user who is responsible for entering status in Project Web App for the current assignment.

How Calculated     Work resources own their own assignments by default. Assignments with material resources and generic resources are owned by the default assignment owner, if one is identified. If there is no default assignment owner, the Assignment Owner field contains the name of the person who created the project plan. This field can be changed to any work resource who is a part of the project team. Cost resources do not have assignment owners.

Best Uses     Add the Assignment Owner field to the Task Usage or Resource Usage view when you need to review or update the name of the individuals who are to enter status for the assignments. Update this field if a team member other than the assigned work resource will be entering status for the assignment, or if there are multiple assigned resources, and one of them is to be responsible for reporting status in Project Web App. Specify an assignment owner if the resource does not have a default assignment owner or if you want to change it.

Example     Wilson is assigned to a number of tasks in the project. For five of these tasks during the month of July, he will be working away from the office and unable to access a computer to report on his assignment status. His manager, Pilar, is available during that time period, so she has set herself to be the assignment owner for those five assignments. Pilar will then be able to enter status information for Wilson on those assignments.

In your construction project, you have two resources assigned to all tasks having to do with laying brick: the work resource Keith, the bricklayer, and the material resource "Bricks." In addition to being the assignment owner for his work assignments, Keith has also been designated the assignment owner for the "Bricks" assignments. When reporting assignment status, Keith enters the number of hours he has worked on his assignments. He also enters the number of bricks he has used in the fulfillment of these assignments.

Remarks     Team members who are identified as assignment owners can see the assignment in Project Web App.

You can set the assignment owner for an individual assignment using the Assignment Information dialog box.

You can set the assignment owners for all resources assigned to a single task through the Task Information dialog box.

The Assignment Owner field is not available for local (non-enterprise) resources.

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