Project Planning (Deep Workflow)

Plans are hypotheses—update them as facts arrive. Strong plans surface dependencies early and make trade-offs explicit (scope, date, quality).

When to Offer This Workflow

Trigger conditions:

Multi-team effort with a hard date or external dependency
Timeline slip and need to re-baseline honestly
Scope creep without prioritization conversation

Initial offer:

Use six stages: (1) frame outcome, (2) decompose work, (3) map dependencies, (4) schedule & buffers, (5) risks & mitigations, (6) operating rhythm. Confirm planning style (milestone-based, agile release train, hybrid).

Stage 1: Frame Outcome

Goal: Problem statement, success criteria, non-goals, constraints (date, budget, compliance).

Exit condition: One-page charter stakeholders can align on.

Stage 2: Decompose Work

Goal: Epics or WBS → trackable chunks—not necessarily micro-tasks unless execution needs it.

Practices

Prefer vertical slices (end-to-end thin features) over “all backend first” when possible

Stage 3: Map Dependencies

Goal: External teams, vendors, legal, security, infra—on critical path.

Practices

Include lead time for reviews and procurement

Exit condition: Dependency table: item, owner, need-by date, status.

Stage 4: Schedule & Buffers

Goal: Identify critical path; buffer risky unknowns, not every line uniformly.

Practices

Milestones with demo-ready acceptance criteria

Stage 5: Risks & Mitigations

Goal: Top risks with likelihood/impact, owner, mitigation, and trigger for plan B.

Stage 6: Operating Rhythm

Goal: Steady cadence: weekly tactical sync, steering at milestones, RAID log updates, decision log to avoid re-litigation.

Final Review Checklist

Charter: goals, non-goals, constraints
Work breakdown with vertical slices where feasible
Dependencies with owners and dates
Schedule reflects critical path and buffers
Risks tracked with mitigations
Communication cadence agreed

Tips for Effective Guidance

Plans usually fail on hidden dependencies—make them visible.
Fixed scope + fixed date + fixed quality: pick two explicitly.
Agile still benefits from milestone intent for cross-company coordination.

Handling Deviations

Research-heavy work: timebox spikes before committing delivery dates.
Small teams: minimum viable RAID + weekly priority still helps.