How to write a project plan in 8 easy steps (with examples)

A project plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the goals, objectives, timelines, and resources needed to complete a project successfully. It’s an essential tool for project managers and team members to monitor the project’s progress and ensure that it stays on track.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the nitty-gritty of how to write a project plan that meets your team’s needs. We’ll cover how to define the project’s scope, set realistic goals and timelines, identify potential risks and issues, create a project schedule, and monitor and adjust the plan as needed. As a bonus, we’ll share with you the project scheduling template that will help you effortlessly plan every project that comes your way.

How to write a project plan in 8 easy steps

Step 1: Explain the project to key stakeholders, define goals, and get initial buy-in

The first step in any project is to define the “what” and “why.” Key stakeholders have the influence and authority to determine whether a project is successful, and their project objectives must be satisfied. Even if the project comes from the CEO themselves, you still need their buy-in.

This initial conversation is all about getting aligned, defining your project goals, and determining your project’s value. In this part of the project planning process, discuss needs and expectations and establish a scope baseline, budget, and timeline. This creates a solid base for your project work plan. Consider using a project plan template to get started.

Here are some questions you should consider reviewing with your project stakeholders:

• How do we write a project plan that aligns with company goals?
• What do stakeholders expect? What will be expected from them?
• How will you measure project success?
• What are your resources?
• What assets or deliverables are expected out of this project?

Tip: You can create a task or project in Wrike and assign your stakeholders to keep everyone on the same page.

Step 2: List out goals, align OKRs, and outline the project

According to executive leaders, a lack of clear goals accounts for 37% of project failure. Without clear goals, you’ll find that the requirements, tasks, and deadlines you set for your project work plan have nothing anchoring them.

Now that you have a list of key stakeholder needs and their buy-in, begin to assign them to goals and OKRs. OKRs are a planning and goal-setting technique made famous by Intel and Google. Your project should align with your team and company’s OKRs.

Try writing down the project goals on a project plan board and connect them to the stakeholder requirements they address. From there, build out the structure, milestones, and tasks it takes to reach those goals.

For example, the product launch itself can be a big project milestone, so it’s important to know how you will go about it — perhaps you’ll use a product launch plan template to make the process easier. Milestones can define check-in points throughout the project so that everyone is clear about what progress looks like, what the expectations are, and when they’ll be measured. 

Step 3: Create a project scope document

Now that you have the project outlined, your tasks aligned with goals, and buy-in from the team, it’s time to create a project scope document detailing the project elements you’ve listed in step two.

1. Look at each project deliverable and define the series of tasks that must be completed to accomplish each one.
2. For each task, determine the amount of time it’ll take, the resources necessary, and who will be responsible for execution.
3. Finalize and record the project details so that everyone has a single source of truth.
4. Make the document easily shareable, like in your project management tool, to reduce the chance of costly miscommunication.

Did you know? While preparing project scope documentation and calculating earned value should be standard practice, one in four project managers surveyed in Wellingstone’s State of Project Management Survey said they “never” or “sometimes” prepare standard scoping documents. Creating one ensures you stand out from the crowd, helps everyone stay on the same page, and can prevent scope creep.

Step 4: Craft a detailed project schedule

With your goals, tasks, and milestones already outlined for you, it’s time to start plugging your project into a schedule. A Gantt chart is a handy tool that helps you visualize your project timeline easily. It’s an interactive timeline that gives you a complete view of the project’s progress, work scope, and task dependencies. Here’s what it looks like in Wrike:

Dependencies are tasks that need to be completed before other tasks can begin. As you plot out tasks, use subtasks to help you break up larger ones into smaller ones. This can make reporting (you can check out our guide on how to write a project management report!) and resource management easier. Let’s define some terms:

• Tasks: The individual tasks that people need to carry out to achieve your goals
• Subtasks: No longer than a few days each, these help you break a larger task into the smaller steps
• Milestones: Major phases or events in your project that help break up the project and act as check-ins throughout the project lifecycle

Pro tip: Want in on a little secret? As you set them up, add cushions to key tasks so that you have wiggle room for fire drills or unexpected bottlenecks (e.g., if a client needs extra time to review or a team member calls in sick).

In a perfect world, some tasks might take a day. So maybe, you make it two in your plan. There’s no need to give every task a cushion, though — weigh the risks and add them where it makes the most sense. Future you will thank you.

Step 5: Define the roles, responsibilities, and resources

Resources are the people, equipment, or money needed to complete a project. Once you’ve selected your tools and gotten a project budget, don’t forget about your people. Even folks who already know how to write a project work plan and have done so a hundred times can underestimate their labor needs.

A RACI chart helps you determine who will do what for your project. It’s a matrix of all a project’s tasks, paired with who is:

• Responsible (assigned to complete the work)
• Accountable (has yes/no/veto power)
• Consulted (needs to approve or contribute)
• Informed (needs to know about the action or decision)

Here’s an example of a RACI matrix from CIO.com:

As you begin to assign tasks, make sure you take bandwidth into consideration. Clarify the responsibilities and expectations of each person.

Keep in mind that 95% of workers report working on more than one team or project concurrently — if projects aren’t aligned, workloads become too stressful for teams. Stress causes about 50% of workers to start looking for another job and 25% to quit their current jobs altogether, according to our report on The Stress Epidemic.

As you plan your project, consider how you’ll filter incoming requests that impact the project’s timeline or budget. Knowing how to calculate earned value to monitor the level of work completed on a project against the plan is imperative.

For project managers, tools like Wrike’s resource management can help you visualize the tasks for your project from a team workflow perspective, giving you the visibility and flexibility to balance workloads.

Step 6: Define the communication and check-in process

According to McKinsey, employees spend nearly 20% of the workweek searching for and gathering information. Inefficient communication and collaboration are two of the top causes of stress in the workplace. When stakeholders have to dig through pages of emails or constantly ask for updates, they get frustrated, and their motivation dips.

Mitigate frustration and communicate issues effectively by housing all project pieces — like assets, conversations, tasks, due dates, updates, and reporting — in a single location, like a project planning tool. This makes it easy to manage clients, track project progress, share updates, and make edits.

Here’s an example from Wrike:

Step 7: Plan for it not going as planned

Even if you’re an expert and already know how to write a comprehensive project plan, the truth is that all projects have twists and turns — that’s what makes them fun.

You’ve given yourself some breathing room during the scheduling process, ensured everyone knows their role, and set up the communication plan. Here are some tips before you launch your project:

1. Sit down and identify potential issues like upcoming vacations for team members, holidays, or external teams that might be involved. 
2. Set up a clear chain of command and list key contacts within the project. 
3. Communicate upfront about risks so the whole team can be prepared to tackle them together.

Step 8: Throw a launch party!

Every successful project needs a kickoff. Set a quick meeting with key stakeholders and have a clear agenda. Your goal should be to get everyone on the same page with goals, roles, processes, and timelines. Your agenda should include everything you’ve focused on in the project planning steps above:

• Define the project goals and the value they bring.
• List the assets the project is expected to deliver.
• Draw the connection between stakeholder requirements and the project tasks.
• Show the entire project timeline so everyone can see task dependencies and know the expected dates.
• Describe the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder.
• Review how and where everyone will communicate throughout the project, where they can go for information, and who to call for questions.
• Discuss risks and ensure the project team is prepared.
• Get that final commitment!

Bonus tip: You don’t have to start from scratch every time! Now that you know how to write an effective project plan that jives with your team, you can copy your project plan into a template to use again and again. As you grow, you can create multiple templates for specific types of project work plans. Let’s get you started right away with these free sample project plan templates.

Project plan examples

Now you know the eight steps to follow, let’s take a look at some project plan examples.

Project plan example 1: Company conference

• Goal(s): Host annual conference for key clients and stakeholders as well as potential customers
• OKR(s): Reach 2,000 signups and garner 50 new leads
• Milestones: Initial email sent, key speakers announced, promotional assets finalized, event recap materials sent
• Scope: Reach target for signups and leads; follow-up and nurturing will be part of separate project for Sales Team
• Schedule: February 1, 2025 - August 1, 2025
• Event date: July 25, 2025
• Roles: Project Owner, Events Team, Content Team, Design Team
• Communication schedule: Daily meeting with key team members
• Resources: In-house teams, $500,000 budget, additional funds available for contractors and PR agency
• Risks: Contractors not available, event venue cancels

Project plan example 2: Website redesign

• Goal(s): Create new design for website with updated brand assets
• OKR(s): Increase time on page by 20%, reduce bounce rate by 10%
• Milestones: Design approved, code finalized, code tested, website launched
• Scope: Reach targets for time on page and bounce rate; increasing overall click rate will fall under SEO Team’s scope
• Schedule: March 31, 2026 - June 30, 2026
• Launch date: June 30, 2026
• Roles: Project Owner, Design Team, Web Team, Content Team
• Communication schedule: Weekly meeting with key teams
• Resources: In-house teams, $100,000 contractor budget
• Risks: Teams have competing priorities, bugs in code

How to use Wrike for project planning

Curious about how to write a project plan with Wrike? Check out our project management software, which offers a range of powerful features and templates to help you plan and execute your projects more efficiently. With Wrike, you can create a solid project plan that covers all the essential aspects of your project.

Wrike’s project scheduling template provides a customizable framework for creating a project schedule. This template helps you set realistic timelines, identify potential risks, and assign tasks to team members, so you can create a clear, detailed project plan that helps your team stay on track and ensure on-schedule delivery.