A project always has a purpose. There's not really much point in making the effort otherwise; there needs to be a goal at the end, a point to reach and a positive result to glean from it. But every road has its beginning, every journey its first steps, and the longed-for end to the project will stay forever out of reach without the solid foundations of an auspicious beginning.

And the early stages of a project are very much like the foundations of a fine building. If the foundations are constructed correctly, the building will stay strong and upright; but should the construction be planned with insufficient thoroughness, or those plans carried out incorrectly, then the foundations might be too deep, too shallow, or made of the wrong materials - and down the building will come. Just as the foundations need to match the construction being developed upon them, so the plans and preparations for your project need to provide the scope, resource allocation, time and support needed for a successful outcome.

Terms of Reference

Every project needs, at its onset, a statement of the terms of reference, or the project's specification. Essentially, this is a definition of what the project is, what it hopes to achieve, and how. It should include the aims of the project, its scope and parameters; the resources - time, money, people, and raw materials where relevant - available to the project; a timetable, including regular points at which status and progress can be reviewed; and also any flexibility inherent in the project.

In creating the terms of reference for a project, you'll also find that it comes to be set in stone what is expected of you, the project manager, and of those in your charge. It's vital, therefore, to discuss these terms with stakeholders, to prevent any unrealistic expectations and state any concerns you may have with the specification of the project. After all, once the terms of reference are agreed upon, the time to make changes, to keep plans within the bounds of what you consider possible, has well and truly ended.

Planning

Having decided on what your project will aim to achieve, you'll need to develop the details of how it's going to progress, in terms of project stages and tasks. And you'll need to bring your project team together - decide who is going to be on board, and involve them in the rest of the planning process (for instance, having a brainstorming session amongst yourselves is a great way to identify the best and most effective ideas).

This is also the right moment for creating a timescale. A Gantt chart is the ideal tool for this job: by identifying the amount of time each individual task should take, which tasks are dependent on others being completed first, and how limited resources need to be distributed between those tasks, a structure can be formed that shows how long the project out to take.

However, it's important not to put in place too strict a timescale - it may look impressive, but if it's unachievable then the business and your reputation as a manager can only suffer, as well as harming relationships if you try to push the project on through an unrealistic schedule.

Another essential of the planning stage is the critical path analysis. No doubt there'll be many tasks required to complete your project, but that doesn't mean that they're all of equal importance. There will be certain tasks that are the keystones of your project, without which none of the proposals could succeed, or which would increase budgets and schedules massively should they fail or be disrupted. Knowing which activities these are and where they should fall within the process plays a vital part in ensuring that you retain both full control over the project, and confidence in its success.

A final and easily overlooked necessity at the planning stage is to prepare for the worst. As project manager, you should always take time to consider what might go wrong, how you can negate the risks and how you'll react if they develop.

Yet however perfect your arrangements, it remains important to have a contingency plan ready for dealing with unforeseeable problems, with those unexpected obstacles that so often come out of nowhere to derail a task or project. So you'll need to have a contingency budget set aside to deal with unanticipated costs, and also fall back activities, flexibility in resource allocation or an alternative schedule, to ensure that work is still being done even if the planned task has been derailed. The important thing is to be prepared, and to give yourself every chance of a successful completion even when things aren't progressing as intended.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

Why is all this planning, organisation and preparation important? A successful and thorough plan should ensure that all the time, money, and resources you'll need to reach a clearly defined goal are available whenever they're needed - but without putting excessive demands on the company. And sound preparation isn't just responsible for a successful project; it protects the business, and in doing so protects you, the project manager. It's certainly worth considering a short training course in project management, to ensure that you can approach the early stages of a project with confidence - and from that point, have confidence in the success of the project as a whole. The sturdy foundations of a solid and thorough plan really can be the beginning of a glittering skyscraper of a project.