In today’s dynamic business environment, crafting effective training project plans is essential. A well-structured plan not only helps identify training objectives but also maps out the strategies, timelines, budgets and resources needed for successful execution. With a comprehensive training project plan in place, organizations can maximize the impact of their training initiatives and drive employee development to new heights.

A successful project plan starts with setting clear training objectives. Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART). Clearly articulating the desired outcomes of the training program will help align stakeholders, guide content development and assess the success of the project. Let’s take a look at the essential steps in developing your training objectives and executing your training project plan.

Step 1. Identify the Needs of the Organization

The first step in creating your training objectives is to identify the needs of the organization. It is crucial to determine these needs before exploring the needs of the learners. Meet with key stakeholders and contributors to gather insights and input into the desired results, available resources and budget boundaries.

Step 2. Identify the Needs of Your Audience

Next, identify the target audience and understand their needs. This may involve gathering data through surveys, interviews and observations to determine the skills and knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. In addition to understanding your learners’ content needs, engage in a thorough analysis of their demographics, job roles, skill levels and learning preferences.

By tailoring the training program to the specific needs of the audience through the lens of the organization’s requirements, you can design a training program that ensures maximum engagement, relevance, effectiveness and return on investment while achieving optimal results.

Step 3. Conduct a Risk Analysis

Once the needs of all audiences are defined, it’s imperative to conduct a risk analysis so the entire team is aware of potential issues down the road. Has the budget been approved but not finalized? Is one of the key contributors going on vacation for three weeks during the project? There are many issues that can come up along the way during a project.

Step 4. Develop Your Scope Statement

With the training objectives defined, it’s now time to create the scope statement. This scope statement is developed through collaboration with the various stakeholders to define the project objective, desired outcomes, budget and time expectations. Why is a scope statement so important? First, it allows the project leader to keep everyone on target for deliverables, time and expenses throughout the life of the project. When bumps in the road arise, understanding where the project is in reference to the scope allows the leader to expertly navigate and overcome these obstacles.

Inevitably stakeholders and contributors will have ideas for items they want to add to the project, even though these components were not in the original scope. Even if these requests are great ideas, they may not fit the scope of the project. Having a clear scope helps identify if these new requests fit into the purpose, time and budget needs of the project. If new task requests fit into the scope, they should be added to the project. If they don’t, leave them out or adjust the plan with all stakeholders aligned on the time, resource and cost ramifications of the decision.

Step 5. Write Your Project Plan

Once all assessments are complete and the stakeholders have signed off on the project scope, it’s time to formulate a written project plan. This sounds a lot easier than it is. Be aware that many people are not fans of project plans. They would rather do work as it inspires them or as a deadline approaches. That’s why it’s imperative to share the “why” around the written plan.

Understanding that the plan is a guideline to keep everyone on track and not a micro-managing daily task list, most will fall in line with the expectation. Furthermore, many leaders aren’t sure how to guide the project using the plan and/or inspire use by team members. There are plenty of free and paid resources out there to help with this. A good leader will do extensive research before diving in for the first time.

As you write the project plan, create a project schedule that details major milestones of the project and estimated due dates for deliverables. While writing the plan, it’s important to also identify dependencies, tasks that depend on other tasks to be completed before they may begin. Utilizing a detailed project timeline is a crucial step in effectively managing and executing a training project plan. It helps in organizing tasks, assigning responsibilities and setting realistic deadlines. By breaking down the project into smaller, manageable tasks and establishing a timeline for each, you can ensure a smooth and efficient workflow, leading to optimal results.

Step 6. Rollout Strategy

One area of planning that is often overlooked is the rollout strategy:

• • When the project is completed, how will the program be introduced to the learners?
  • Is there a webinar? A roadshow? Train the trainer?
  • How will the program be maintained and updated?
  • Where will the media be housed?
  • Are there technical requirements for the roll out?

There is a myriad of points to consider for the rollout strategy. All options will add time, cost and resources to the project. If this is not discussed and agreed upon at the outset, there is little chance the objectives of the project can be met successfully.

Step 7. Track and Manage Project

Once the plan components are in place, it’s time to decide how to keep track of the plan. Many project leaders will use project management software or a spreadsheet document. If you haven’t used one of these before, don’t worry. Just think about what level of detail and technology you want. There are plenty of software options out there with a range of features, prices, methodologies, etc. Best of all, most offer a free trial so you can try them on for size.

Make sure you like the look and feel of the software. You will spend a lot of time in the program, so its look and feel should bring you some joy. If you decide to go the spreadsheet route, there are many templates available at no charge on the internet. Once the plan has been written, present it to the stakeholders to ensure their buy-in. Everyone should be aligned on what this project will do and what results it will produce.

Step 8. Execute Your Plan

Now, it’s time to execute the plan. The lion’s share of people, resources and budgets are deployed during the execution phase of the project. It is critical for the project leader to keep a close eye on things to make sure the work being done is on-track with the scope goals and deliverables. Coordinating tasks and resources through a written project plan will keep the work on budget and help safeguard against scope creep.

Many leaders choose to hold weekly or bi-weekly project meetings where key contributors update the written project plan and report on their progress in the live session. This enables all contributors to stay in-the-know on key information and timelines. It also provides an opportunity to workshop roadblocks and challenges together. It’s common to not invite stakeholders and sponsors to these project meetings. Instead, a regular cadence of steering meetings with that audience allows them to remain informed on progress without having to sit through all the minutiae of the day-to-day work.

As the project leader, stay close to the content being created. While you don’t want to micromanage the process, it is the leader’s role to validate that the materials being created address the stated objectives of the project scope and meet style, tone and other internal guidelines. Check in often to ensure large amounts of work do not have to be recreated.

Step 9. Keep Lines of Communication Open

Once the plan is in place and the project plan milestones are being checked off and oversight is being applied to the various tasks, the project leader must continue to communicate with all parties. While this is not a specific line item on a project plan, this communication is what ensures that the work being done continues to be relevant and will be well-received by all audiences.

Using the aforementioned project and steering meetings is a great place to start. Also, decide on a regular cadence of information. Is there a weekly email? A monthly webinar? Whatever you choose, make sure everyone understands the cadence of information flow so they may remain informed and ask questions as the work happens, not at the end when everything is presumed to be finished.

Moving Forward

As you can see, creating and executing a project plan is no small task. It takes careful thought, collaboration, planning and communication. All of this takes time and effort. Consider all the starts and stops, double work and missteps that happen without a plan.

Without a plan, what chance does the project have to come in on budget and on time without over-taxing your team and resources? Again, if you haven’t done a project plan before, don’t worry. Even a bad project plan is better than no plan at all. Using the process from start to finish will most definitely produce a better quality of work and materials that impact your learners and the entire organization for years to come.