Module 5 of 12 · Async + Virtual · Two parts
Planning Process
Module 5 in two parts. Start with Part A, then Part B. Keep the quick references open while you work.
Module 5 throughline · A scope is a promise. Planning turns it into a plan you can run: broken down, priced, sequenced, staffed, and measurable.Module Videos
The recorded walkthrough that teaches the module. Watch it first.
In productionPart A · Break Down the Work
Module Overview
The full illustrated module overview, a continuous visual read.
Available Open →Quick Reference Guides
The interactive companion: calculators, diagnostics, and checklists to keep open on the job.
Available Open →Planning Studio 1
Break down the work and budget it: scope boundary → WBS → labor plan. Your plan carries into Part B.
Available Open →Part B · Sequence & Staff the Plan
Module Overview
Sequence the work, make the handoffs visible, and staff the plan: the schedule, Earned Value Plan, and S-curve.
Available Open →Quick Reference Guides
The Pull-Plan Builder, the interactive companion for sequencing, labor demand, and earned value.
Available Open →Planning Studio 2
Sequence, schedule & draw the S-curve: Earned Value Plan and labor demand, picking up your Part A plan.
Available Open →Module resources
Additional Materials
Templates, worksheets, and source documents that support the module.
In productionWhat you will be able to do
- ✓Define scope, schedule, budget, and constraints based on client goals.
- ✓Build a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
- ✓Identify QA/QC requirements and checkpoints within the project plan.
- ✓Sequence the work with Logic-Based / Pull Planning so information reaches each discipline on time.
- ✓Build a work plan with workload, resource demand, and fee-forecasting elements.
- ✓Apply Earned Value concepts to measure plan performance.
Tools & resources
Tools & resources you will use
- Project Planning Process
- WBS Template for Standard Projects
- Project Decision Matrix
- Work Plan & Schedule Template
- Earned Value Plan / S-curve
Listed items are the governance and operational tools tied to this section. Items marked “Participant generated” are built during the work.
The Archetype Lens
Before the design starts, two archetypes skip the breakdown.
Breaking down the work is exactly the discipline the Obsessed Designer rushes past and the Coordinator over-documents.
Competent Coordinator
Logs and documents instead of intervening, trusting the meeting cadence over the timely call.
Obsessed Designer
Optimizes for the design, treating budget, client ops, and team load as someone else’s problem.
People Pleaser
Leads with relationship, says yes, softens bad news, and absorbs cost to avoid the hard conversation.
Accountable Owner
Owns the intersections, reads signals early, stops work, presents options, and protects the outcome.
A new phase starts and the design is exciting.
Dives into design without breaking the work down or pricing it.
Decomposes the scope into a WBS and prices it before the first sketch, so design gets the runway a real budget buys.
Estimating who should do a routine task.
Builds a tidy plan but never soft-resources to the right level.
Assigns each task to its lowest competent role and defends the margin task by task.
Meet the four archetypes in depth →