Visible Planning

How Visible Plans Help Teams Get More Done

By Katherine Radeka
 • Greater visibility for the Visual Project Planning Board Example Forms
-œ“iÊ7>ÃÌiʈÃÊ iViÃÃ>ÀÞ
Visible Planning
project. A Visible Plan
draws people to it. Sponsors
˜ÊœÕÀʏˆÃÌʜvÊ>V̈ۈ̈iÃ]Ê>ÊviÜʈÌi“ÃÊ>ÀiÊ>Ü>ÞÃÊÜ>ÃÌi\ÊÃÌ>ÌÕÃʓiï˜}Ã]ÊÈ}˜‡œvvÃ]ÊÃÕ««ˆiÀʘi}œÌˆ>̈œ˜Ã]ÊÃ>iÃʓ>ÌiÀˆ>Ã°Ê/
especially appreciate iÊ>VÌʜvÊ
How Visible Plans Help Teams Get More Done. «Ài«>Àˆ˜}ÊÌ iÊLÕȘiÃÃÊV>ÃiÊ >ÃÊܓiÊii“i˜ÌÃÊÌ >ÌÊVÀi>ÌiÊÛ>ÕiÊ­VÕÃ̜“iÀÊÀiÃi>ÀV ®Ê>˜`ÊœÌ iÀÃÊÌ >ÌÊ`œ˜½ÌÊ­«Ài«>Àˆ˜}Ê>ÊØ>ââÞÊ«Ài‡
the ability to see what’s
Ãi˜Ì>̈œ˜ÊvœÀÊÌ iÊLœ>À`ʜvÊ`ˆÀiV̜Àî°Ê/ iÊ>V̈ۈ̈iÃÊÌ >ÌÊVœ˜ÌÀˆLÕÌiÊ`ˆÀiV̏ÞÊ̜ʫÀœ`ÕVÌÊ`iˆÛiÀÞʇÊÀiµÕˆÀi“i˜ÌÃÊ`iw˜ˆÌˆœ˜]ʈ˜˜œÛ>‡
happening with a project
̈œ˜]Ê`iÈ}˜]Ê̜œˆ˜}ʇÊ>``ÊÛ>ÕiÊ̜ÊÌ iÊiÝÌi˜ÌÊÌ >ÌÊÌ iÞÊiˆÌ iÀÊ}i˜iÀ>ÌiʜÀÊṎˆâiʜÕÀÊLiÃÌÊ>Û>ˆ>Liʎ˜œÜi`}iÊ>LœÕÌÊÌ iÊVÕÃ̜“iÀ]Ê
Key Takeaways Ì iʓ>ÀŽiÌ]ÊÌiV ˜œœ}ÞÊ>˜`Ê«ÀœViÃÃÊV>«>LˆˆÌˆið
simply by looking at its
visible plan, whenever
they want. That keeps the
œÊœ˜iÊV>ˆ“ÃÊÌ >ÌÊ>ÊÜ>ÃÌiÊV>˜ÊœÀÊà œÕ`ÊLiÊiˆ“ˆ˜>Ìi`°Ê Ûi˜Ê" ˜œÊÀiVœ}˜ˆâi`ÊÌ >ÌÊܓiÊÜ>ÃÌiʈÃʘiViÃÃ>ÀÞÊÜ>ÃÌi°Ê½“ʘœÌÊÃÕ}‡
sponsors and the team aligned
• A Visual Project Board is a visual model of a team’s project }iÃ̈˜}ÊÌinformation,
>ÌÊ>ÊÌi>“Êiˆ“ˆ˜>ÌiÊÌ iÊÃÌi«ÊœvÊ«Ài«>Àˆ˜}ÊÌ
in a location where iÊLÕȘiÃÃÊV>ÃiÊi˜ÌˆÀiÞ°Ê
ÃÊ>Êà >Ài œ`iÀ]ÊÌ >ÌÊ`ÕiÊ`ˆˆ}i˜ViÊ >ÃÊÛ>ÕiÊ̜ʓi°Ê
about why we’re doing the
all members of the extended team can easily see it, and œÜiÛiÀ]Ê>ʏi>˜ÊœÀ}>˜ˆâ>̈œ˜Ê>VŽ˜œÜi`}iÃÊÌ
a core team can easily keep it up to >ÌÊÌ iÊVÕÃ̜“iÀÊ`œiؽÌÊV>ÀiÊ>LœÕÌÊÌ iÊÃ>iÃÊvœÀiV>ÃÌʜÀÊ œÜʓ>˜ÞÊÈ}˜>ÌÕÀiÃʈÌÊ̜œŽÊ
project in the first place, and
date. ̜Ê}iÌÊÌ iÊv՘`ˆ˜}ÊvœÀÊ>Ê«ˆœÌÊÀii>Ãi°Ê
ʏi>˜ÊœÀ}>˜ˆâ>̈œ˜ÊÃÌÀi>“ˆ˜iÃÊÌ œÃiÊ«ÀœViÃÃiÃÊ>ÃʓÕV Ê>ÃÊ«œÃÈLi°
• Visual Project Planning makes the information typically stored in status reports and project what it needs to keep moving.
management systems more visible to the team and their stakeholders.
• Focus. A Visible Project Plan
• A few simple rules makes it easy for a team leader to keep the boards up to date .
strips the project down to
œ““œ˜Ê˜`ˆV>̜ÀÃʜvÊ7>ÃÌiʈ˜Ê*Àœ`ÕVÌÊ iÛiœ«“i˜Ì
its essentials, which keeps
What Is Visible Planning? vÊޜսÀiÊ}œˆ˜}ʜÕÌÊ̜ʏœœŽÊvœÀÊÜ>ÃÌiʈ˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜Ì]Ê iÀiÊ>ÀiÊܓiÊÌ everyone focused on doing
ˆ˜}ÃÊ̜ʏœœŽÊvœÀ\
the right things to get the
Visible Planning is a way to plan and manage a project so that all of the most/ important
iÊÜ>ÃÌiʜvÊÀiˆ˜Ûi˜Ìˆœ˜\Êi>˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜ÌÊÌi>“ÃÊ>««ÀiVˆ>ÌiÊÌ
information is right in front of the iÊÛ>Õiʜvʎ˜œÜi`}i]Ê>˜`Êi˜ÃÕÀiÃÊÌ
project done. That helps >ÌʈÌÃÊÊ
Ž˜œÜi`}iʈÃÊi>ÃÞÊ̜ÊV>«ÌÕÀi]Êi>ÃÞÊ̜Êw˜`Ê>˜`Ê>Ü>ÞÃÊÕÃi`Ê̜ʓ>ŽiÊ`iVˆÃˆœ˜Ã°
people who need it, when they need it. If someone needs a status update, the most current information is already there. If speed up decision-making and
something changes, the team can rapidly assess the impact and update the plan.
/ iÊÜ>ÃÌiʜvÊiÝViÃÃÊÀiµÕˆÀi“i˜ÌÃ\Êi>˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜ÌÊÌi>“ÃÊÀiVœ}˜ˆâiÊÌprioritize issues for resolution.
>ÌÊiÛiÀÞÊiÝÌÀ>Êvi>ÌÕÀiʓÕÃÌÊLiÊ`iÈ}˜i`]Ê
«Àœ`ÕVi`]ʓ>ˆ˜Ì>ˆ˜i`Ê>˜`ÊÃÕ««œÀÌi`ÊpÊ>˜`ÊVÕÃ̜“iÀÃÊ«>ÞÊÌ
The purpose of a plan is to map out the territory, so that everyone knows where they are, where they are going and what it’s It also simply reduces the
iÊ«ÀˆViʈ˜Ê}Ài>ÌiÀÊVœ“«i݈ÌÞÊ>˜`Ê}Ài>ÌiÀÊÀˆÃŽÊœvÊv>ˆÕÀi°
going to take to get there. Information flows smoothly in a Visible Plan. The links between the project’s goals, metrics, schedule amount of information that
/ iÊÜ>ÃÌiʜvʜÛiÀœ>`i`ÊÀiÜÕÀViÃ\Êi>˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜ÌÊÌi>“Ãʎ˜œÜÊÌ >ÌʜÛiÀœ>`ˆ˜}ÊÀiÜÕÀViÃʓ>ŽiÃÊÌ
the team must process in i“ÊϜÜiÀÊÊ
and tasks become crystal clear. >˜`ʏiÃÃÊyi݈Li]Ê>˜`ÊÌ >ÌÊÌ>·Ã܈ÌV ˆ˜}ÊVœÃÌÃÊi˜}ˆ˜iiÀÃÊÛ>Õ>LiÊ̈“i° order to decide what to do
All the members of a team take ownership for a Visible Plan. The project manager’s job shifts from spending time updating next.
/ iÊÜ>ÃÌiʜvÊÌ ÀœÜ‡>Ü>ÞÊ`iÈ}˜\Êi>˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜ÌÊÌi>“ÃÊÃÌÀˆÛiÊ̜Ê՘`iÀÃÌ>˜`Ê>˜`ÊÌ i˜Ê“>˜>}iÊÌ iˆÀÊ`iÈ}˜ÃÊ
schedules and writing status updates towards better communication with stakeholders, resolving issues and facilitating decision-
>ÃÊ>˜Êˆ˜Ìi}À>Ìi`ÊÃÞÃÌi“]ÊÜÊÌ >ÌÊÌ iÞÊV>˜ÊvœVÕÃʈ˜˜œÛ>̈œ˜Êœ˜Ê>Ài>ÃÊÌ >Ìʈ“«ÀœÛiÊÌ iʓ>ÀŽiÌÊ«iÀvœÀ“>˜ViʜvÊÌ iˆÀÊi˜ÌˆÀiÊ
making. The members of the team take responsibility for ensuring that the Visible Plan is an accurate reflection of reality.
«œÀÌvœˆœÊœvÊ«Àœ`ÕVÌð

The Value of Project Planning Principles of Visible

/ iÊÜ>ÃÌiʜvʈ˜ivviV̈ÛiÊÀˆÃŽÊ“>˜>}i“i˜Ì\Êi>˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜ÌÊÌi>“ÃÊ>VŽ˜œÜi`}iÊÌ iÊ՘ViÀ‡Planning
Ì>ˆ˜ÌÞʈ˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜Ì]Ê>˜`Ê`iÛiœ«Ê«>˜ÃÊ̜ʓ>˜>}iʈ̰ Good visible plans have a few basic things in common that cut across different types of projects and different ways to do visible
My approach to project planning begins with a simple premise: the purpose of project planning is to ensure that the project gets
/ of
iÊÜ>ÃÌiʜvÊÜ>ÌiÀv>Ê`iÛiœ«“i˜Ì\Êi>˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜ÌÊÌi>“ÃÊ`œÊܜÀŽÊÜ planning:
i˜ÊˆÌʓ>ŽiÃÊÊ
done – on time and within budget. We don’t create project plans for the sake planning. We create project plans to help us
get things done. Ì iʓœÃÌÊÃi˜ÃiÊ̜Ê`œÊˆÌ]ÊÀ>Ì iÀÊÌ >˜Ê>œÜˆ˜}ÊÀˆ}ˆ`Ê«ÀœViÃÃiÃʜÀʜÀ}>˜ˆâ>̈œ˜>ÊLœÕ˜`>ÀˆiÃÊ̜ÊÊ
• Visible plans have a home, and everyone important to the team knows where it is. The home is big enough to keep the most
`ˆVÌ>ÌiÊܜÀŽyœÜ°
To the extent that project plans help us do that, they are useful. A useful project plan facilitates rapid decision-making, essential team information visible without having to open anything or look behind anything The home can take many forms. It
/ iÊÜ>ÃÌiʜvÊ՘«Àœ`ÕV̈Ûiʓiï˜}Ã\Êi>˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜ÌÊÌi>“ÃÊÛ>ÕiÊÌ
highlights potential roadblocks and issues, coordinates a team’s activities and helps the team make the most of the time and could be a physical home such as a dedicated conference room, or a virtual home such as a team web site.
iˆÀÊ̈“i]Ê>˜`ÊÕÃiÊ}œœ`Ê
money available to achieve the objectives. It provides the right information“iï˜}ʓ>˜>}i“i˜ÌÊ̜Êëi˜`ÊÌ
to the right people at the right timeiÊ̈“iÊÌ
to move iÞÊthe >ÛiÊ̜}iÌ iÀÊvœÀÊ܏ۈ˜}Ê«ÀœLi“ÃʜÀʓ>Žˆ˜}Ê`iVˆÃˆœ˜Ã°
• Visible plans include only the information essential to running the project. If a tool doesn’t apply, it’s not included. This is
project forward.
7>ÃÌiʓ>˜ˆviÃÌÃʈÌÃivʈ˜ÊœÌ iÀÊÜ>ÞÃʈ˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜Ì]ÊLÕÌÊÌ iÃiÊÌi˜`Ê̜ÊLiÊÌ indirect conflictˆÌÌiÀÃ]Ê
iÊ i>Ûއ to most standard “product development lifecycles” which consist of lists of deliverables to be produced for each
Every bit of effort that goes into a plan that does not help the team achieve >˜`ÊÌ
the objectives of the project is waste. Every piece of phase.
iÞÊ>ÀiÊ>Ê}œœ`Ê«>ViÊ̜ÊÃÌ>ÀÌʏœœŽˆ˜}°Ê Ûi˜ÊÓ>ÊV >˜}iÃÊ iÀiÊV>˜Ê >ÛiÊ>ÊLˆ}ʈ“«>VÌ° It is amazing how much time a project manager can spend updating and maintaining these deliverables. Visible Planning
documentation that no one reads is waste. Every obsolete schedule is waste. Every status update to management that pays more says that if it doesn’t contribute to the goal of getting the project done in a visible way, it’s not necessary.
attention to aesthetics than content is waste.
• The information flow of the visible plan is evident in the layout and structure of the plan. It is clear how the project goals will
How Visible Project Plans Help Teams Get Things Done
Ê œÌiʜvÊ >Ṏœ˜ accomplish the team’s mission, and how milestones will drive accomplishment of the goals. Tasks at one level relate to the tasks at
levels above and below. In a well-designed Visible Plan, a person new to the project can start at one corner of the plan and follow
̽ÃʘœÌÊ>Ü>ÞÃÊi>ÃÞÊ̜ʎ˜œÜÊÜ iÌ iÀʜÀʘœÌÊ>Ê}ˆÛi˜Ê>V̈ۈÌÞʈÃÊÛ>ÕiÊVÀi>̈˜}]ʘiViÃÃ>ÀÞÊÜ>ÃÌiʜÀÊ՘˜iViÃÃ>ÀÞÊÜ>ÃÌi°Ê7iÊV>˜˜œÌÊÀiÞÊ
So, how does all this stuff help a project team finish their project on time and under budget? Visible plans benefit a project team the flow of information to the end. By the time someone has read the entire plan, he or she also has a good grasp of the project.
Õ«œ˜Ê`iÃVÀˆ«Ìˆœ˜ÃʜvÊÜ>ÃÌiÊÌ >ÌÊÜiÊw˜`ʈ˜Êi>˜Ê>˜Õv>VÌÕÀˆ˜}Ê}Ո`iLœœŽÃ°
in four significant ways:
• The Visible Plan answers
,iܜÀŽÊˆÃÊ>Ê}œœ`ÊiÝ>“«i°Ê˜Ê“>˜Õv>VÌÕÀˆ˜}]ÊÀiܜÀŽÊˆÃÊ>“œÃÌÊ>Ü>ÞÃÊ>˜Êˆ˜`ˆV>̜ÀʜvÊ՘˜iViÃÃ>ÀÞÊÜ>ÃÌi°Ê ÕÌÊÌthe “Why?” question as deeply as it answers “What” and “How.” This is important for keeping the team
iÊ«Àˆ˜Vˆ«iʜvÊVœ˜Ìˆ˜Õ‡
• Accountability and ownership. The team owns the project plan, and eachœÕÃʈ“«ÀœÛi“i˜ÌÊ>ÃÃՓiÃÊÌ
team member owns their obligations to fulfill the in alignment, especially as the project enters into its busiest phases when it is easy to forget the reasons that the project was
>ÌÊ>Êi>˜Ê>˜Õv>VÌÕÀˆ˜}Ê}ÀœÕ«Ê܈ÊVœ˜ÃÌ>˜ÌÞÊÀiܜÀŽÊÌ iˆÀÊ«ÀœViÃÃiÃÊ>˜`Ê̜œˆ˜}Ê̜Êiˆ“ˆ˜>ÌiÊÜ>ÃÌiÊ>˜`Ê
plan. It was not something handed down from the project manager to theˆ“«ÀœÛiÊyœÜ°Ê/
team – it is something the team creates
iÊ«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÈ}˜Ê together,
>ÃʓÕV funded. The >˜ÊˆÌÊ`œiÃÊ܈Ì
ʓœÀiʈ˜ÊVœ““œ˜ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iʓ>˜Õv>VÌÕÀˆ˜}Ê«ÀœViÃÃÊÌ project team’s goals and objectives are kept front-and-center, so that the team has the constant reminder that this
ÊÌ iÊ«Àœ`ÕVÌʈÌÃiv°
and updates together. When there is a problem, it is immediately visible. project is linked to real business results. This helps them make the right decisions.

ÊviÜÊ œÕÀÃʜvÊÀiܜÀŽÊ̜ʈ˜VœÀ«œÀ>ÌiʘiÜʎ˜œÜi`}iʈ˜ÌœÊ>Ê`iÈ}˜ÊV>˜ÊVÀi>ÌiÊÛ>Õi°Ê-œ“iÊÀiܜÀŽ]ÊÃÕV Ê>ÃÊVœÀÀiV̈˜}ÊV>VՏ>̈œ˜ÊiÀ‡
• Less project management overhead. Visible plans are easy to update on the fly. This means that team meetings take>ÛiÊÀˆ««iÊivviVÌÃÊÌ
ÀœÀÃ]ʈÃÊÜ>ÃÌivՏ°Ê-œ“ï“iÃÊÀiܜÀŽÊV>˜Ê less time, • Visible Plans make things visible. Wherever possible, diagrams and graphs replace descriptive text and numbers. Bullet points
>ÌÊV>˜ViÊœÕÌÊÌ iÊ«œÌi˜Ìˆ>ÊÛ>Õi°Êi>˜Ê«Àœ`ÕVÌÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜ÌÊÌi>“ÃÊV>˜ÊÃiiÊ
and the project managers have less work to do after the team meetings. Everyone has more time to actually>ÌÊVÀi>ÌiÃÊÛ>Õi]Ê>˜`ÊÀiܜÀŽÊÌ
Ì iÊ`ˆvviÀi˜ViÊLiÌÜii˜ÊÀiܜÀŽÊÌ do the work of replaceœÜÊ̜Ê>ۜˆ`ÊÌ
>ÌÊ`œiÃʘœÌ°Ê/ iÞʎ˜œÜÊ paragraphs. Simple models replace complex charts. Anything that represents information overload tends to get weeded
iÊÜ>ÃÌivՏʎˆ˜`ʜvÊÀiܜÀŽ]Ê>˜`Ê
the project: engineers have more time to be engineers, testers have more time to test, marketing
œÜÊ̜ÊÕÃiÊÌ people have more time to
iÊÛ>Õ>Liʎˆ˜`Ê>ÃÊ>Ê̜œÊ̜Ê`iˆÛiÀʓœÀiÊÛ>ÕiÊÌ out of a Visible Plan.
>˜Ê>ÊȘ}iÊ«>ÃÃÊ`iÈ}˜Ê«ÀœViÃÃÊV>˜Ê`iˆÛiÀ°Ê
understand the market and our customers. Project managers have more time to grease the skids, resolve issues and keep key
stakeholders in the loop.
,iviÀi˜ViÃ\Ê*œ««i˜`ˆiVŽ]Ê>ÀÞ°Êi>˜Ê-œvÌÜ>ÀiÊ iÛiœ«“i˜Ì\Ê>˜Ê
}ˆiÊ/œœŽˆÌ°Ê

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