The role of the project plan is a hot item in the debate on Agile versus more conventional project management styles. The status or purpose of a plan for the execution of a project is pivotal and indicative for the style and atmosphere in which a project is executed. Personally I have a number resentments towards the way in which the plan is used in traditional led projects. The most important of which is that the plan is leading and everything should be done in accordance with the plan. If something is not in the plan it cannot and should not be done, and everything in the plan needs to be executed diligently. Deviations from the plan are bad and are seen as indicators for failure of the project.

In a series of blog entries we will investigate the role of plans in a project management and try to find some answers on what the role of the plan should be, how the use of a plan affects the effectiveness of a project management approach and how it affects the way you deal with people.

As you can judge from the title, in my opinion one should not try to map the plan to the day to day reality of the project. Unexpected things will always occur and new insights will blossom. Project management must and should want to deal with that in the most constructive way, even if it was not part of the plan. The success of a project greatly depends on how one deals with unexpected events. Reality can be a real pain, especially if it does not stick to the plan.

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