Session 04: Drafting the Planning Phase

Hi there and welcome to this session of the How to Make Guides project where I am creating a step-by-step manual for producing guides – from concept to release. In the previous session I had explored and established the title, version, summary, and requirements from the project outline. In this session, I will do the same with the planning phase of the outline.

To start, here is the outline for the guide:

Title (Drafted)
Version (Drafted)
Summary (Drafted)
Requirements (Drafted)
Phases (To do)
1. Planning
2. Production
3. Review
4. Implementation
5. Testing
6. Launch
7. Retrospective
8. Close
Appendix (To do)

The approach to the phases portion is to use the Project Management Guidelines as a foundation from which I will customize for guide production. For example, the production phase – which is currently written for a vague sense of what most projects will experience – will be rewritten specifically for guides. The other phases will support the work necessary for planning and launching the guide.

Before I start to dissect planning phase, here are the guide sections that were developed leading up to the stages:

Producing Guide Projects

version 00.00.01

How to design, create, and launch a guide to help users complete a task or a series of tasks.

Overview

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to help you create a guide of your own. This guide incorporates Cryptiquest creative project management standards which provides a pathway from planning to publish. By following the process provided within this text, you will:

identify what resources you need to make the guide;
design the presentation parameters for your guide;
draft and review the content for your guide;
produce and test your guide;
publish and launch your guide; and,
debrief and officially close your guide project.

Preparing for Guide Production

In addition to this guide, and a need for producing a guide of your own, you will need the means to create documentation.

Drafting the Phases

Phase 1: Planning

So the first phase is Planning. The overview description of this phase is as follows: “By then end of this phase you will have an understanding of what you are creating, why you are creating it, and how you are creating it.” I think this can stay as-is. I’ll revisit this once the rest of the phase is fleshed out to see if it holds up.

Regarding steps, the phase is broken down as follows:

Identify the needs you are trying to solve.
Describe the ideal solution for the needs.
Explore the scope of this project.
Define the project goal.
List out objectives for this project.
Identify the project tasks required to take your project to launch.

Step 1: Identify the needs you are trying to solve

For the first step, “Identify the needs you are trying to solve”, it would seem as though there is a bit of a conundrum as the user is instructed to have a “need for producing a guide of your own” as part of preparation before getting to this phase. Contextually, the “need” is different. The “need for producing a guide of your own” is a surface-level “I need a guide to explain guides because it doesn’t yet exist” while the “Identify the needs you are trying to solve” is the more detailed “[I]… need to create a project management guide to standardize the process of creating guides using best practices.”

Could this discrepancy be resolved with a new term? The second “need” is deeply baked into project management guides so is there a term I could use to replace the other “need”? Desire?

“In addition to this guide, and a desire for producing a guide of your own, you will need the means to create documentation.”

I think that works. The verbiage that describes the step needs to change though. “Consider what brought you to this project. What’s compelling you to create this? What problems are you hoping to solve or outcomes do you hope to gain?” Maybe I should work in something like the “Five Whys” approach. I have never explicitly used the Five Whys but I typically analyze until I have a direction to take. The number “five” seems arbitrary but it’s meant to be catchy (I think). The instructions for the method dictate iterating through the “Why” process until you find the root cause.

But realizing the “root cause” isn’t always easy. I know I’ve fallen prey to falsely identifying the crux of a project and running with it. And the answers that start new questions may have multiple variables that are ignored. So maybe the loop should only break once you go “past” the root cause. It’s easier to find that point because things start to get existential, metaphysical, or infinitely repetitive.

If the need is something like: “I need to create a project management guide to standardize the process of creating guides using best practices” maybe each part of that answer should be blown apart and questioned.

Need: I need to create a project management guide to standardize the process of creating guides using best practices

To create a project management guide
- Why do you need to create one?
  1. Because I do not have one currently.
    1. Why don’t you have one currently?
      1. Because I have not created one yet. STOP (1).
  2. Because I want to provide free PM tools for creators.
    1. Why do you want to provide free PM tools for creators?
      1. Because it is part of the company vision. STOP (2).
  3. Because by doing this myself, I will intimately understand PM process.
    1. Why do you want to intimately understand the PM process?
      1. Because I want to improve my personal productivity and effectiveness. STOP (3).
    2. Why do you have to do this yourself?
      1. Because I’ve experienced other project management processes and they never seem to work 100% for me. STOP (3).
To standardize the process of creating guides
1. Why do you want to standardize the process of creating guides?
  1. So I can establish a process for more efficient creation.
    1. Why do you want to establish a process for this?
      1. So less time is devoted to thinking about process.
        Why is so much time devoted to thinking about process?
        To prevent scope creep / project bloat / release delays / and other setbacks. STOP (2).
    2. Why are you focused on more efficient creation?
      1. To prevent scope creep / project bloat / release delays / and other setbacks. STOP (2).
  2. So guides can be consistent for users.
    1. Why should guides be consistent for users?
      1. So users are less likely to get lost when using Cryptiquest products. STOP (2).
      2. So the brand is consistent. STOP (2).
Using best practices
1. Why do you want to use “best practices”?
  1. By using “best practices”, the guide will grow and become more efficient as better practices are learned / discovered.
    1. Why does the guide need to “grow”?
      1. So the guide can be refined and help projects become more efficient. STOP (2).
    2. Why do you focus on efficiency?
      1. To prevent scope creep / project bloat / release delays / and other setbacks. STOP (2).

Okay. Wow. That process was crazy but super helpful. So here’s what I learned. There are currently four ways to stop the questioning:

Answer Leads to Previously Asked Question
Company Vision / Mission / Objectives Demands It
Personal Reasons

Also, I’ve learned a few things about this project’s needs.

At its core, this project solves the absence of the guide. (This was obvious.)
Vision: This project is aligned with Cryptiquest’s mission to provide tools which are Obtainable, Refinable, and Useful.
Personal: This project will help me become more intimate with project management standards and help build a process custom to my style of productivity.

The personal reasons are less important but are also addressing articles that are reasoned with company vision. These needs are ultimately addressed in the kick-off session though just explicitly for these reasons.

(Backing up for a bit – while the personal reasons aren’t as important as company vision or the core reason for the project, they are still important. They aren’t as important to me because I’ve put my personal desires into the vision of Cryptiquest but a user will have their own visions and personal desires.)

I think this iterative process needs to be added as a tool for Cryptiquest. In this way it’s optional for those who have more simplistic needs.

So now let’s update the verbiage with this new tool in mind.

You have a desire to create a guide. Now consider what needs this project is trying to satisfy. What problems are you hoping to solve or outcomes do you hope to gain?

It can be useful to journal questions to dig deeper into the project needs. Cryptiquest offers a free Project Need Analysis tool for you to use for this purpose. It is included in the Appendix of this guide for convenience.

Okay. That sounds good for now I think. It seems like the Project Need Analysis Tool will need to be built as a new project before this project is complete.

Step 2: Describe the ideal solution for the needs.

I’m not sure there’s a lot of change involved with this. The goal is to have the creator visualize a solution – predict a possible future. And I’m not sure there is a better way to do this. The verbiage could be customized for guides, however.

If money or physical limitations weren’t a problem, what would the best solution be to meet the needs of the guide? Performing this exercise may help you to better visualize the project goal or remove a preconceived idea from your head. Since the ideal solution you conjure is not necessarily within your means of production, it should only be treated as a tool and not serve as a commitment.

Ah. I think there should be an example throughout the whole guide. It’s tough to ask the user to perform this step if they aren’t used to thinking in this way, I think. So having a single guide that is being “built” as they do their steps can help them get a hint of how to perform the step. I don’t need to come up with that now (especially since I don’t have a guide to use as a reference yet) but I’ll add it to the Action Items list.

Step 3: Explore the Scope of the Project

This one is problematic. The definition of “scope” has become more detailed since the original PM Guidelines and I’ve just crammed it into the guide without actually doing any PM work to integrate it. I guess since I’m creating other tools and adding new phases (looking at you TEST) I should rectify this now.

So this step currently addresses scope exploration then asks to look at the scope of the product and the scope of the project. These probably should be separated into two different steps. Step 3: Explore the Scope of the Product and Step 4: Explore the Scope of the Project.

The first one (product scope) should have the user assess the ideal solution and break it down into a feasible outcome. The second one (project scope) should look at the product and consider how the scope of the project is affected by it. However, the project might have constraints that would affect the product (tight budget, deadline, etc.). So maybe it’s a step-by-step process:

Identify Project Constraints
Identify Product Constraints
Define Product Scope
Define Project Scope

I like how the product is wrapped inside the project though I’m not sure if that’s necessary. Perhaps all the constraints should be identified at once and sorted as a sub-step. The order-of-operations isn’t important here but structure is. Let’s try this:

Identify Constraints
Sort Constraints
Define Product Scope
Define Project Scope

The differences between “project” and “product” should also be well understood by the users. This whole section will need to be rewritten. Do I do that now or do I create an Action Item for that? Let’s create an Action Item for that and move on.

Step 4: Define the Goal of the Project

The current verbiage for this step is good but it misses an opportunity to explain how the scope is necessary to identify the goal.

Hold up!

Maybe. Maybe this step should mark the beginning of a NEW PHASE. Maybe this is where PLANNING begins and every step before this was EXPLORATION. The project scope ultimately helps to determine feasibility in addition to providing the foundation for objectives and task steps, etc.

(I am reminded of the time I spent on an exploratory mission for creating a custom-immersive-horror-story-by-mail project that was determined to be 100% infeasible.)

The purpose of Exploration (Need, Ideal Solution, Scope) is to refine a concept into a workable vision. Planning takes that vision and makes it into a project plan.

That makes an incredible amount of sense. So now what do I do with this new direction? How do I add this as an Action Item? “Rewrite the Planning Phase into two new phases: Exploration and Planning.”? I guess so.

Okay, assuming that has happened, how should the step be customized for guides? Looking at the current verbiage, it explains that the goal defines the nature of the product and indicates the need. For guide projects the nature of the product will assumed to be a guide.

Then it explains the anatomy of the goal statement, followed by an example, and an explanation of how the example follows the syntax.

I think – with exception of the example – none of this is necessary since a large chunk of the syntax is predetermined. This should be enough to go on.

The project goal defines how your guide will meet your core need. Your goal will start with “to create a guide that will…” followed by a short description of the need being solved.

“To create a guide that instructs users on how to create how-to guides.” (This is just a placeholder and should be replaced once reference is identified.)

Step 5: List Out the Objectives for the Project

The verbiage for this step isn’t horrible but it feels like it could benefit from a tool or a supportive list. I feel as though users – including myself – are left to reinvent this part each time – which is inefficient and very-not standardized.

The list should most likely change from project to project but most of it would be the same, I think. Perhaps what is most necessary is a separate list of objectives – one where every objective generated is stored and drawn upon – an objective repository or sorts. My hunch is that the more objectives that are added to the objective repository over time the more themes and categories will reveal themselves, leading to objective clusters (much like the company objectives).

I’ve just added “Create objective repository” to the Action Item list. For this section of the guide, however, I will rewrite the verbiage to reference Cryptiquest’s Objective Repository.

Objectives serve as a litmus test to determine whether your project was successful or not. They ensure that the project meets criteria that are important to you. Some of these criteria should have been uncovered in the Exploration phase. Some of the criteria might come from your personal and/or company objectives. (If you do not already have a list of objectives at hand, feel free to reference Cryptiquest’s Objective Repository which is available for free and included in the Appendix of this guide for convenience.)

As you list objectives, they need to be written with a measurable and neutral structure. Consider the following example: “The story is entertaining.” This is not objectively measurable. How do you determine if a story is entertaining in a way that’s not subjective? A better way to write this could be: “When surveyed, all reviewers report that the story is entertaining.” Even though the reviews themselves will be subjective, there is an objective unit to measure: reviewer survey ratings.

NEED: step-by-step objective creation using example guide.

Step 6: Identify the project tasks required to take your project to launch.

This step needs some major overhauling. A complete rewrite is in order.

Disregarding the current verbiage, the step should explain what the purpose is, what the end-result looks like, and the instructions for completing the step.

The project tasks you identify will provide a pathway toward success. Your goal is to make a project task list – an outline which highlights the work needed for each phase in order from start to finish.

Each work item highlighted is called a “task”. A task can be as big as “create all marketing materials” or as small as “create a social media post”. The granularity needed for each task varies from creator-to-creator, project-to-project, and even phase-to-phase. However, a good point of reference is to break down a task to what can be achieved in a “session” (or the fewest number of sessions – in the case of larger tasks). A session is a chunk of time where you sit down to work on the project. This will vary based on creator (for example, Cryptiquest strives to use three hour chunks as sessions).

Often you won’t be able to predict what tasks are needed without first starting the project. Particularly, it is tough to predict implementation without production. So make your best guess and update the project task list as needed – especially after each phase.

That’s way better than what is currently written. I’ll add that and I’ll update the step name too. Maybe something like “Create a project task list to provide a pathway toward launch.”

Session Wrap-Up

This is a good place to end the session. I need to figure out how best to proceed. I could keep marching forward and dissect the production phase (which will be huge since it will be tailored to making a guide) or maybe I should stop and tackle all of these action items. It feels like I’m working on two guides at once – How to Create Guides and How to Create Projects.

I guess technically I am despite not planning to. But now that I know that’s what’s going on, I need to plan accordingly.

Not sure what the next session will bring but you probably already do since you live in the future. In any case, see you there!

(Below the Action Items is the Guide thus far. Since it doesn’t represent the final, I need to figure out how best to proceed.)

Action Items

Rewrite the Planning Phase into two new phases: Exploration and Planning
Create Need Analysis Tool and reference it in PM Guidelines.
Identify an example Guide to use as a reference as the user reads each step of the guide.
Completely rewrite Phase 1, Step 3 to incorporate new direction.
Create objective repository and update PM guidelines to reflect this tool.

Producing Guide Projects

version 00.00.01

How to design, create, and launch a guide to help users complete a task or a series of tasks.

Overview

identify what resources you need to make the guide;
design the presentation parameters for your guide;
draft and review the content for your guide;
produce and test your guide;
publish and launch your guide; and,
debrief and officially close your guide project.

Preparing for Guide Production

In addition to this guide, and a desire for producing a guide of your own, you will need the means to create documentation.

Producing the Guide

Phase 1: Planning Your Guide

By then end of this phase you will have an understanding of what you are creating, why you are creating it, and how you are creating it.

Step 1: Identify the needs you are trying to solve.

You have a desire to create a guide. Now consider what needs this project is trying to satisfy. What problems are you hoping to solve or outcomes do you hope to gain?

Step 2: Describe the ideal solution if obstacles didn’t exist.

Step 3: Explore the scope of the project.

To be completely rewritten…

Step 4: Define the project goal.

The project goal defines how your guide will meet your core need. Your goal will start with “to create a guide that will…” followed by a short description of the need being solved.

Step 5: List out the objectives for this project.

The objectives serve as a litmus test to determine whether the project was successful or not. They ensure that the project meets criteria that are important to you. If you don’t know what criteria are important to you then you may want to consider starting a separate project to determine your personal (or company’s) objectives.

As you list objectives, they need to be written with a measurable and neutral structure. Consider the following example: “The story is entertaining.” This is not objectively measurable. How do you determine if a story is entertaining in a way that’s not subjective? A better way to write this could be: “When surveyed, all reviewers report that the story is entertaining.” Even though the reviews themselves will be subjective, there is an objective unit to measure: reviewer survey ratings.

(Need to add step-by-step example using reference once it’s identified.)

Step 6: Create a project task list to provide a pathway toward launch.

Categories:How To Make Guides

Tags:Cryptiquest session