How to Develop a Business Plan for a Project
- 1). Know your purpose. To really sell your project idea to management, you need to be specific about your purpose. What do you hope to achieve? How will you achieve it? Why is it necessary? And, importantly, how much will it cost? Put yourself in your supervisor's shoes and ask yourself: What would she like to know and what does she need to know about this project and its purpose? It's your job when writing the business plan to answer those questions before they're asked.
- 2). Explain the project in specific terms. Before green-lighting any project, managers must make key decisions regarding project scope, scale, feasibility, etc. When developing a business plan for a project, you need to explain those items in detail. In terms of scope, be specific as to the parameters of your project. Clearly define either the problem you're attempting to solve--for instance, distribution problems in a warehouse--or the product/service you're planning to offer. Also, what constraints exist? What's excluded? In terms of scale, you need to explain in real terms why this problem needs to be solved or why this product or service will be profitable and improve the company's bottom line. Is this a game-changing product--think iPod--or is this just a nice addition to an existing product line--think ear buds--or somewhere in between? Be sure to know the significance of your potential project when developing your business plan.
- 3). Identify your audience. Think carefully about who will read your business plan, and consider all audiences. Your primary audience may be your supervisor, but a secondary audience may exist that you have yet to consider. For instance, will your supervisor share your business plan with her supervisor? And will that supervisor share your plan with his supervisor? Be sure to consider all audiences. If you take an informal approach and write only for your immediate supervisor, you could derail your project with other key managers.
- 4). Break down the project into smaller terms. Right now, you're probably thinking about your project in general terms, but to sell it to management, you have to get specific. Think through the project and look at it from all business perspectives: engineering, marketing, operations, accounting, etc. If your project sets out to solve a work-related problem, break it down into smaller steps or sub-problems and ask yourself how each department will be affected. Consider all parties so you don't run into any unexpected opposition down the road.
- 5). Develop a workable schedule. An important aspect of any good business plan is a real and workable schedule for project completion. But to arrive at a workable schedule, you have to think long and hard about your resources, existing workload, other projects and priorities. It's time to be practical AND realistic about what can and can't be done. Also, think about the end goal -- when must this problem be solved or this product be ready for shipment -- and work backwards from there. Plan enough time for researching the problem but also plan time to analyze the research. A great business plan will get your project off the ground, but an impractical work schedule could bring your hard work crashing down.
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