PHASE: Plan & Prepare

The work you did in the Initiate phase gave you a solid foundation. Now it's time to build on it in the Plan & Prepare Phase.

You'll dig deeper into your stakeholders, plan for the people-side of the change, align your team around the charter and resources, identify what could go wrong, and build the plan that will guide the rest of the project. This phase begins to integrate the five elements of Change Management, which are sponsorship, resistance management, training, coaching, and communication, and integrates it into the project plan.

By the end of this phase, you'll have: a finalized charter, a clear picture of your stakeholders, a change management plan, a risk register, and a project work plan that reflects reality.

Plan & Prepare Phase Objective

The following activities must be completed during this phase.

Complete Project Charter: Using feedback from the Initiate phase, finalize the Project Charter and confirm shared understanding of scope, timeline, and resources before work begins.

Stakeholder Analysis & Map: Identify all individuals and groups affected by or involved in the project, assess their level of interest and influence, and determine how to best engage them throughout the project.

Communication Plan: Communications will follow the project timeline and map to key points on the change curve, a model that describes how people move through organizational change.

Initiate Project with Project Team: Complete project Kick-Off Meeting.

Analyze Risks: Mitigate or avoid risks to the project by assessing them as early as possible.

Build Workplan: Define and sequence project work that needs to be done, and assign owners to the work.

Browse the activities below to find guidance, templates, and tools.

ACTIVITY #1: Perform Stakeholder Analysis

Knowing who your project affects and how they're likely to respond is one of the most valuable things you can do before the real work begins. Stakeholder analysis is an ongoing process of understanding who has a stake in the project, what they care about, and how to keep them informed and engaged throughout. By the end of this activity, you'll have a clear picture of your stakeholders and a plan for how to engage them.

Expected Output
What to Do
Tips
Templates Used
Resources
A completed Stakeholder List and Assessment that identifies all key stakeholders, their level of influence and impact, their current and desired level of support, and the engagement actions needed to bring them along.
Start with the stakeholder list you began building during the Initiate phase. Using input from your Sponsor and any stakeholder interviews you've conducted, assess each stakeholder across two dimensions: how much influence they have over the project and how significantly the project will impact them.
From there, assess where each stakeholder currently stands. Are they supportive, neutral, or resistant? Where do they need to be for the project to succeed? The gap between those two answers tells you exactly where to focus your engagement efforts.
Document your findings and use them to inform your Change Management Plan in the next activity. Your stakeholder analysis and your change management plan should always be telling the same story.
Tip 1: Stakeholder analysis is not a one-and-done task. Revisit it regularly throughout the project. People's positions change as the project evolves and new stakeholders may emerge as the work progresses.
Tip 2: Pay close attention to high-influence stakeholders who are resistant or neutral. A resistant stakeholder with organizational clout can stall or derail a project faster than almost anything else. Early engagement with these individuals is not optional.
Stakeholder Analysis
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Sample Stakeholder List & Analysis
  • Best Practices Guide
Stakeholder Map
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Sample Stakeholder Map
  • Best Practices Guide
Stakeholder Survey Template
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Sample Stakeholder Survey
  • Best Practices Guide
Organizational Change Level Assessment (OCLA)
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Sample OCLA
  • Best Practices Guide

ACTIVITY #2: Develop Change Management Plan

A project without a change management plan is just a to-do list. This activity is where you translate your stakeholder insights into a concrete roadmap for managing the people side of the change. You won't finalize everything here, but you'll build enough of the plan to guide your team kickoff and inform your project workplan.

Expected Output
What to Do
Tips
Templates Used
Resources
A draft Change Management Plan that captures your initial communication approach, resistance risks, coaching and training needs, and project health baseline. This draft serves as the foundation for the finalized plan developed in the Build & Manage phase.
Using insights from the Stakeholder Assessment and OCLA results, develop a draft Change Management Plan by completing the following steps:
1. Review OCLA Results: Analyze OCLA findings to identify key themes, resistance risks, and engagement priorities that will shape the overall change management approach.
2. Prepare PCT Assessment: Customize the PCT Assessment for the project and incorporate its administration into the Kick-Off Meeting agenda. The PCT will be administered during the Kick-Off Meeting to establish a project health baseline.
3. Draft Communication Plan: Identify all audiences, key messages, delivery channels, timing, and message owners. Map communications to the change curve to move audiences through Awareness, Readiness, and Adoption.
4. Identify Resistance Risks: Using OCLA and Stakeholder Assessment findings, document initial resistance risks and high-level mitigation approaches.
5. Identify Coaching and Training Needs: Based on stakeholder and OCLA insights, identify which audiences will need coaching support and what training will be required to prepare them for the change.
6. Change Management Activities for Workplan: All change management activities identified in this plan will need to be incorporated into the Project Workplan. The full workplan build, including change management activities, is covered in detail in Activity 5: Build Project Workplan.
Tip 1: The Change Management Plan is directly informed by your OCLA and Stakeholder Assessment results. Don't build it in isolation. The data you've already collected tells you exactly where to focus your change management energy.
Tip 2: Resistance is easier to address when it's anticipated. Use your OCLA and Stakeholder Assessment data to identify likely sources of resistance before they become active problems.
Tip 3: As you develop this plan, note all change management activities that will need to be scheduled and resourced and include them in the Project Workplan.
OCLA Results
Micro-Training
  • How to Interpret OCLA Results
Tip: At this stage the plan is a draft. It doesn't need to be perfect. Focus on capturing enough detail to inform the Kick-Off Meeting and give the team a clear picture of the change management approach. You'll finalize and fully develop each component in the Build & Manage phase.
Communication Plan Template
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Sample Communication Plan
  • Best Practices Guide
Micro-Training
  • How to Map Communications to the Change Curve
Tip: Prepare the PCT Assessment during this activity so it's ready to administer at the Kick-Off Meeting. The baseline established there will be compared against check-in results in the Build & Manage phase.
PCT Assessment Template
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Best Practices Guide

ACTIVITY #3: Initiate Project with Team

This is where your project stops being a plan and starts being a team sport. Before you can kick off with your team, you need to know who's on it and make sure they're set up for success. By the end of this activity, your team is assembled, aligned on the charter, and ready to move into the Build & Manage phase together.

Expected Output
What to Do
Tips
Templates Used
Resources
A recruited and confirmed project team with documented time commitments and budget requirements. A fully aligned project team that understands the project purpose, goals, roles, and risks. Key stakeholders are informed of the formal project launch through Sponsor announcements, and the project is ready to advance to the Build & Manage phase.
Part 1: Complete Resource Planning
1. Identify Resources: Using the Project Charter and Stakeholder List as inputs, identify all resources needed to deliver the project including team members, subject matter experts, and external resources. Estimate time commitments and budget requirements for each.
2. Recruit Project Team Members: Reach out to identified candidates and their managers to confirm availability, bandwidth, and role on the project team. Document confirmed team members and their commitments in the Resource Plan.
3. Send Team Assembly Announcement: Once the project team is confirmed, the Project Sponsor sends an announcement to key stakeholders introducing the assembled team, their roles, and what stakeholders can expect next.
Tip 1: Always confirm team member commitment with their manager, not just the individual. Without management buy-in, team members will struggle to protect their project time when competing priorities arise.
Tip 2: Plan for change management resources, not just project delivery resources. Communications, training, and stakeholder engagement all require time and ownership. Be honest about how much time team members can realistically commit.
Tip 3: The Team Assembly Announcement continues building awareness on the change curve. Stakeholders who know who is on the project team feel more confident that the right people are involved. It builds credibility for everything that follows.
Resource Plan
Recruitment Request Email Template
Sponsor Announcement Email Template
(Example 2: Team Assembly Announcement)
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Sample Resource Plan
  • Best Practices Guide
Part 2: Send Project Kick-Off Announcement
4. Send Project Kick-Off Announcement: Prior to the Kick-Off Meeting, the Project Sponsor sends a formal announcement to all stakeholders. This announcement formally launches the project, summarizes its purpose and importance, introduces the project team, and communicates the date of the Project Team Kick-Off Meeting.
Tip: The Kick-Off Announcement should reach all stakeholders before the Kick-Off Meeting. Stakeholders who are informed in advance arrive with context and confidence, not confusion.
Sponsor Announcement Email Template
(Example 3: Project Kick-Off Announcement)
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Sample Kick-Off Announcement
Part 3: Conduct Project Team Kick-Off Meeting
5. Prepare for the Kick-Off Meeting: Use the Project Kick-Off Checklist to confirm everything is in place. Send the meeting agenda to attendees 24-48 hours in advance. Complete the Kick-Off Presentation so it's ready to go.
6. Conduct Project Team Kick-Off Meeting: Facilitate the Kick-Off Meeting with the Sponsor opening to set the tone of importance and commitment. Review the One-Page Charter, team roles and responsibilities, and the draft Risk Assessment. Conduct the PCT Assessment to establish a baseline measurement of project health. Document action items and next steps, and establish a recurring team meeting cadence.
Tip 1: The Sponsor should open the Kick-Off Meeting, even if only for 5-10 minutes. Their presence signals the priority and importance of the project to the entire team.
Tip 2: The Kick-Off Meeting is not just an information session. It's a team alignment moment. Use it to build energy, establish trust, and set the tone for how the team will work together throughout the project.
Tip 3: The PCT Assessment conducted here establishes your baseline. Run it again in Build & Manage and Close & Sustain to track project health over time. Low scores signal where action plans are needed.
Meeting Agenda
Project Kick-Off Checklist
Project Kick-Off Presentation Template
PCT Assessment Template
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Sample Kick-Off Presentation
  • Best Practices Guide

ACTIVITY #4: Identify & Analyze Risks

Every project has risks. The ones that derail projects aren't usually the ones nobody saw coming. They're the ones people saw coming and didn't plan for. This activity is about getting your risks on paper, assessing how serious they are, and deciding what you're going to do about them before they become problems.

Expected Output
What to Do
Tips
Templates Used
Resources
A documented Risk Assessment that identifies potential project and change management risks, their likelihood and impact, and mitigation strategies. Serves as an early warning system to keep the project on track throughout the Build & Manage phase.
With the project team now assembled, conduct a collaborative risk assessment to identify potential risks to the project. Include both project delivery risks and change management risks such as resistance, low readiness, or insufficient sponsorship.
For each risk, assess the likelihood and potential impact, assign an owner, and define a mitigation strategy. Review the completed risk log with the Project Sponsor before advancing to the next activity. Continue updating the risk log throughout the Build & Manage phase.
Tip 1: Identify both project risks and change management risks. They are equally important. A technically successful implementation that people won't adopt is still a failed project.
Tip 2: Every risk needs an owner. A risk without an owner is just a worry. Assign someone responsible for monitoring and mitigating each risk on the log.
Tip 3: Don't wait for risks to become issues before acting. The value of a risk log is in the early identification and mitigation, not the documentation of problems after they've occurred.
Tip 4: Conducting the risk assessment with the full project team surfaces risks that no single person would identify alone. Different team members bring different perspectives. Use that to your advantage.
Risk Assessment Register
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Example
  • Best Practices Guide
Micro-Training
  • How to Identify and Assess Project and Change Management Risks

ACTIVITY #5: Build Project Work Plan

A good plan doesn't predict the future. It gives your team a shared roadmap and a baseline to measure progress against. This is where all the work from the previous activities comes together. Your charter defines what you're delivering, your risk assessment tells you what to watch out for, and your change management plan tells you what people-side activities need to be resourced. Now you build the plan that ties it all together.

Expected Output
What to Do
Tips
Templates Used
Resources
A completed and Sponsor-approved Project Workplan that documents all project activities, owners, timelines, dependencies, and resource requirements. Serves as the primary tool for managing and monitoring project progress throughout the Build & Manage phase.
With the project team now assembled, collaboratively build a comprehensive workplan that captures all activities needed to achieve the project goals. For each activity, assign an owner, define start and end dates, identify dependencies, and estimate resource requirements. Make sure to include change management activities from your Change Management Plan. If it's not on the plan, it won't get prioritized.
Review the workplan with the project team to ensure alignment and feasibility. Obtain Sponsor approval before advancing to the next activity. Update the workplan regularly throughout the Build & Manage phase to reflect current status.
Tip 1: Every task needs an owner. A task without an owner won't get done.
Tip 2: Build the workplan with the project team, not for them. Team members who contribute to building the plan are far more committed to executing it.
Tip 3: Include change management activities in the workplan. Communications, training, stakeholder engagement, and readiness assessments all need to be planned and resourced. If it's not on the plan, it won't get prioritized.
Smartsheet Tip: Smartsheet is the recommended tool for larger, more complex projects. It offers powerful features for tracking dependencies, automating updates, and collaborating across teams. If you're new to Smartsheet, start with the Quick How-to-Guide before building your workplan.
Smartsheet Project Workplan Template
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Example
  • Best Practices Guide
Micro-Training
  • How to Build a Project Workplan in Smartsheet
  • How to Maintain and Update Your Project Workplan
Google Sheet Tip: Google Sheet is a great option for smaller, less complex projects or teams who need a simpler, more accessible tool. It's easy to share, requires no additional software, and works well when Smartsheet's full feature set isn't needed.
Google Sheet Project Workplan Template
  • Quick How-to-Guide
  • Example

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