Create a Project Plan: Structure, Examples & Tips for Agencies

Your quick start: How to create a project plan:

1. Clarify the objective and benefits
2. Break down the scope into a WBS (work breakdown structure)
3. Define roles/stakeholders
4. Estimate effort and budget
5. Build the schedule as a Gantt chart with dependencies
6. Set milestones
7. Manage risks and changes
8. Track progress (time, budget, utilisation)

With awork, you turn this into a living plan rather than a static document.

[.b-button-primary] Try awork for free [.b-button-primary]

In agencies, things rarely go according to plan, which is precisely why a good project plan is so important.

Clients change their requirements on the fly, deadlines shift, and teams juggle multiple projects at once.

A plan helps you keep track of everything, but only if it remains flexible and fits the reality of your team.

In this article, we'll show you step by step how to set up a project plan that works, with examples, structure and helpful tips. We'll also show you how to use awork to turn a static plan into a real management tool.

Plus: how to use awork to turn planning into real agency management. ✨

What is a project plan?

A project plan brings together all the building blocks needed to deliver a project reliably: objectives, scope, tasks, schedule, resources, budget, risks, communication and responsibilities.

Usually, the plan is created at the start by the project lead or manager, and ideally, it’s updated as the project evolves.

In agencies, project planning is often one of the most important but also most time-consuming tasks. It is usually set up at the beginning by the project manager (e.g. team lead or project manager) and should be constantly updated throughout the course of the project.

👉 Sounds like a lot of effort? It is — especially when you’re handling many projects and last-minute changes. This is exactly where awork helps, with clear structure, a timeline, workload planning and live budget tracking.

[.b-button-primary] Try awork for free [.b-button-primary]

What does a project plan look like? The Structure

[.toc-name]The project plan structure[.toc-name]

A proven principle is the work breakdown structure (WBS): you break down the project into phases, work packages and tasks – as a tree structure.

When planning, ask yourself:

• What are the main phases of the project?
• What task groups belong to each phase?
• What tasks are in those groups?
• Can those tasks be split into subtasks?

This creates a complete picture from big to small – ideal for effort estimates, responsibilities, risks and the schedule.

In awork, you can easily display the WBS structure with lists, tasks, subtasks and checklists.

[.b-button-primary] Test the free WBS template [.b-button-primary]

[.b-important-block]Collect all ideas unfiltered as tasks. Afterwards start to structure them: into lists, prioritise and align them in a timeline (Gantt).[.b-important-block]

[$tag]💡 Where do you start?[$tag]

[.b-important-block]Use milestones and dependencies. They show what needs to happen first and when critical deadlines are coming up.[.b-important-block]

[$tag]💡 Important elements[$tag]

The 6 classic project planning questions

[.toc-name]6 planning steps[.toc-name]

With the 6 questions you make sure that everyone's on board and on the same page:

👉 Where? Why? What? Who? When? How much?

Follow them step by step, and you’ll create a project plan that actually helps, not just looks good in a presentation.

1. Where are we now? – The starting point

Consider the following:

• What's the current situation?
• How did we get here?
• What characterizes the problem we aim to solve?

🎯 Goal: Get everyone on the same page.

[.b-important-block]Save and reuse existing projects in awork.[.b-important-block]

[$tag]💡 Use templates[$tag]

[.b-button-primary]Learn how to use awork templates[.b-button-primary]

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2. Why are we doing this project?

Define the usage (impact), not only the result. A clear "Why" motivates difficult phases.

Consider the following:

• What's the project's vision?
• What's the long-term benefit?
• What's the value of the project results?

Defining the "why" of a project is relevant because projects are more successful when their benefits are clearly communicated. This also motivates team members during challenging project phases. So, it's crucial to precisely understand why you want to carry out this project. 🙏

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3. What do we aim to achieve?

Once you've established the "why" of project execution, it's time to focus on the project goal. This should accurately and preferably measurably describe what should be produced within the scope of the project.

There are various methods for defining goals. However, especially for beginners, less is often more. A project goal can simply be the tangible outcome. 🎯

Consider the following:

• What specifically needs to be delivered?
• What are the deliverables?
• How do we measure success?

Here's a simple example of a project goal and its success outlook:

• Project: Website Relaunch
• Project Goal: The finished website with the following 10 subpages is live.
• Success Outlook: +10% conversion rate in marketing and sales.

If you already have more experience in project management, consider using the S.M.A.R.T. principle for goal-setting. Formulate your goal as follows:

• Specific: Focus on a specific area that you aim to achieve with this goal.
• Measurable: Use quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure goal achievement.
• Attractive: How can you motivate your teams with this project goal? What added value does the desired outcome bring?
• Realistic: Set ambitious goals but remain realistic.
• Timely: Give your teams a realistic deadline and plan enough buffer to address potential delays.

[.b-important-block]Making goals visible to the whole team avoids conflicts, focuses attention and increases the success rate.[.b-important-block]

[$tag]💡 Transparency creates success[$tag]

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4. Who is involved in this project?

Every project has different roles, and the bigger the project, the more clearly those roles should be defined. All participants together form the "project cosmos". 🪐

Some project roles are present in every project, whether it's a client project or internal team effort. Sometimes, several of these roles are carried out by the same person – the larger the project, the more likely these roles will be handled by separate individuals:

• Sponsors are the creators of the project. Their responsibility is to define a clear project goal and approve the final project results.
• Contractors align with sponsors on the project's content and framework data. They serve as the team's point of contact and assist in resolving questions.
• Project management takes care of the operational project leadership, including task and time planning, maintaining the project plan in a narrow sense, and risk management.
• The team ultimately handles the substantive tasks of the project.

In every project, it's crucial to define exactly how collaboration among the participants will take place. Prior discussions should cover the intended workflows and communication methods, as well as the tools to be used for these purposes.

Don’t forget to clarify:

• How will we communicate?
• What tools will we use?
• How are feedback and approvals handled?

[.b-important-block]Collaborate with customers and freelancers without tool chaos or email-threads.[.b-important-block]

[$tag]💡 awork Connect[$tag]

[.b-button-primary]Discover awork Connect[.b-button-primary]

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5. When is the deadline?

The project's deadline – the date by which the project goal should be accomplished – is set by the client. This could either be an external party or someone from the team if it's an internal project. Regardless of whether you're collaborating with internal or external clients, make sure to allocate enough buffer time for possible delays.

⏳ awork shows you when your team is actually available, so you can build timelines that truly work.

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6. How much can the project cost?

Last but certainly not least: Calculate how much the planned project resources can cost. This includes both internal resources, such as personnel costs, and budget for external resources like agencies, tools, freelancers, or material expenses. If you have a client for the project, they often provide the project's cost limits. This informs your internal cost planning. 💸

• What are the budget items?
• How is the budget allocated?
• What are the total costs?
• Are we within budget?

📊 In awork, you can track time and budgets live, so you always know where you stand.

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Consider the following questions:

• What budget items are present in the project?
• How should the budget be distributed?
• What are the total costs resulting from this?
• Optional: Does the budget fall within the predetermined range?

Throughout the project, it's essential to continuously check whether you're still within the budget framework and time allocation. Similarly, at the project's conclusion, it's vital to perform a comparison to determine whether you were under or over budget. From the outcomes, you can then learn for future projects to enhance your ability to estimate costs more accurately. This applies not only to expenses but also to planned versus actual time investments.

Example: Create a project plan

[.toc-name]Project plan example[.toc-name]

We can illustrate the structure of a project plan using the following project plan example. Imagine you're tasked with redesigning a company website for a client. 👩‍💻

Project: Website Relaunch

Subproject: Website design
Packages: Corporate branding, graphics, animations
Tasks: Update style guide, design mockups, optimise graphics

Subproject: Website texts
Packages: Messaging, SEO keywords, UX copy
Tasks: Creating keyword map, writing wireframes, correction loops

Subproject: Technical implementation
Packages: CMS setup, templates, tracking
Tasks: Configuring CMS, building templates, checking consent/tracking, QA

[.b-important-block]In awork, assign planned effort to each task and track actual times. This will make future estimates more accurate.[.b-important-block]

[$tag]💡 Keep projects profitable[$tag]

[.no-toc]Project timeline via gantt, incl. milestones[.no-toc]

How to factor time into your planning:

• Define deadlines for task packages.
• Plan the process as a Gantt chart (start/end for each task).
• Define dependencies.
• Set milestones (e.g. design approval, content freeze, tech go, go-live).
• Allocate resources realistically and factor in buffers

Advantages of the Gantt chart: Long-term projects are visible, dependencies are clear, bottlenecks can be identified early on. Deadlines, milestones and responsibilities are transparent in the awork timeline.

Milestones are especially useful for time management and progress tracking. They serve as fixed dates in the project plan by which specific tasks must be completed. This aids in monitoring the project's progress and ensuring it stays on course. Moreover, reaching a milestone, which represents a measurable interim outcome, can be highly motivating for the team. 🎉

Dependencies indicate which tasks need to be completed before others and which tasks might only begin after certain other tasks have been finished. Visualizing dependencies in the project plan helps provide a better understanding of how delays or changes can impact other parts of the project.

In the Gantt chart, thanks to this visual planning, you can also allocate responsibilities. It's immediately evident who has how many tasks in each project phase. This also helps in identifying bottlenecks and potential project risks before they materialize.

[.b-important-block]The workload view in awork shows cross-project capacities, overbookings and idle time – ideal for quick rescheduling.[.b-important-block]

[$tag]💡 Capacity planning for agencies[$tag]

[.b-button-primary] Discover capacity planning [.b-button-primary]

[.no-toc]Manage risks, changes and quality[.no-toc]

Changes are normal – the important thing is to manage them in a controlled manner.

• Identify risks (scope creep, availability, third-party dependencies, approvals, technology)
• Define measures (buffers, alternative resources, clear approval processes)
• Evaluate change requests (impact on scope, time, budget) and document them
• Define quality criteria (definition of done, acceptance criteria, QA checklists)

With awork, you can document changes, track times/budgets live and identify deviations early on.

[.no-toc]Communication and Approval Plan[.no-toc]

Close coordination is essential for profitable agency projects. Build in regular:

• Weekly internal stand-ups
• Regular client check-ins (status, risks, decisions)
• Review/approval gates (design, content, tech)
• Defined communication channels and response times
• Clear decision paths (who can approve what?)

awork Connect reduces feedback loops and keeps everyone in sync.

[.no-toc]KPIs and Measuring Success[.no-toc]

Every project should have clear measures of success; they help with internal review:

• Schedule adherence: milestones delivered on time (%)
• Budget adherence: actuals vs plan (hours/costs)
• Utilisation: team workload and bottlenecks
• Quality: acceptance without rework, defects/QA findings
• Business impact: e.g. conversion rate, leads, SEO performance after go-live

Creating a project plan in awork

[.toc-name]Project plan in awork[.toc-name]

Having familiarized yourself with creating and structuring a project plan, let's now put this knowledge into practice using the project management tool awork.

How to create your own project plan step by step:

1. Hierarchical input of project plan contents: In your awork project, begin by creating a list for each sub-project. Then add the relevant tasks and subtasks, and you can equip them with checklists if needed.

2. Task information: Add all possible information for each individual task and subtask: timings, responsibilities, priority markers, planned effort, descriptions, checklists – the more, the better. 😉

3. Visual Scheduling of your Project: Switch from the list view to the timeline view. This displays all the tasks in your project over time – like a Gantt chart, but even better. Tasks for which you've already set start and end dates will be automatically displayed in the timeline. Tasks without scheduling can be simply dragged and dropped to the appropriate position.

4. Assigning responsibilities: The timeline view is perfect for assigning your teams to their respective tasks. To ensure that nobody is overbooked, have a look at the workload overview in the planner.

5. Dependencies and milestones: Define them to highlight priorities and important milestones. Dependencies clarify which tasks your teams should address first.

Learn how to plan your agency’s utilisation with confidence in our webinar.

The most frequently awork project templates

Save successful setups as templates (project or tasks) – e.g. campaign planning, annual planning, content plan, team meeting.

[.b-button-primary]awork templates[.b-button-primary]

[.no-toc]Summary[.no-toc]

A project plan is more than just a checklist. It brings structure, clarity, and keeps everyone aligned – especially in agencies, where deadlines are tight, changes are frequent, and multiple projects run in parallel.

By answering the six key questions and breaking your project down into manageable steps, you lay the groundwork for smooth and successful delivery.

Checklist: Create a Project Plan (to tick off)

• Objectives and scope defined (why, what, Definition of Done)
• Structure (WBS) set up: phases → work packages → tasks
• Schedule (Gantt chart) with milestones, dependencies and buffers/float
• Roles/stakeholders clarified; communication and approval plan in place
• Resources and budget planned; capacity verified (awork Workload)
• Risks documented; change process defined
• Tracking active (time/budget/status) + regular reviews

And it works even better when your planning lives in a tool that supports your day-to-day reality – like awork.
With tasks, timelines, availability, and collaboration all in one place, your plan becomes more than a document – it becomes action.

👉 Start your free trial with awork – and make project planning feel like progress.

[.b-button-primary] Curious? Try awork for free! [.b-button-primary]

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What belongs in a project plan?

A complete plan covers objectives/benefits, scope/deliverables, project structure (WBS), schedule (Gantt), milestones, dependencies, responsibilities, resources/capacity, budget/costs, risks/change process, and communication and quality plans.

How detailed does a project plan need to be?

As detailed as necessary, as lean as possible. Plan near-term tasks (2–4 weeks) in detail; those further out at a high level. Refine details iteratively as information becomes available.

What is the difference between a project plan, a work breakdown structure (WBS), a schedule, and a roadmap?

• WBS: what will be delivered (structure).
• Schedule/Gantt: in which sequence and when.
• Project plan: the sum of objectives, WBS, schedule, roles, budget, risks, etc.
• Roadmap: a high-level, strategic timeline across releases/phases.

Classic vs agile project planning – do they go together?

Yes. Even in agile you need objectives, scope boundaries, capacity and milestones. Plan at epic/release level and manage delivery iteratively via sprints/Kanban. Gantt is useful for dependencies and external deadlines.

Project plan in Excel or with a tool like awork?

Excel is quick to get started with, but it’s static. A tool offers collaboration, a timeline with dependencies, workload, time and budget tracking, notifications and templates — ideal for dynamic agency work.

Why is a project plan beneficial?

A project plan consolidates all the plans and tasks needed to execute your project. It helps you simplify the complexity of your endeavor, saving you a lot of time in project management. 💪

A project plan is an essential tool for successful project execution. It aids in structuring and organising your project, efficient time and resource management, communication with all stakeholders, and identifying and addressing risks. If you're interested in even more project planning magic, take a look in our project planning hub and discover use cases, articles and practical templates.

What do you need for a good project plan?

To build a functioning project plan, you first need a real overview of all your dimensions. By dimensions, we mean your team, your project portfolio, the combined capacity planning and a realistic assessment of changes (no project without spontaneous cancellations or changes).

If you build your planning basis from these dimensions, you will be equipped to plan projects profitably and realistically. In our blog article on 4D planning, you can find all the information you need on the best way to plan in dimensions.