Free Project Plan Templates (2024 Guide)

What Is a Project Plan?

A project plan is a document that provides an overview of a project. It lays out all of the elements needed to get the project done. These elements can include:

• Overarching details:
  • Objective
  • Due date
  • Owner
  • Contributors
  • Budget
  • Timeline
  • Resources
• Key tasks:
  • Owners
  • Contributors
  • Due dates
  • Statuses

Having all of this information in a central document ensures that the team has a resource to reference to get the project done on time and on budget. They can return to this document throughout the project lifecycle if they need refreshers on what to do. 

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Why You Need a Project Plan

A carefully crafted project plan helps prevent:

• Missed deadlines
• Budget misuse 
• Scope confusion

In sum, it brings the team together, ensuring that everyone feels involved and knows what to do. 

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Free Project Plan Templates

If you are new to using project plans and want some guidance, you can find many free templates online. Some of the tools and platforms that have them include:

• Microsoft Excel: Given the complexity of Microsoft Excel, it can be difficult to learn how to use. Luckily, it has a basic project plan template that includes cells for tasks, start and end dates and statuses. You can also build onto the template with charts, timelines and other visuals.
• Microsoft Word: Most people are familiar with Microsoft Word or another similar word processor. This makes it easy to learn how to use Word to create a project plan. Like the Excel template, the Word template has spots for basic project plan elements. However, it has formatting limitations that can prevent you from looking at the project from a timeline or calendar view.
• Google Docs: Google Docs is similar to Microsoft Word. The main difference is that it offers real-time collaboration. This means that several team members can be in the document at the same time updating the progress on their tasks. 

To get a more advanced project plan template, you may have to turn to project management (PM) software, such as Trello, Notion or Airtable. You can usually start with a free plan or free trial with one of these providers to get project plan templates and other basic PM features. Given that these software solutions specialize in PM, your project plans are going to have more project details and need fewer formatting changes.

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How To Make a Project Plan

Whether you are customizing a template or creating a document from scratch, follow the below steps to build your project plan. 

1. Determining Project Objective

Start by defining the overarching purpose of the project. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish by the end of the project. Having a sentence or two about the objective in your project plan acts as a guiding light. Contributors who are deep in the trenches can return to this objective to remember what they are working toward.

2. Defining Major Tasks/Deliverables

Take the main objective, and break it into smaller tasks. Each task should have one deliverable (e.g., article written, report prepared). That way, you know to mark the task complete once you have the deliverable.

3. Building Project Schedule

The next step is to create the timeline. Think about:

• When you want the entire project to be done
• How much time each task needs to be completed
• What tasks, if any, can happen at the same time by different team members

Once you have the dates and durations figured out, you can create a visual to represent them. Try a timeline, calendar or Gantt chart. 

4. Assigning Ownership

Assign each task an owner. There may be other team members who help the owner; you can list them as contributors. But, having just one owner ensures that you know who to contact about progress.

In terms of the overarching project, the owner should be the project manager or team lead.

5. Managing Resources

Now, you can define the resources you need to complete the tasks. Ask yourself:

• What documentation do we need?
  • Is this documentation already prepared?
    • If so, put it in a shared folder that the entire team can access.
    • If not, designate a team member to prepare it before the start date of the project.
• What tools do we need?
  • Do we already have accounts for these tools?
    • If so, share the login information with the entire team.
    • If not, designate a team member to look into purchasing the tool before the start date of the project.
• What expertise do we need?
  • Do we already have employees with this expertise?
    • If so, no action is needed.
    • If not, designate a team member to look into hiring a new contractor or employee or training an existing employee before the start date of the project.

6. Allocating Budget

Now that you know what tools you need to complete the project, it’s time to check if they fall within your project budget. If they don’t, you may need to adjust the project goal or tasks. Or, get creative with what resources you already have. For example, maybe you use the Microsoft Excel subscription you already pay for as opposed to purchasing a PM software plan.

This step is also where you allocate the overall project budget to each step. You know you have done this correctly when you add up the budgets from all of the steps and get the overarching project budget.

7. Planning for Potential Risks

Last but not least, your project plan should have some level of risk planning. In a perfect world, every step goes as planned. However, that isn’t always possible. So, brainstorm a list of potential risks. For example, maybe a contributor leaves the company before the project is complete. 

Come up with an alternative route the project could take for each listed risk. That way, the project doesn’t take too much of a detour, and you can stick to the budget and due date as closely as possible.

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Executing Your Project Plan

After you build your plan, it’s time to send it out to the team and start on the project.

Informing the Team

We recommend involving your team in the planning process of the project. As they are the ones who will be doing the work, they have the best insight into what is required (e.g., how much time and budget to allocate). Even still, it’s a good idea to end planning officially by sending out an email with the complete project plan or hosting a meeting to walk through the complete project plan.

Tracking Ongoing Progress

As soon as the project kicks off, start tracking progress. If you keep on top of this from the beginning, you won’t get lost as it gets later and later into the project. This makes your job easier when it comes time to report on progress to upper management. 

Here are a few tracking tips:

• Implement project tracking software: If you are already using PM software for your project, make use of its tracking features. You can usually create a custom dashboard to track the data points that are important to you. 
• Refresh statuses regularly: Have the owner of each task update the status on a daily or weekly basis. That way, you do not have to message each owner every time you want a progress update.
• Update project plan elements: You may start the project and realize that your plan wasn’t realistic in a given area. For instance, maybe you didn’t allocate enough time for one step. Or, maybe you have a new employee who is better suited to a task ownership role. Treat the project plan as a living document that you update as you go. 

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The Bottom Line

A project plan helps you organize your project before you start on it. You can create a project plan from scratch or use a template from Microsoft Excel, Google Docs, PM software or another tool. Either way, think through every element of the project, including owner, contributors, due date, budget and tasks.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Project Plan Templates

What are the key elements of a good project plan?

A good project plan defines the following elements:

• Objective
• Due date
• Owner
• Contributors
• Budget
• Timeline
• Resources
• Key tasks

Can you manage a project without a formal plan?

You can manage a project without a formal plan, but you may run into disorganization. Your team may face missed deadlines, scope confusion and overspending.

How can you collaborate with remote team members on a project plan?

If you have a remote team, you can use video conferencing software to meet with everyone to plan the upcoming project. You can also use Google Workspace or another tool that allows for real-time collaboration to edit the project plan at the same time from different parts of the country or world.

Can you connect a project plan to a project management platform?

Yes, you can connect project plans to Asana, Smartsheet or other project management software. Project management platforms usually offer their own project plan templates that you can use instead.