Pre-Project Planning Handbook

Research conducted by the CII Pre-Project Planning Research Team indicates that well-performed pre-project planning can:

• Reduce project costs by as much as 20 percent.
• Lead to less project variability in terms of cost, schedule, and operating characteristics.
• Increase the chance of meeting a project? environmental and social goals.

The research also indicates a direct relationship between project success and the level of pre-project planning effort. It is therefore imperative that the underlying pre-project planning process be understood and embraced by industry participants, particularly owners.

The purpose of this handbook is to define the functions involved in pre-project planning and to provide an outline that can be used to develop specific steps and tools for the pre-project planning of capital projects.

The research team believes that proper performance of pre-project planning is an owner responsibility and cannot be completely delegated. Although consultants and other experts may be significantly involved in this process, the owner must assure that it is being performed properly. To that end, the research team offers the following conclusions:

• Pre-project planning is an owner-driven process that must be tied closely to business goals.
• Pre-project planning is a complex process that must be adapted to the business needs of the company. Operations, business, and project management must be closely tied to pre-project planning early in the process.
• Corporate goals and guidelines for both pre-project planning and the project must be well-defined. There must also be key individuals empowered by management to act on those goals, as well as be accountable for their actions.

The research team has developed this handbook to be as generic as possible and, as such, companies must adapt to meet their individual business needs. The handbook contains an outline of the important steps in the pre-project planning effort. Owners can use this outline to develop specific steps and tools to insure that the project team performs all the important planning functions prior to beginning detailed design and construction.