Here’s a quote from Plato: "The beginning is the most important part of the work."
A project needs to be planned, controlled, and monitored from its inception to its completion. In fact, all projects use a methodology of processes, procedures and templates. If you don’t think you have one, it really means that you have a poor and informal one. Do not confuse scheduling software with project planning!
If you need a project plan, there are three basic sources:
1. Build one yourself. You can build a custom campaign that perfectly reflects the philosophy and best practices of your organization. Many companies try this.
2. Buy one. You might be surprised to learn that your plan when finished ultimately looks similar to most others that people use. That is why many consultants can help without having the intimate knowledge of your industry. However, you may think that you spend as much time with the consultant as you would have doing it yourself. I know I have, I been on both sides!
3. The hybrid option of purchasing a methodology and then customizing it to meet the specific needs of your organization. This gives you some of the benefits of option 1, while also taking less time, which is the major benefit of option 2. Many companies are choosing this option as a “Best of Both.” These pre-built methodologies can have many of your organization needs to be successful.
On the most complicated project management system, I use one or two systems. If it simple enough I use the One Page Project Manager and for a more complicated project I follow the Ten Step Project Management system . Take a look at each, they are great products.