3.3.2 Project planning
After the project initiation, you have a project idea, and it's essential to ensure a well-structured plan for achieving tangible results. The planning phase is a critical aspect of successful project management, and its primary focus is to create a roadmap that guides the team's efforts.
Projects can vary in size, but all of them consist of specific tasks that need to be executed. The key to effective project planning is breaking down the overarching idea into smaller, manageable pieces known as work packages or tasks. You can assist your students in identifying and listing high-level tasks. Initially, some of these tasks might still be too large to handle, so gradually, you'll need to help your students reflect and further divide them into smaller, achievable tasks. Keep in mind that some students may excel in this at a young age, while others might require more support. It all depends on their individual needs.
In the realm of Agile and Agile learning, one of the most commonly used tools for visualizing work segments is the Kanban board. Kanban boards are highly practical for tracking progress during the project execution phase and can be utilized with physical paper sticky notes or their online equivalents. A basic Kanban board in Agile typically comprises columns for the Backlog (or To Do), Doing, and Done. This visual system simplifies the process of tracking and managing work as it progresses through various stages.
The planning phase can be done in a group or individually, depending on the type of project: group project or personal/individual project. We encourage you to search the Internet for web-based Agile resources that can support the Agile structures in your classroom.
Have a look at this adaptation of a Kanban board for collaborative learning:
Have a look at this advanced kanban to track tasks:
For a personal project, you can directly assist and guide your student.
However, for a group project, you'll need to conduct a planning meeting, engage in scrum sessions with the students, and facilitate the process. This planning meeting can often serve as the beginning of a "sprint," a term commonly used in eduScrum to represent a focused period of work.
The primary goal of the planning meeting is to break down the project into smaller, manageable tasks. Most project backlogs consist of four major phases: Analysis, Design, Development, and Test/Maintenance. Here's a brief overview of these phases:
A project backlog typically consists of these major tasks, which can then be further broken down into smaller stories or individual executable tasks. You have the flexibility to adapt and customize your own Kanban boards based on your specific needs and project management approach. For example, Agile Learning Centers offer an example where older students who were enthusiastic about project work created their own ALC Challenges board. This board allows for visualizing and managing project tasks effectively.
Project-based learning is not exclusive to Agile schools; it's also implemented in other types of educational institutions, each developing its own unique methods. One such example is Schoolhabits, which has designed a project management strategy template that breaks down projects into four main phases.
On the Schoolhabits website, you can find information about the four primary project phases along with some initial thoughts. Additionally, the project's name and due date are clearly defined. These four main phases can align with the typical phases found in software projects, such as analysis, design, development, and testing. However, they can also be customized to suit the specific requirements of each project. These main phases can be organized as items in a Kanban backlog, allowing for clear visualization and management of the project's progress.
After your students have completed the initial template with the main project phases, the next step involves identifying the primary tasks associated with each phase and further breaking them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This process allows for a more detailed and comprehensive plan for the project, ensuring that every aspect is thoroughly addressed and executed.
The breakdown from a Schoolhabits template can be used as stories or tasks in a Kanban board. You repeat the breakdown process for all phases and main tasks. See images below as illustration of the process.
You can read more about the kanban board in the following sources:
Handbook of the project result 1 for the Erasmus+ project Agile4Collaboration
Videos of the project result 1 for the Erasmus+ project AgileXR:
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