People Professional Project Planning

About this package

People Professional Project Planning covers the practical work involved in taking a people-related change from an initial proposal through to delivery, evaluation and handover. It distinguishes temporary projects with defined outcomes from continuing operational services, using examples such as recruitment system implementations, talent initiatives, policy roll-outs and organisational design. Learners explore how time, cost and quality constrain delivery, and how responsibilities differ for project leads, sponsors and contributors across the project lifecycle.

The planning content connects business and people priorities to measurable objectives and clear scope boundaries. Learners consider what is included and excluded, record assumptions and constraints, and analyse stakeholders by influence, interest and communication needs. Resource planning addresses actual staff availability alongside specialist expertise and external support. Phases, milestones, dependencies and timelines are brought together in a high-level plan, while the business case compares anticipated benefits, alternatives, effort, costs and timescales to support an investment decision.

The delivery content explains how to compare progress with an approved plan, use decision points and control changes. It distinguishes risks from issues and examines responses to resistance, capability gaps, poor employee data and conflicting stakeholder expectations. Communication and participation are treated as practical requirements for adoption: employees need to understand what changes in their work, know where to find help and have opportunities to identify obstacles. Learners also examine why projects under-deliver and how corrective actions can address causes rather than symptoms.

Success is assessed beyond completing tasks or launching a new process. The package separates delivery performance, adoption, behaviour change and business and people outcomes, with baselines, targets, data sources and review points for each. It finishes with formal acceptance, named responsibility for handover to everyday operations, lessons learnt and benefits realisation reviews. Video content accompanies the learning, and the package is delivered through your organisation’s own LMS.

Who it’s for

Suitable for HR and people professionals who lead, sponsor or contribute to people-related projects. It is particularly relevant to learners developing practical project planning and delivery skills for workplace change.

What’s covered

1. Recognising people projects and their constraints

   Distinguish temporary projects from ongoing operational work using defined outcomes, uniqueness and time, cost and quality constraints. Explore projects involving technology, working practices, talent development, policy and organisational structure.

2. Project lifecycle and professional responsibilities

   Explore how projects move through assessment, preparation, delivery and completion. Clarify the authority and responsibilities of people professionals acting as leads, sponsors or specialist contributors, including decisions required before work proceeds.

3. Diagnosing under-delivery

   Examine critical success factors and why a project can produce its planned outputs without achieving the intended improvements. Identify causes of under-delivery and recommend corrective actions that address the underlying problem.

4. Defining objectives and scope

   Translate business and people priorities into measurable objectives and intended outcomes. Define in-scope and out-of-scope activities, assumptions and constraints so that planned work remains connected to the organisational need.

5. Analysing stakeholders

   Identify people and groups who affect the project or are affected by it, including employee groups whose needs might otherwise be missed. Use influence, interest and communication needs to plan involvement and engagement.

6. Planning resources and timelines

   Estimate staff capacity, specialist expertise, external support, effort and costs, allowing for existing operational commitments. Build a high-level plan with phases, milestones, dependencies, timelines and resource allocations.

7. Preparing a business case

   Develop an evidence-based justification for committing resources to a people project. Set out the proposal, compare alternatives and anticipated benefits with delivery demands, and make a supported recommendation.

8. Controlling delivery and managing risks

   Compare progress with approved commitments, use decision points and authorise changes. Distinguish risks from issues and document responses to resistance, capability gaps, data quality problems and stakeholder misalignment.

9. Supporting adoption through communication and participation

   Plan communications that explain when a change takes effect, what employees need to do and where help is available. Explore how employee participation can reveal practical obstacles and support use of new processes or tools.

10. Measuring delivery, adoption, behaviour and outcomes

    Build a measurement framework that distinguishes completed outputs from actual use, changed working practices and improved outcomes. Specify indicators, baselines, targets, data sources and review points to assess results.

11. Closing projects and sustaining benefits

    Prepare for authorised acceptance and handover to named operational owners. Capture lessons learnt, schedule benefits realisation reviews and identify actions needed to sustain improvements after the project team finishes.

Learning outcomes

By completing this package, learners can:

• Classify people-related activities as projects or ongoing operational work, using examples such as system implementations, talent initiatives and policy roll-outs, and applying criteria of temporariness, uniqueness, defined outcomes, time, cost and quality.
• Explain the stages of a project lifecycle and the responsibilities of people professionals acting as project leads, sponsors or contributors at each stage.
• Analyse examples of people projects to identify critical success factors, diagnose causes of failure or under-delivery, and recommend corrective actions.
• Formulate measurable project objectives aligned with business and people priorities, specifying intended outcomes, in-scope and out-of-scope activities, assumptions and constraints.
• Justify a proposed people project through a concise business case that compares anticipated benefits with estimated effort, timescales, costs and internal or external resource requirements.
• Construct a high-level people project plan showing phases, milestones, dependencies, timelines and resource allocations, including internal capacity, subject-matter expertise and external support.
• Analyse stakeholders by influence, interest and communication needs to develop targeted communication and engagement approaches that support alignment and adoption.
• Apply progress tracking, decision points, change control and risk and issue management to a people project scenario, documenting responses to resistance, capability gaps, data quality problems and stakeholder misalignment.
• Design a project success measurement framework that specifies baseline measures, targets, data sources and review points for delivery performance, adoption, behaviour change, and business and people outcomes.
• Develop a project closure and sustainability plan that assigns responsibility for business-as-usual handover, captures lessons learnt, schedules benefits realisation reviews and specifies actions to sustain change.

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