The implementation plan should describe activities and resource allocation in as much detail as possible. It is exceptionally important to provide a good overview of who is going to implement the project’s activities, as well as when and where. The implementation plan may be divided into two key elements: the activity plan and the resource plan
Activity plan (schedule)
The activity plan should include specific information and explanations of each of the planned project activities. The duration of the project should be clearly stated, with considerable detail on the beginning and the end of the project. Figure 7 breaks down the various steps involved in preparing an activity plan.
In general, two main formats are used to express the activity plan: a simple table and the Grant chart.
A simple table with columns, as shown in Figure 8, for activities, sub-activities, tasks, timing and responsibility, is a clear, readily understandable format for the activity plan.
The Gantt Chart, a universal format for presenting activities in certain times frames, shows the dependence and sequence for each activity. Figure 9 shows a sample Grant chart.
Resource Plan
The resource plan should provide information on the means necessary to undertake the project. Cost categories are established at this stage in order to aggregate and summarise the cost information for budgeting.
Preparing an Activity Plan
In the above example, the activity of establishing a staff training programme could require equipment and allowances. These are the cost categories related to the activity. The next step is to identify units, quantity per period and estimated unit cost. On the basis of these figures, it will be easy to calculate costs per period and total project costs. Figure 10 depicts these costs in a typical resource plan as it might look for Activity 1.1 (training programme) from the previous figure. This form of planning enables us to plan and calculate all the costs related to project activities.
