GTD Project 5 Phases text template?

[CosmoGTD]

Does anyone have, or have links to a textual template of the 5 Phases of Project Planning?

[TesTeq]

I am not sure why DA put Purpose before Outcome in his book for project planning.
It seems to me to be more natural to know your Outcome, and then refine the purpose, but, the Outcome is coming out of some type of purpose, sometimes implicit.

For me it is obvious that first you have to identify or define the purpose (why you're going to do it) and then define the outcome that matches the purpose.

It is impossible to decide what should be done when you don't know the purpose.

[Mark Finlay]

TesTeq, you say " (first)... purpose (why you're going to do it) ..."

What is the "it" in that phrase? It seems to me it is the thing you think you're going to do - in other words, the "what".
To decide the purpose behind something, there has to be some thing.
So I'm with Cosmo on this one. Nice acronym BTW.
Of course, purpose-related thinking could affect the initial "hat" and either validate it, change it, or result in it not making it to the project/outcome/NA lists at all

[jhegener]

Your lists are much the same as mine. My 'full' template is:

Purpose - Vision - Brainstorm - Organize - Next Actions - Follow Up
(Why - What - How - Who/When/Where)

Purpose/Guiding Principles

Why is this being done? What would 'on purpose' really mean? Ask 'why' several times to get more clarity.
What are the key standards to hold in making decisions and acting on this project? What are the rules we play by?
The purpose and principles are the guiding criteria for making decisions on the project.

Vision/Successful Outcome

What would it be like if it were totally successful? How would I know?
What would that success look or feel like for each of the parties with an interest?
Past Tense - Wild Success - Note Details

Brainstorming/Trigger List

What are all the things that occur to me about this?
What is the current reality?
What do I know?
What do I not know?
What should I consider?
What haven't I considered?
Be complete, open, non-judgmental and resist critical analysis until brainstorming is complete.
View from all sides. Use additional trigger lists to generate ideas.

Organizing

Identify components (sub-projects), sequences and priorities.
Create outlines, bulleted lists and organizing charts as needed for review and control.

Next Actions

Determine next actions on current independent components. What should be done next and who should do it?
If more planning is required determine the next action to accomplish it.

Adjusting Focus

If your project needs more clarity - raise the level of your focus.
If your project needs more activity - lower the level of your focus.

Additional Planning

If the project is off your mind - planning is sufficient.
If it's still on your mind - then more is needed.

~~~~~~~~~~

A shorter list is:

Purpose - Vision - Brainstorm - Organize - Next Actions - Follow Up
(Why - What - How - Who/When/Where - Clarity>Up/Activity>Down)

[TesTeq]

TesTeq, you say " (first)... purpose (why you're going to do it) ..."

What is the "it" in that phrase? It seems to me it is the thing you think you're going to do - in other words, the "what".
To decide the purpose behind something, there has to be some thing.

OK. I agree that there shouldn't be "it" but I do not change my opinion about the why-what versus what-why order of thinking. So I change this to:

For me it is obvious that first you have to identify or define the purpose (why you're going to do anything) and then define the outcome that matches the purpose (what this anything is).

It is impossible to decide what should be done when you don't know the purpose.

[AdamMiller81]

Just thinking about it, but might be something like two whats, based on my understanding of what DA was saying.

In my view, we're all going to have a rough "what" done first, basically, as mentioned, a title for the project. However, I think that differs from the Outcome as defined in GTD. The Outcome What is more visualizing the successful endgame of the project, as DA says, envisioning "Wild Success".

So, I would take it as:
What 1 - What is the project's stated function, goal, etc.
Why (Purpose) - Why are we doing this, how does it fit into our committments with ourselves.
What 2 (Outcome) - With the purpose in mind, and the stated function or goal, what is the final, wildly successful, endgame or end state?

Just my thoughts on the topic.

Cheers!

[jhegener]

Why can be a pretty deep question, and one that doesn't get asked nearly often enough. It can quickly lead you into unfamiliar, uncomfortable territory. To me, why is always the core question and the hardest on both on a personal and professional level.

~~~

There is a pretty good book out there called "The Answer to How is Yes". If you substitute 'how' with 'what', I think this paragraph describing the book provide a little insight into the critical nature of 'why':

Modern culture's worship of "how-to" pragmatism has turned us into instruments of efficiency and commerce -- but we're doing more and more about things that mean less and less. We constantly ask how? but rarely why? We use how as a defense -- instead of acting on what we know to be of importance, we wait until we've attended one more workshop, read one more book, gotten one more degree. Asking how keeps us safe -- instead of being led by our hearts into uncharted territory, we keep our heads down and stick to the map. But we are gaining the world and losing our souls.

~~~

Not sure if any of this is what David had in mind when he placed 'why' as the first stage.

[TesTeq]

There can also be many reasons WHY we want a WHAT, but only one WHAT.

For example, we might want to lose 20 lbs. WHAT.
The WHY we might tell ourselves is so we can be Healthy. But the REAL why might be less noble.

I still do not agree. As you said there is a real WHY. So the challenge is to be brave enough to honestly discover or define your REAL WHYs. If you know this - it is a piece of cake to decide what to do and what not to do. So WHY is the basic filter for WHATs. And for one WHY there may be multiple WHATs.

For example for the purpose (WHY) "I wanna be healthy" I may define the following project outcomes (WHATs):
- lose 10 kg;
- change you diet to ...;
- start jogging;
- schedule yearly physical examination;
- and so on...

I will not define the project outcome (WHAT) "lose 10 kg" and then start to brainstorm why I want to do this (WHY).

Similarly I will not define the project outcome (WHAT) "dig a hole in a backyard" and then start to brainstorm what it is for (WHY):
- place for a new tree?
- grave (if I want to commit a murder)?
- tunnel to Australia?
- have I got a backyard? (no, I live in a penthouse near Central Park!)

So I repeat once again:

At the beginning was WHY. All other questions came from WHY.

[Rainer Burmeister]

At the beginning was WHY. All other questions came from WHY.

Yes, I second this.

If you don't clear the purpose of your activity before you do it then your activity isn't a project but something else, and hopefully not a waste of time and money.

What is a project?
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. Temporary means that the project has an end date. Unique means that the project's end result is different than the results of other functions of the organization. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project)
A project is an undertaking typically requiring concerted effort that is focused on developing or maintaining a specific product or products. Typically a project has its own funding, accounting, and delivery schedule. (http://www.sei.cmu.edu/productlines/glossary.html)

The natural planning method makes completely sense in this context.

But of course, we all know, David Allen uses the word "project" also with another meaning: a project is any desired result that requires more than one action step. Well, these "projects" are more like undertakings that don't need a planning method like the natural planning method. In this sense our projects lists are more like "undertakings lists" or "lists of desired results".

Rainer

[Rainer Burmeister]

My template looks like:

-------------------------------------------------
Project name: .............

What is the purpose? What is the question? What is the problem: ........

What is the intended successfull outcome? What is the goal: ...........

Thoughts on the project (Brainstorming): ......................

Putting thoughts in order: .......... ........ ...............

List of starting actions: ..............

Action plan necessary? Yes / No

Responsibilities: .............

Involved persons, departments, companies: .........

Obstacles: ..............

Milestones: ....................

Time frame: ...................

Comments / notes: ...................

------------------------------------------------

Rainer