Project Plan and Risk Log

Turn a project brief into a phased plan with owners, dependencies, a critical path, and a risk log that names probability and response.

Build a project plan and risk log.

Project and the outcome it must produce: [WHAT DONE LOOKS LIKE, IN OBSERVABLE TERMS]
Hard deadline and what makes it hard: [DATE + WHY IT CANNOT MOVE, or "it can move"]
People available and their real capacity: [NAMES/ROLES + HOURS PER WEEK]
Budget: [AMOUNT AND WHAT IT COVERS]
Known constraints: [APPROVALS, VENDOR LEAD TIMES, FREEZES, SEASONALITY]
What has already been decided: [DECISIONS NOT UP FOR DEBATE]
What has gone wrong on similar projects here: [HISTORY]

Produce:

1. **Scope.** In scope, out of scope, and explicitly undecided. The undecided list is the one that causes fights later, so name each item with who decides it and by when.

2. **Phases and workstreams.** Each phase with its exit criterion stated as something observable, not "complete". Under each, the tasks with an owner, an estimate in working days, and dependencies named by task.

3. **Critical path.** The chain that determines the end date, called out explicitly, plus how much slack every other chain has. State the earliest realistic finish given the capacity I gave you, and if that is later than my deadline, say so in your first line rather than compressing estimates to fit.

4. **Risk log.** 8-12 risks with: the risk stated as a cause and effect, probability (high, medium, low), impact if it happens, the early warning sign that would tell us it is happening, the mitigation to do now, and the response if it happens anyway. Include risks from my history of similar projects. Include at least two risks that are about people and decisions rather than the work.

5. **Assumptions.** Everything the plan depends on that has not been confirmed, each with who can confirm it.

6. **Decision and approval points.** Where the project stops and waits, who is needed, and the lead time each approval realistically takes.

7. **Status reporting.** What to report weekly, in four lines, so a status update takes five minutes rather than an hour.

Rules: use only my inputs. Do not pad estimates or hide slack inside tasks; put slack where it is visible. If the capacity, scope, and deadline cannot all hold, name which one has to give and what each option costs.

How to use

The instruction to refuse the deadline math when it does not work is the load-bearing one. Plans that quietly compress estimates to reach a predetermined date fail on schedule and surprise nobody except the people who approved them. The early-warning column in the risk log is worth more than the mitigation column: risks rarely arrive unannounced, and a named signal is something a weekly status can actually check.

More business prompts

Build me a monthly budget and a debt payoff plan from these numbers.

Take-home income per month: [AMOUNT, and note if it varies]
Fixed costs: [RENT/MORTGAGE, UTILITIES, INSURANCE, SUBSCRIPTIONS, TRANSPORT, CHILDCARE, with amounts]
Variable spending, last 3 months if known: [GROCERIES, DINING, SHOPPING, ETC.]
Debts: [FOR EACH: name, balan

Budget and Debt Payoff Plan

Turn your real income, bills, and debts into a monthly budget and a payoff schedule with the math shown and the tradeoffs named.

Businessbeginner

Build a 13-week cash flow forecast.

Cash on hand today: [AMOUNT, and which accounts]
Any restricted or committed cash: [AMOUNT AND WHAT IT IS FOR]

Expected inflows:
- Receivables outstanding: [CUSTOMER, AMOUNT, INVOICE DATE, TERMS, and how reliably each pays]
- Recurring revenue: [AMOUNT, BILLING DATE, CHURN ASSUMPTION]
- New sales expe

13-Week Cash Flow Forecast

Build the rolling weekly cash forecast operators actually run on: opening balance, timed inflows and outflows, and the week you run short.

Businessadvanced

Help me set pricing for [PRODUCT/SERVICE].

What it does and who buys it: [PRODUCT + BUYER]
The alternative if they do not buy: [COMPETITOR, IN-HOUSE, SPREADSHEET, DOING NOTHING]
What that alternative costs them: [MONEY, TIME, RISK. Estimate if needed and say so.]
Value we create, quantified if possible: [TIME SAVED, REVENUE GAINED, COST

Pricing Strategy

Work out what to charge and how to package it: value basis, tier structure, the metric you meter on, and how to test before committing.