---
title: The Correct Amount of Planning
teaser: Don't plan too much or too little.
tags: design,playbook
author: Matt Jankowski
published_on: 2005-11-06
---

In a very general sense, there is no "right" amount of planning or organizing
you can do prior to starting a project. However, by identifying what "too
little" and "too much" are, you can hope to find something that works.

On the "too much" end of the spectrum:

* Speculating about situations that may or may not ever arise far down the road
  is usually a waste of time. Better to dig in and start creating.
* Drafting a 100 page design document that multiple parties sign off on is
  usually a waste of time. People are generally thinking of slightly different
  things when they read about functionality—over the course of a large document
  these differences add up.

On the "too little" end:

* Don't just start work on a project without covering at least a few general
  questions. What's the goal? How can it be accomplished? What might cause it to
  fail and how can we avoid those things? How will it make money?
* Avoid "hand waving" issues away. For example, if you don't have widget X in
  place yet and the person building widget Y needs X before they can begin,
  don't use "X is available" as an assumption in the project timeline. A lot of
  "hand waving" will lead to a group of people who can all claim to not be
  responsible for a failed project.