Why planning is important

Planning is an essential stage of development. It is suitable for any engineering specialty. But in software and web development it has its own specificity:

• Planes can change and should be corrected.
• Software and web developer has long time access to the computer.

This specificity is best suited for using planning tools. Paper and pencil are useful, but it can not take an intellectual power of an automated planning process. Universal planning tools are vain in software development, because they usually have a large dependency, they are too heavy and difficult to customize. Highly tailored planning tools do not have these imperfections.

Systematic planning can reduce various risks:

• Risk of spending a time on unimportant tasks while missing core functionality.
• Risk of noting less time then really required.
• Risk being late with tasks deadlines.

Systematic planning as process can train people to make correct estimations. In many cases task estimation is a privilege of developer. But right estimates can make only experienced developer. Planning takes a good experience for right estimates.

Planning a work is important not only for developers, but also for the heads. Managers and trackers can watch a planning of each developer using reports. Only self-planning of each developer can take the actual state of affairs in digits.

Planning has its place for freelancers. It can take a self-motivation and establish discipline. While in classic software development collective a good manager can squeeze out people to work, freelancer is free for laziness. Also systematic planning can help with reports and calculation of man-hours.

Experience shows what capable planning activities can increase development productivity and quality 30 percent and more.