![\"Software](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IT-software-development-plan-gantt-chart-2024.png\")
<\/a>Why Use a Software Development Plan Template?<\/h2>\n
A software development plan template saves time and provides consistency. It streamlines the development planning process<\/a> and avoids having to always start from scratch. It uniformly promotes plans across projects, which helps teams and stakeholders alike with quickly understanding the plan. They\u2019re also comprehensive, preventing any important information from falling through the cracks.<\/p>\n That\u2019s true for any template, though. This software development plan is unique: it provides a structured framework for development processes, outline phases, tasks and timelines. That all helps project managers organize workflow<\/a>. While teams might execute the plan on kanban boards or even task lists, managers or executives often prefer the more traditional breakdown offered by the Gantt chart of this software development plan template.<\/p>\n The problem with the template is that it can only plan. It\u2019s not a collaborative document that managers can share with the development team. It doesn\u2019t even serve one of the purposes of a Gantt chart, to track progress. It would work, but only if someone is dedicated to inputting status updates, which seems like a poor use of a team member\u2019s time. Project management software avoids all those pitfalls to provide a tool that adds efficiency to the software development process<\/a>.<\/p>\n Download this fully customizable software development plan template and find that it\u2019s divided into two distinct sections. On the left is a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is where the tasks in the development project are listed. The start and end dates are defined and the duration of days is then estimated.<\/p>\n The next couple of columns capture the priority for each task. Determine if the task is high, medium or low priority, which will help with the planning. Then there\u2019s a column to use for tracking. It captures the percentage of completion to help keep the project on track.<\/p>\n On the right-hand side is the timeline. Once the spreadsheet on the left is completed, that data automatically populates the spreadsheet. Tasks are not represented by bars that show their duration on the timeline. To make the timeline easier to read, users can color each phase. This is an ideal way to visualize your software development plan.<\/p>\n Once the software development plan template is in use, though, its limitations will become evident. For one thing, it\u2019s not collaborative. Scrum teams are collaborative. That\u2019s a problem. Another issue is tracking. Yes, there\u2019s a column to capture status, but it must be manually updated. No one has time for that, not to mention it means the plan is always showing data that\u2019s behind schedule.<\/p>\n Those problems aren\u2019t insurmountable: project management software can help. ProjectManager<\/a> is award-winning project and portfolio management software with features that leave static templates in the dust.<\/p>\n Managers and executives love Gantt charts, but software developers teams use different tools to execute the plan. Once managers share the plan with teams, they can manage their backlog and plan sprints collaboratively on kanban boards<\/a> or task lists. As they update their work, it\u2019s reflected on the Gantt chart. The calendar view keeps the stakeholders updated with a monthly overview of progress.<\/p>\n With managers working on one tool and teams on others, there needs to be a central hub to capture key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure the actual work is aligned with the plan. For a high-level overview, toggle over to the project or portfolio dashboard<\/a>. Once a baseline is set on the Gantt chart it\u2019s capturing live data and displaying it on easy-to-read graphs and charts on time, cost, workload and more. Customizable reports go deeper or can just provide a status report for stakeholders. There are even secure timesheets to help with payroll and offer a window into labor costs to help stay on budget.<\/p>\nHow to Use This Software Development Plan Template for Excel<\/h2>\n
Identifty Software Development Tasks<\/h3>\n
![\"Task](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Task-list-software-development-plan-in-Excel-600x223.png\")
\nVisualize the Software Development Plan on a Timeline<\/h3>\n
![\"Software](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/software-development-plan-template-timeline-portion-600x327.png\")
\nHow to Use ProjectManager to Make a Software Development Plan<\/h2>\n
Execute the Plan with Multiple Project Views<\/h3>\n
![\"Software](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IT-project-plan-on-a-kanban-board-software-development-2024.png\")
<\/a>\nTrack Progress, Cost and More in Real Time<\/h3>\n
![\"Project](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Dashboard-IT-Light-2554x1372-1.png\")
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