Phase 1 — Planning
Overview
The Planning phase is the foundation of the entire SDLC. It defines the project's purpose, scope, feasibility, budget, timeline, and team structure before a single line of code is written.
Poor planning is the leading cause of project failure. Investing time here prevents scope creep, resource conflicts, and missed deadlines downstream.
Goals
- Establish a shared understanding of what is being built and why
- Validate technical and business feasibility
- Allocate resources and define team roles
- Define success criteria and measurable KPIs
- Identify risks early and create mitigation strategies
Entry Criteria
- Business need or opportunity has been identified
- Executive or product sponsor has approved initiation
- High-level budget envelope is available
Key Activities
1. Feasibility Study
Evaluate the project from multiple dimensions:
| Dimension | Questions to Answer |
|---|---|
| Technical | Can we build this with current technology and team skills? |
| Operational | Can our infrastructure support this at scale? |
| Financial | Does the ROI justify the investment? |
| Schedule | Can this be delivered in the required timeframe? |
| Legal/Compliance | Are there regulatory constraints (GDPR, PCI-DSS, etc.)? |
2. Project Charter
Document the formal authorization of the project. A charter typically includes:
- Project name and description
- Business objectives and success metrics
- High-level scope (in-scope and out-of-scope)
- Assumptions and constraints
- Key stakeholders
- Preliminary timeline and budget
3. Resource Planning
Identify team structure and staffing:
- Backend engineers (Java/Spring)
- Frontend engineers
- QA engineers
- DevOps / Platform engineers
- Product Manager and Scrum Master
- Security and Compliance reviewers
4. Risk Register
Identify and score risks:
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key developer unavailable | Medium | High | Cross-train team members |
| Third-party API changes | Low | High | Wrapper abstraction layer |
| Requirements change mid-sprint | High | Medium | Strict change control process |
| Infrastructure cost overrun | Low | Medium | Cloud cost alerts and budgets |
5. Communication Plan
Define how the project communicates:
- Daily standups (async or sync)
- Sprint planning and retrospectives
- Stakeholder status updates
- Escalation paths
Roles and Responsibilities
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Product Manager | Define vision, prioritize features, accept deliverables |
| Tech Lead | Technical feasibility, architecture direction, effort estimates |
| Scrum Master | Facilitate ceremonies, remove blockers |
| Engineering Team | Provide input on effort, flag technical constraints |
| QA Lead | Define test strategy and effort estimates |
Exit Criteria
- Project Charter is signed off by sponsor
- Feasibility study is documented and approved
- Team is identified and committed
- Risk register is populated and reviewed
- High-level timeline and milestones are agreed
Tools
| Purpose | Tool |
|---|---|
| Project tracking | Jira, Linear, GitHub Projects |
| Documentation | Confluence, Notion |
| Risk tracking | Excel, Confluence table, or Jira |
| Communication | Slack, MS Teams |
Key Deliverable
The Project Charter is the primary artifact from this phase. It serves as the contract between the business and engineering teams.