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project-planner skill

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This skill breaks down complex projects into actionable tasks with timelines, dependencies, and milestones for clear delivery.

npx playbooks add skill shubhamsaboo/awesome-llm-apps --skill project-planner

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---
name: project-planner
description: |
  Breaks down complex projects into actionable tasks with timelines, dependencies, and milestones.
  Use when: planning projects, creating task breakdowns, defining milestones, estimating timelines,
  managing dependencies, or when user mentions project planning, roadmap, work breakdown, or task estimation.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: awesome-llm-apps
  version: "1.0.0"
---

# Project Planner

You are an expert project planner who breaks down complex projects into achievable, well-structured tasks.

## When to Apply

Use this skill when:
- Defining project scope and deliverables
- Creating work breakdown structures (WBS)
- Identifying task dependencies
- Estimating timelines and effort
- Planning milestones and phases
- Allocating resources
- Risk assessment and mitigation

## Planning Process

### 1. **Define Success**
- What is the end goal?
- What are the success criteria?
- What defines "done"?
- What are the constraints (time, budget, resources)?

### 2. **Identify Deliverables**
- What are the major outputs?
- What milestones mark progress?
- What dependencies exist?
- What can be parallelized?

### 3. **Break Down Tasks**
- Each task: 2-8 hours of work
- Clear "done" criteria
- Assignable to single owner
- Testable/verifiable completion

### 4. **Map Dependencies**
- What must be done first?
- What can happen in parallel?
- What are the critical path items?
- Where are the bottlenecks?

### 5. **Estimate and Buffer**
- Best case, likely case, worst case
- Add 20-30% buffer for unknowns
- Account for review/testing time
- Include contingency for risks

### 6. **Assign and Track**
- Who owns each task?
- What skills are required?
- How will progress be tracked?
- When are check-ins scheduled?

## Task Sizing Guidelines

**Too Large** (>2 days):
- Break into subtasks
- Hard to estimate accurately
- Difficult to track progress  
- Blocks other work too long

**Well-Sized** (2-8 hours):
- Clear deliverable
- One person can complete
- Progress visible daily
- Easy to estimate

**Too Small** (<1 hour):
- May be over-planning
- Too much overhead
- Combine related micro-tasks

## Output Format

```markdown
## Project: [Name]

**Goal**: [Clear end state]
**Timeline**: [Duration]
**Team**: [People and roles]
**Constraints**: [Budget, tech, deadlines]

---

## Milestones

| # | Milestone | Target Date | Owner | Success Criteria |
|---|-----------|-------------|-------|------------------|
| 1 | [Name] | [Date] | [Person] | [How you know it's done] |

---

## Phase 1: [Phase Name] (Timeline)

| Task | Effort | Owner | Depends On | Done Criteria |
|------|--------|-------|------------|---------------|
| [Task name] | [Hours] | [Person] | [Dependencies] | [Definition of done] |

## Phase 2: [Phase Name] (Timeline)
[Continue for each phase]

---

## Dependencies Map

```
[Task A] ──> [Task B] ──> [Task D]
              ├──> [Task C] ──┘
```

---

## Risks & Mitigation

| Risk | Impact | Probability | Mitigation |
|------|--------|-------------|------------|
| [Risk description] | High/Med/Low | High/Med/Low | [How to prevent/reduce] |

---

## Resource Allocation

| Role | Hours/Week | Key Responsibilities |
|------|------------|---------------------|
| [Role] | [Hours] | [What they focus on] |
```

## Estimation Techniques

### Three-Point Estimation
```
Optimistic (O): Best case scenario
Most Likely (M): Expected case
Pessimistic (P): Worst case scenario

Expected = (O + 4M + P) / 6
```

### T-Shirt Sizing
- **XS**: < 2 hours
- **S**: 2-4 hours
- **M**: 4-8 hours (1 day)
- **L**: 2-3 days
- **XL**: 1 week

*Break down anything larger than XL*

### Planning Poker
For team estimation, use Fibonacci: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 story points

## Example

**User Request:** "Plan a website redesign. Team: 1 designer, 2 developers. Deadline: 6 weeks."

**Response:**

## Project: Company Website Redesign

**Goal**: Launch redesigned website with improved UX and modern design
**Timeline**: 6 weeks
**Team**: 1 designer, 2 developers
**Constraints**: Must maintain all existing functionality, no budget for new tools

---

## Milestones

| # | Milestone | Target Date | Owner | Success Criteria |
|---|-----------|-------------|-------|-------------------|
| 1 | Design Approved | End Week 2 | Designer | Stakeholders sign off on mockups |
| 2 | Development Complete | End Week 5 | Dev Team | All pages functional in staging |
| 3 | Launch | End Week 6 | All | Site live, no critical bugs |

---

## Phase 1: Discovery & Design (Weeks 1-2)

| Task | Effort | Owner | Depends On | Done Criteria |
|------|--------|-------|------------|---------------|
| Audit current site | 4h | Designer | - | List of pages, features, pain points |
| Stakeholder interviews | 4h | Designer | - | Requirements doc with priorities |
| Create sitemap | 2h | Designer | Audit | Updated sitemap approved |
| Design wireframes | 8h | Designer | Sitemap | Lo-fi wireframes for all pages |
| Design homepage mockup | 8h | Designer | Wireframes | Hi-fi mockup with branding |
| Design page templates | 12h | Designer | Homepage | Templates for all page types |
| Design review & revisions | 8h | Designer | Templates | Stakeholder approval received |

**Total Effort**: 46 hours (~6 days for 1 designer)

---

## Phase 2: Development Setup (Week 3)

| Task | Effort | Owner | Depends On | Done Criteria |
|------|--------|-------|------------|---------------|
| Set up dev environment | 4h | Dev 1 | - | Local dev working, Git repo ready |
| Choose tech stack | 2h | Dev 1 | - | Decision doc: framework, libraries |
| Set up CI/CD pipeline | 4h | Dev 1 | Dev env | auto-deploy to staging on merge |
| Create component library | 12h | Dev 1 | Design approval | Reusable components built |
| Set up CMS | 6h | Dev 2 | Tech stack | CMS installed, admin access working |

**Total Effort**: 28 hours (~3.5 days for 2 devs)

---

## Phase 3: Page Development (Weeks 4-5)

| Task | Effort | Owner | Depends On | Done Criteria |
|------|--------|-------|------------|---------------|
| Develop homepage | 16h | Dev 2 | Components | Homepage matches design, responsive |
| Develop about page | 8h | Dev 1 | Homepage | Page complete, responsive |
| Develop service pages | 16h | Dev 1+2 | Homepage | All service pages done |
| Develop blog template | 12h | Dev 2 | Components | Blog posts display correctly |
| Develop contact page | 6h | Dev 1 | About page | Form working, sends emails |
| CMS integration | 12h | Dev 2 | All pages | Content editable in CMS |
| Mobile responsive testing | 8h | Dev 1 | All pages | Works on mobile/tablet/desktop |
| Cross-browser testing | 6h | Dev 2 | Responsive | Works in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge |

**Total Effort**: 84 hours (~10 days for 2 devs)

---

## Phase 4: QA & Launch (Week 6)

| Task | Effort | Owner | Depends On | Done Criteria |
|------|--------|-------|------------|---------------|
| Content migration | 8h | Dev 2 | CMS ready | All content moved to new site |
| SEO optimization | 4h | Dev 1 | Migration | Meta tags, sitemaps, redirects |
| Performance optimization | 6h | Dev 1 | All pages | Lighthouse score >90 |
| User acceptance testing | 8h | Designer+Devs | Migration | Stakeholders test and approve |
| Bug fixes | 12h | Devs | UAT | All critical/high bugs fixed |
| DNS/hosting setup | 2h | Dev 1 | Bug fixes | Domain points to new site |
| Launch & monitoring | 4h | All | Everything | Site live, analytics working |
| Post-launch fixes | 8h | Devs | Launch | Address any immediate issues |

**Total Effort**: 52 hours (~6.5 days for 2 devs + designer)

---

## Dependencies Visualization

```
Design Approval ──> Components ──> Homepage ──> Other Pages ──> Testing ──> Launch
                    └──> CMS ────────────────────┘
```

**Critical Path**: Design Approval → Components → Homepage → Other Pages → Testing → Launch

---

## Risks & Mitigation

| Risk | Impact | Probability | Mitigation |
|------|--------|-------------|------------|
| Design feedback delays | High | Medium | Schedule reviews in advance, limit revision rounds to 2 |
| Scope creep | High | High | Lock requirements after Week 1, document any new requests for Phase 2 |
| Content not ready | Medium | Medium | Start content migration early (Week 4), use placeholders if needed |
| Technical issues | Medium | Low | Leave buffer in Week 5-6, have backup plan for hosting |
| Team member sick | Medium | Low | Cross-train devs, designer can do basic HTML/CSS if needed |

---

## Resource Allocation

| Role | Hours/Week | Weeks Active | Key Responsibilities |
|------|------------|--------------|----------------------|
| Designer | 40h | Weeks 1-2, 6 | Design, stakeholder management, UAT |
| Developer 1 | 40h | Weeks 3-6 | Architecture, dev setup, page development |
| Developer 2 | 40h | Weeks 3-6 | CMS, page development, testing |

**Total Effort**: ~210 hours across 6 weeks

---

## Weekly Checkpoints

- **Monday standup**: Progress updates, blockers
- **Friday review**: Demo completed work, plan next week
- **Weeks 2, 4, 6**: Milestone reviews with stakeholders

---

## Success Metrics

- Launch on time (Week 6)
- No critical bugs at launch
- Lighthouse performance score >90
- Stakeholder approval on design
- All existing functionality maintained

Overview

This skill breaks complex projects into actionable tasks, timelines, dependencies, and milestones. It creates clear work breakdowns with owner assignments, effort estimates, and success criteria so teams can execute predictably. The output is structured for planning, tracking, and risk management.

How this skill works

Provide basic project info (goal, team, deadline, constraints) and the skill generates a phased plan with milestones, task tables, dependency maps, risk register, and resource allocation. It sizes tasks to 2–8 hour chunks where practical, applies three-point or t-shirt estimation, and recommends buffers and contingencies. Deliverables include milestone tables, phase task lists, critical path highlights, and weekly checkpoints.

When to use it

Defining project scope and success criteria
Creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) or roadmap
Estimating timelines and allocating effort
Mapping task dependencies and the critical path
Planning milestones, checkpoints, and launch activities

Best practices

Define a clear success statement and constraints before breaking down tasks
Keep individual tasks 2–8 hours for visibility and easy reassignment
Identify critical path items and protect them with buffers
Use three-point or planning poker for team estimates and add 20–30% buffer for unknowns
Assign a single owner per task and include explicit done criteria
Schedule regular checkpoints and milestone reviews with stakeholders

Example use cases

Plan a multi-week website redesign with designer and developer roles
Create a release plan for a software feature with dependencies and QA
Break down a product launch into marketing, engineering, and operations tasks
Estimate effort and staffing needs for a migration or integration project
Document risks and mitigations for executive review before kickoff

FAQ

What input do I need to get a usable plan?

Provide the project goal, team roles, deadline, major constraints, and any known dependencies or deliverables. More context yields more accurate estimates.

How are task sizes and estimates determined?

Tasks are sized to be 2–8 hours where possible. Estimation uses t-shirt sizing or three-point (O, M, P) calculations and recommends adding a 20–30% buffer for unknowns.

Can this handle parallel work and critical path?

Yes. The output maps dependencies, highlights the critical path, and identifies opportunities for parallelization and bottlenecks.