Project Planning and Scoping with AI

The Vague Brief Problem

“We need to rebuild the customer portal. It should be modern, mobile-friendly, and better than what we have. The CEO wants it done by Q3. Budget is flexible but not unlimited. Go.”

That’s a real project brief. And it’s almost useless for planning purposes. What does “modern” mean? What specific problems does the current portal have? Who are the users? What does “done” look like? What’s the actual budget range?

Every project starts with ambiguity. The PM’s first job is to convert that ambiguity into clarity. AI accelerates this dramatically by generating the right questions and drafting structured documents that force specificity.

Turning Briefs into Charters

A project charter is your first clarity document. It forces everyone to agree on the basics before work begins.

I've received this project brief:

"[PASTE THE ACTUAL BRIEF YOU RECEIVED]"

Generate a project charter with these sections:

1. PROJECT OVERVIEW
   - Project name (suggest a clear, descriptive name)
   - Problem statement (what problem are we solving?)
   - Business case (why does this matter to the organization?)
   - Success criteria (how will we know we succeeded?)

2. OBJECTIVES (SMART format)
   - List 3-5 specific, measurable objectives

3. SCOPE
   - In scope: What's included (specific deliverables)
   - Out of scope: What's explicitly NOT included
   - Assumptions: What we're assuming to be true
   - Constraints: Known limitations (time, budget, resources)

4. STAKEHOLDERS
   - Project sponsor: [Who authorized this]
   - Project manager: [Who's running it]
   - Core team: [Who's doing the work]
   - Key stakeholders: [Who needs to be informed/consulted]

5. HIGH-LEVEL TIMELINE
   - Major milestones (not detailed tasks)
   - Target completion date
   - Key decision points

6. RISKS (initial assessment)
   - Top 3-5 risks visible from the brief
   - Initial mitigation ideas

7. QUESTIONS TO RESOLVE
   - List questions that MUST be answered before
     detailed planning can begin

Make the "Out of Scope" section particularly thorough--
this prevents scope creep later.

The “Questions to Resolve” section is gold. AI identifies ambiguities in the brief that you’d discover weeks later during execution. Discovering them now saves painful mid-project course corrections.

Building a Statement of Work

Once the charter is approved, the Statement of Work (SOW) adds specifics:

Based on this approved project charter:

[PASTE CHARTER OR KEY SECTIONS]

Generate a Statement of Work with:

1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
   Detailed description of what will be delivered (2-3 paragraphs)

2. DELIVERABLES
   For each deliverable:
   - Description (specific, unambiguous)
   - Acceptance criteria (how we know it's done)
   - Owner (who's responsible)
   - Estimated completion date

3. TIMELINE AND MILESTONES
   - Phase breakdown with dates
   - Dependencies between phases
   - Client review/approval points
   - Buffer time between phases

4. TEAM AND ROLES
   - RACI matrix (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed)
     for each major deliverable

5. BUDGET (if applicable)
   - Cost breakdown by phase or deliverable
   - Payment schedule tied to milestones
   - Change request process

6. OUT OF SCOPE (expanded)
   - Detailed list of what's not included
   - What happens if the client wants to add scope

7. ASSUMPTIONS AND DEPENDENCIES
   - What we need from the client/stakeholders
   - External dependencies
   - Timing assumptions

8. CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROCESS
   - How changes to scope will be requested
   - How they'll be evaluated (impact, cost, timeline)
   - Who approves changes

Include language that protects both parties while
maintaining a collaborative tone.

Quick Check

Look at the SOW prompt above. Notice the “Change Management Process” section. Why is this so important? Because scope changes will happen–they always do. Having an agreed-upon process for handling changes is the difference between “scope creep” and “managed scope evolution.”

Creating Stakeholder Maps

Stakeholder management makes or breaks projects. Here’s how AI helps you map the landscape:

I'm planning a project to [PROJECT DESCRIPTION].

The following people/groups are involved or affected:
[LIST ALL STAKEHOLDERS WITH THEIR ROLES]

Create a stakeholder map with:

1. STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS TABLE
   | Name/Group | Role | Interest Level (H/M/L) |
   | Influence Level (H/M/L) | Attitude (Champion/Neutral/Skeptic) |
   | Communication Needs | Engagement Strategy |

2. POWER/INTEREST GRID
   Classify each stakeholder:
   - High power, high interest: MANAGE CLOSELY
   - High power, low interest: KEEP SATISFIED
   - Low power, high interest: KEEP INFORMED
   - Low power, low interest: MONITOR

3. COMMUNICATION PLAN
   For each stakeholder group:
   - What information they need
   - How often (daily/weekly/monthly/milestone-based)
   - What format (email, meeting, dashboard, report)
   - Who communicates with them

4. RISK ASSESSMENT
   - Which stakeholders could derail the project?
   - What would trigger their opposition?
   - How do we prevent or address opposition early?

Defining Success Criteria

One of the most common planning failures: not defining what “done” looks like. AI forces specificity:

We're building [PROJECT DELIVERABLE].

The stakeholders have said they want it to be
"good," "fast," "user-friendly," and "scalable."

Convert these vague requirements into specific,
measurable success criteria:

For each vague requirement:
1. Ask clarifying questions that would pin down what they mean
2. Suggest 2-3 specific, measurable criteria
3. Define how each would be measured
4. Set realistic targets

Example format:
VAGUE: "User-friendly"
SPECIFIC: "90% of new users complete onboarding
without contacting support"
MEASUREMENT: Track onboarding completion rate
and support tickets from new users
TARGET: 90% within 3 months of launch

Resource Planning

AI helps you think through what you need before you ask for it:

For this project:

[PROJECT SUMMARY]
[DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE]

Create a resource plan:

1. REQUIRED ROLES
   For each role:
   - Skills needed
   - Estimated time commitment (% of full-time)
   - Duration needed (which project phases)
   - Whether this is an existing team member or a hire

2. TOOL/TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS
   - What tools are needed
   - Any licenses or subscriptions
   - Setup/learning curve time

3. EXTERNAL DEPENDENCIES
   - Third-party services or vendors
   - Client-provided assets or decisions
   - Regulatory or compliance requirements

4. BUDGET IMPLICATIONS
   - People costs (time * rate)
   - Tool/technology costs
   - Contingency buffer (suggest percentage)

5. RESOURCE RISKS
   - What happens if a key person is unavailable?
   - What if a tool doesn't work as expected?
   - What's the minimum viable team?

Planning Templates Library

Build a reusable set of planning documents:

Create a project planning template kit for a [TYPE] project.

Include templates for:

1. ONE-PAGE PROJECT BRIEF
   (For getting initial approval)

2. PROJECT CHARTER
   (For formal project initiation)

3. STATEMENT OF WORK
   (For defining deliverables and expectations)

4. STAKEHOLDER MAP
   (For managing communication and engagement)

5. RESOURCE PLAN
   (For identifying what's needed)

6. RACI MATRIX
   (For clarifying responsibilities)

Each template should include:
- Section headers
- Brief instructions for what goes in each section
- Example content for reference
- [PLACEHOLDERS] for project-specific information

Practical Exercise

Take a real project you’re about to start (or recently started). Feed the initial brief to AI and generate:

A project charter
A list of questions that need answers before planning continues
A stakeholder map for the key people involved

Compare the AI output to what you would have produced manually. What did AI add that you might have missed? What domain knowledge did you need to correct or add?

Key Takeaways

Every project starts with ambiguity: the PM’s first job is converting vagueness into clarity
Project charters force alignment on basics: scope, objectives, stakeholders, constraints
The “Out of Scope” section is your best defense against scope creep
AI identifies ambiguities and generates clarifying questions you’d discover weeks later
Statements of Work need acceptance criteria for every deliverable
Stakeholder maps prevent surprises: know who has power, who has interest, and what they need
Vague success criteria (“make it good”) must be converted to specific, measurable targets
Always validate AI-generated plans with domain knowledge and stakeholder input

Next lesson: task breakdown and work allocation–turning plans into action.