Solution

Collaborative project planning. This process brings together views and skills from different areas to create projects plans that are smart and owned by the team that has to execute them.

Analysis 
Planning and execution are two sides of the same coin when you look at the engineering process as a value stream.

Therefore, project plans should be created and maintained in collaboration with the project team. This approach offers huge advantages, including obtaining the best input and securing commitment to the plan. Typically, this is accomplished through one or two structured brown paper workshops, where teams examine scope, deliverables, dependencies, lead times, critical paths, and resource requirements.

Once the initial draft is complete, the plan can be further refined and transferred to any planning tool to achieve the desired format. The tool is the end point, never the start.

The next critical step involves establishing feedback loops from execution to ensure that the plan remains up to date and responsive to changes. Another cheap but very effective way to deal with the essential topic of project planning!

Result

Better baselines and better schedule adherence with faster delivery.  Fit for the purpose of setting up lower level sprint plans and managing the critical path, while prioritising resource allocation  in portfolios.