Project Planning, Scoping, and Design

Why Project Planning Comes First

Every successful IT deployment—whether you are setting up a single workstation or building a network for a growing business—begins with a plan. Jumping straight to purchasing equipment or pulling cables without a written plan wastes money, creates rework, and often leaves the customer with a system that does not meet their needs. In this lesson you will learn how to translate a business scenario into a formal project plan that any technician or manager can follow.

Step 1: Requirements Gathering

Requirements gathering means reading the customer's scenario carefully and writing down every technical need in plain, numbered statements. Use the provided requirements-gathering template for each requirement:

• Who needs it (all employees, the manager only, a specific department)
• What the need is (wired access, wireless access, cloud backup, ticketing software)
• Why it matters (business impact if it is missing)
• Acceptance criteria (how you will prove the requirement is met)

For the ten-employee office scenario, you should identify at minimum: wired Ethernet drops for desks, a wireless access point covering the whole office, a local server for shared files, an internet uplink, a cloud backup solution, a help-desk ticketing system, and basic security (firewall, antivirus, strong passwords). Do not guess—re-read the brief until every stated need has a matching requirement line.

Step 2: Network Design Fundamentals

Logical vs. physical diagrams. A logical diagram shows IP addresses, subnets, VLANs, and how traffic flows—it does not care where cables physically run. A physical diagram shows real device locations, port connections, rack layout, and cable paths. You need both.

Subnetting. For a small office you typically assign one or more private IPv4 subnets from RFC 1918 space (10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, or 192.168.0.0/16). Choosing a /24 subnet (for example, 192.168.1.0/24) gives you 254 usable host addresses—plenty for a ten-employee office. If you use VLANs to separate traffic (for example, VLAN 10 for staff PCs and VLAN 20 for wireless guests), each VLAN gets its own subnet.

VLAN assignments. VLANs segment broadcast domains without requiring separate physical switches. Assign each VLAN a meaningful name and ID number, and document which switch ports belong to each VLAN. The router or layer-3 switch performs inter-VLAN routing if devices in different VLANs need to communicate.

Device roles. Every device on your diagram must have a labeled role: router/firewall (WAN uplink and security), managed switch (VLAN trunking), wireless access point (Wi-Fi for staff and guests), local server (file sharing, possibly DHCP/DNS), and end-user workstations.

WAN uplink. Show the connection from your router to the ISP's demarcation point. Label the uplink type (for example, fiber handoff) and note whether the ISP assigns a public IP via DHCP or static assignment.

Step 3: IP Address Planning

Create an IP address table with one row per device. Columns should include: hostname, device role, interface, VLAN, IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway. Assign static IPs to infrastructure devices (router, switch management interface, server, access point). Use DHCP for end-user workstations and document the DHCP pool range so it does not overlap static assignments.

Example allocation for 192.168.1.0/24:

• .1 = router (default gateway)
• .2 = managed switch management interface
• .3 = wireless access point
• .10 = local server
• .100–.150 = DHCP pool for workstations

Step 4: Bill of Materials

A bill of materials (BOM) is a spreadsheet listing every item you plan to purchase. Each row needs: item description, manufacturer and model number, quantity, unit cost, extended cost (quantity × unit cost), and a brief justification explaining why that specific model was chosen. Use real, currently available products. Total the extended cost column to give the customer a realistic budget estimate. Separate the BOM into categories: networking gear, server hardware, cabling and accessories, and software licenses.

Step 5: Project Scope Statement

The scope statement is a one-page document that prevents misunderstandings. It must define:

• Deliverables: exactly what you will hand over (configured network, documented IP table, installed ticketing software, trained users)
• Constraints: budget ceiling, timeline, existing equipment to reuse
• Out-of-scope items: anything the customer might expect but that is explicitly not included (for example, ongoing monthly support, phone system installation)

A clear scope statement protects both the student project team and, in the real world, the business relationship with the customer.

Step 6: Project Schedule with Milestones

Break the project into phases: Requirements & Design, Procurement, Physical Installation, Configuration & Testing, User Acceptance Testing, and Handover. Assign realistic start and end dates to each phase and identify key milestones—dates by which a specific deliverable must be complete. Tools such as a simple Gantt chart in a spreadsheet work well for projects of this size.

Safety and Professional Considerations

Even in a planning phase, safety thinking must start now. Identify any tasks in later phases that will require working inside electrical panels or server racks—those tasks will require following lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures to control hazardous energy before anyone works on powered equipment. Plan for ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection when handling network cards or server components. If cable runs will pass through ceiling spaces or walls, note that fire-stopping materials must be restored after any penetrations, per applicable building and electrical codes. Document these safety requirements in the project plan so nothing is overlooked during execution.