Essentials of project planning. Owner's perspective

Project planning, especially from the owner's point of view, is a relatively new field. After more than a decade of intensive development, it is still difficult to point to significant progress in the understanding of planning principles. Most studies have focused on techniques of planning and control. The premise of this study is that a change must be brought about in the approach to project planning research by shifting the focus from planning techniques per se to the process of planning as a whole. The purpose of this article is to: (1) Describe briefly what project planning is and how it is carried out; (2) identify the major obstacles to effective planning; and (3) suggest ways of coping with them.