Well-planned projects can be likened to aeroplane flights as they require:

• Justification and approval to fly = Business Case
• Flight plan = Project Initiation Document (PID)
• A crew with a captain = Project Team and Manager
• Passengers = Stakeholders
• Periodic communication with the control tower = Project Board
• Pre-flight checks = Project start readiness checklist
• Change of flight plan = Change of scope within the PID
• Accounting for all passengers, meals, merchandise = Configuration control
• Satisfied passengers = Quality control
• Reaching flight milestones/points = Stage Ends
• Aeroplane’s Blackbox = Issue Log
• Selling lottery tickets and merchandise = Work Packages
• Fuel = Budget
• Captain and crew’s operating procedures = PRINCE2 methodology
• Aeroplane parking in a hangar = Lessons learnt and filing project files

Furthermore, the take-off, the flight and the landing also share similarities with a project. The take-off is often the most turbulent part of the flight/project and requires skill and perseverance to get off the ground and it also requires a leap of faith from the stakeholders to get onboard in the first place. Once flying, then it is often straight-forward but there are pockets of turbulence that need to be navigated and sometimes disgruntled stakeholders that need to be looked after. The landing is like closing a project, it can be a bit bumpy but it generally goes according to plan if the entire project is well-planned.

Feedback and comments are always welcome!