More and more organizations are looking for ways to bridge the gap between planning and execution. Traditional project plans are often developed centrally, while the knowledge regarding feasibility, work sequences, constraints, and handoff points actually resides within the disciplines responsible for execution. The result is often a plan that looks logical but does not adequately reflect day-to-day reality.

Pull Planning offers a collaborative approach in which planning is worked backward from a desired milestone or delivery date. The disciplines involved clarify interdependencies, identify prerequisites for implementation, and jointly agree on what needs to be completed and by when. This results not only in a schedule, but also in a shared understanding and a sense of ownership.

Why this master class?

Despite detailed planning, many projects face disruptions, rescheduling, delays, and coordination issues. Work is authorized even when information, materials, access, capacity, or decisions are still lacking. Teams then focus primarily on solving current problems rather than preventing them.

Pull Planning helps to better prepare for work, address dependencies earlier, and formulate agreements in a more realistic manner. The method strengthens collaboration between planning, project management, line management, and execution, and contributes to more reliable short- and medium-term planning.

What will you learn?

The masterclass takes an in-depth look at the relationship between milestones, phase planning, look-ahead planning, and daily or weekly commitments. Participants learn how to use Percent Plan Complete to track the reliability of commitments made and why analyzing the reasons for uncompleted work is more important than the percentage alone. The masterclass also covers constraint closure rate, workflow stability, and the number of executable work packages. These indicators reveal recurring causes, such as missing engineering information, unavailable materials, insufficient capacity, late decisions, poor handoffs, and work scheduled without clear completion criteria. Participants learn how Pull Planning can be integrated with the main master plan without turning the collaborative process into a one-time planning session.