To build, decide.

Several years ago, the a cappella group I was in decided to record an album on CD.   It was good.  I'm glad we did it.   It turns out that it's really hard to describe the process, though. I can start going into the project plan, the time in the studio, etc., but it all sounds very generic and boring.  In the end, I've stopped trying to give the details, and now it sounds something like this:

1. Decide that you're all going to record a CD.  
2. Look each other in the eye and commit to getting it done.  
3. Then, do everything you need to do to get it done. 
4. At the end, you'll have a CD.

It's not helpful, and it's definitely not informative, but it's completely true and I'll stand by every word of it, because it's the most accurate account I can come up with for what the process felt like.

Even if someone waved a magic wand and created a detailed "recording an album" project plan for everything that needed to be done, with schedules and timings, and the plan was 100% correct throughout the entire project, it wouldn't have described the commitment of 12 people deciding that they're going to do something, holding each other accountable for the project's success.

Project plans are useful, but they won't get you through the recording sessions where you're doing something for the fiftieth time, it's still not right, you're sure that what's-his-face in the tenor section is completely ruining everything, and it isn't fun anymore, and you just want to go home.  

Sometimes, I think the only reason the CD got done at all was because no one wanted to be the first person to say "This is insane, we're killing each other over this, and it's driving me crazy... can we shelve this for now?" 

After all, no one pledges allegiance to a GANTT chart.