TOPIC A

Identify Project Management Plan Components

Your project has been authorized and the charter identifies you as the project manager. While you are
eager to get started, it's advisable that you begin by planning how the team will manage the project to its
successful completion. In this topic, you will identify the elements of a project management plan and the
additional plans that support the project.

Developing a realistic, usable, dynamic project management plan helps the project team stay focused on
the objectives and purpose of your project. Continually updating your project management plan when new
information is available will help you circumvent problems before they develop and ensure that project
work occurs according to the plan. (There are no minimum requirements for a project management plan;
its components and level of detail will be determined by the complexity of the project.)

Project Management Plan

A project management plan is a document that details how a project will be executed to achieve its
Objectives.

A well-defined plan consists of certain components, including:

• A description of the project management processes that will be used and the level of implementation
for each.

• A description of the tools and techniques that will be used to complete those processes.

• Plans for monitoring and controlling changes to the project.

• Details on configuration management (documented procedures for authorizing and controlling changes
to a product, service, or result).

• A description of the techniques that will be used to create and control the project's performance
baselines (scope, time, and cost).

• Techniques for communication with stakeholders.

• A definition of the project life cycle.

• A plan for identifying, documenting, and addressing open issues.

Example: A Project Management Plan for a Supermarket Chain

A national supermarket chain sought to reduce the average amount of time its customers spend waiting in
the checkout lines. The project management plan listed the necessary management processes and the
tools needed to complete those processes.

The plan also included the tasks to be completed, such as hiring more clerks and expanding checkout
areas, methods for controlling changes to the project, details on configuration management, performance
measure baselines, stakeholder communication plans, such as weekly regional manager

meetings, a project life cycle, such as implementation, evaluation, and analysis, and the procedure for
addressing open issues. The plan also contained a cost management plan and a quality assurance
management plan.
Subsidiary Plans

Project management plans might be detailed or a simple summary, and might include any number of
subsidiary management plans that are described in the following table.

Subsidiary Plan Description

Scope management plan Provides guidance on how project scope will be defined,

documented, verified, managed, and controlled.

Requirements management plan Documents how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and
managed throughout the project.

Schedule management plan Describes the scheduling methodology, the scheduling tools to be
used, and the format and established criteria for developing and
controlling the project schedule.

Cost management plan Describes the format and establishes the criteria for planning,

structuring, estimating, budgeting, and controlling project costs.

Quality management plan Describes how the performing organization's quality policy will be
implemented by the project management team throughout the
project.

Process improvement plan Details the steps for analyzing work processes to identify

Activities that enhance their value.

Human resource plan Provides guidance on how human resources required for a project
Documents how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and
managed throughout the project.

Communications management plan Provides details that document the approach to communicate
efficiently and effectively with the stakeholders.

Risk management plan Describes how risk management is structured and performed on
the project.

Procurement management plan Describes how the procurement processes will be managed from
developing procurement documents through contract closure.

Note: Subsidiary plans may be formal or informal, detailed or broadly framed, and are created based on
the requirements of the project.

Scope Management Plan

A scope management plan is a planning document that describes how a project team will define, verify,
manage, and control the project scope. The plan can be either formal or informal, depending on the needs
of the project.

Example: A Scope Management Plan for the Geothermal Energy Program

 The project manager of the geothermal energy program, Rachel Tagon, worked with the core project team
to construct the scope management plan. The plan contains a description of how frequently and
extensively the scope is expected to change, how the project team will identify, discuss, and classify
changes to the scope, and who will approve the changes.

Requirements Management Plan

A requirements management plan is a document that describes how project requirements will be
analyzed, documented, and managed throughout the project life cycle. Phase-to-phase relationships
between various phases of the project strongly influence how requirements are managed. Components of
the requirements management plan require project managers to choose the most effective relationships
to aid the success of the project and document this approach in the plan.

Components of the requirements management plan include:

• Methods to plan, track, and report requirement activities.

• Configuration management related activities.

• Processes for requirements prioritization.

• Formats and guidelines on developing a traceability matrix for requirements.

Example: A Requirements Management Plan for GCCG's Warehouse

Management Software Project

The project manager for GCCG's Warehouse Management Software project, Mark Anderson, prepares the
requirements documentation for the project. Mark documents the requirements collected during the
Warehouse Management Essential Requirements workshop and through subsequent interviews conducted
with each stakeholder. He creates the requirements management plan with information on how these
requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed throughout the project life cycle.

Schedule Management Plan

A schedule management plan, one of the subsidiary plans in the overall project plan, is an approach to
develop, maintain, and manage the project schedule.

A typical schedule management plan describes:

• The purpose of the plan.

• Approved schedule development tools and techniques such as a particular project management
software application.

• The number, types, and purposes of the project schedules to be developed and maintained.

• How changes to the schedule baseline will be managed.

• Who is responsible for developing and maintaining the project schedules.

• How and when schedule performance will be reported.

Example: A Schedule Management Plan for a Warehouse Management Software Project. The schedule
management plan clearly describes the project team's approach to developing the schedule and for
making changes to the schedule baseline. The plan names the person responsible for maintaining the
project schedules and contains a policy for schedule performance reporting.

Cost Management Plan

A cost management plan is a document that outlines the guidelines for planning, estimating, budgeting,
and controlling project costs. It describes how risk budgets, contingencies, and management reserves will
be communicated and accessed. It also provides the planning and structure necessary to control project
costs and keep them within the budget limits. The plan can be formal or informal, detailed or brief,
depending on the needs of the project.

Example: A Cost Management Plan for a Construction Project

You are the project manager of a construction project, and you want to develop the cost estimate and
budget for your project. You believe that setting up a base document enlisting the guidelines for cost
management will help the project. You tailor the existing guidelines and define the cost management plan
incorporating the estimate, methods, and procedures required for calculating direct and indirect costs
involved in the project. You also mention the process for calculating contingency costs.

Quality Management Plan

A quality management plan is a document that describes a team’s approach to implementing the quality
policy. It explains how quality control and quality assurance will be performed. It may be formal or
informal, depending on the project's requirements.

Example: Ensuring Quality in an Outsourced Task

A manufacturer of high-end clothing may seek to reduce costs by outsourcing some of its labor. The quality
management plan will articulate exactly how quality control and assurance will be performed, to ensure
that the new source of labor can meet the company's high standards. The plan will also identify who will
be responsible for quality control; how, when, and to what degree they will conduct inspections for quality;
and how the team will respond to any quality issues that arise.

Process Improvement Plan

A process improvement plan is a document that describes the steps to analyze and determine areas of
improvements in creating the project deliverables. The areas of process improvements include process
boundaries, process configuration, process metrics, and targets for improved performance.

Example: A Process Improvement Plan at a Software Development Company

Sharon Parker is a project manager at a software development company. When managing one of the
high-priority projects, Sharon realized that the product testing process was taking longer than required.
She decided to review the existing process followed by her project. The process of testing software
involves a senior developer review at the end of each phase, unit testing, systems testing, user acceptance
testing, SME review, and customer review. Sharon discussed the issue with the process managers and
other senior managers. She created a process improvement plan to reduce the time taken to test the
product. The plan included information on the long- and short-term goals, the purpose of the goals,
actions to be taken, priority levels, time estimates, and who will perform which activity while improving
the process.
Figure 3-1: A portion of a process improvement plan.

Human Resource Plan

A human resource plan is a document that provides guidance on how the human resources required for a
project should be defined, staffed, managed, controlled, and eventually released after the project is
completed. It includes the components necessary for developing cost estimates such as the project staffing
attributes, personnel rates, and related rewards and recognitions. The plan illustrates the project’s
organizational structure and includes the staffing management plan that describes the project
management team’s approach to managing the increase and decrease of project staff across the project
life cycle.

Example: The Sales Force Automation Project

Ria is the project manager of a large scale Sales Force Automation project. She will have to deal with a vast
pool of human resources with varying skill sets and costs. She has to ensure optimum utilization of
resources; that is, the right amount of human resources with the right skill sets are used at the right time.
Based on the project schedule, she creates a human resource plan that describes the human resource
requirements for the project.

The plan defines:

• The required qualifications of the work force.

• The employment contract, whether it is permanent or fixed employment, independent contractor, or

volunteer.

• Availability status, whether resources are available, developed, or hired.

• Duration, whether it is full-time or part-time or has limited duration.

• Cost of each resource—the estimated cost to obtain the human resources needed, including gross
payment, development cost, and hiring cost.

• When the resources will be released from the project.

• Resource training needs, if any.

Communications Management Plan

A communications management plan is a document that describes the project team’s approach to
communicating information about the project. It documents what information must be communicated to
whom, by whom, when, and in what manner. It also documents how information is collected, archived,
and accessed.
Example: A Communications Management Plan to Arrange for a Company's Annual Meeting

A project manager in charge of presenting a company's annual meeting with shareholders will have many
stakeholders from different departments and at different levels of company management. The
communications management plan may include regularly scheduled status meetings with the employees
assigned to the project, with meeting minutes to be distributed to upper management. It may also
stipulate an email distribution list with all stakeholders and resources included on all relevant project
communication.

Risk Management Plan

A risk management plan is a document that describes the team's approach to identifying risks.

It identifies:

• The methodology, approaches, and tools that will be used.

• The roles and responsibilities of those involved.

• The budgeting and scheduling for risk management activities.

• The risk categories.

Note: The risk management plan does not address responses to risk. These are addressed in the risk
response plan.

Example: A Risk Management Plan for a New Project

Entrepreneurs seeking funding from venture capitalists for a new business will present a risk management
plan to their potential investors. For a proposed amusement park, the risk management plan will describe
business risks, such as operational risks of potential losses due to employee theft, and insurable risks, such
as liabilities for injuries sustained on the park's rides.

Procurement Management Plan

A procurement management plan is a document that outlines the guidelines for obtaining or purchasing
work from outside sources. It specifies the types of contracts that will be used, describes the process for
obtaining and evaluating bids or proposals, mandates the standardized procurement documents that must
be used, and explains how multiple providers will be managed. The plan also states how procurement
activities will be coordinated with other project management activities, such as scheduling and
performance reporting. Depending on the needs of the project, the procurement management plan may
be formal or informal, brief or detailed.

Example: Procurement Management for an Advertising Agency

A small advertising agency will procure contracts from external sources for some of the work considered
necessary but beyond its core capabilities, such as specialized printing and professional photography
services. The procurement management plan will outline the company's processes for soliciting and
evaluating bids or proposals from competing service providers and will specify how management will
schedule contract work, schedule payments to providers for the work done, and evaluate the quality.