7 : Plans

Question 1

The Plans theme provides a framework to design, develop and maintain the project plans. Name 3 types of plan.

Answer 1

The three types of plans are the Project Plan, Stage Plan and Team Plans. There can also be an exception plan and a Benefits Review Plan.

Question 2

The Plans theme provides a framework to design, develop and maintain what?

Answer 2

The Plans theme provides a framework to design, develop and maintain the project plans such as the Project, Stage & Team plans.

Question 3

What is a plan? Answer in your own words.

Answer 3

A plan is a document that describes how, when and by whom a specific target or set of targets is to be achieved. You many think the target is just to create the project product but there will also be targets for time, cost, quality and benefits. So a plan is more than a Gantt chart.

Question 4

What is considered to be the backbone of the project? It is created at the start of the project and continually updated during the project to show what has been done and what still needs to be done. It can be compared with the original document to see how well the project is progressing.

Answer 4

This is the project plan.

Question 5

Fill in the blanks: Planning is the act or the process of ________ and _________ the plan.

Answer 5

Planning is the act or the process of making and maintaining the plan. You can also say creating and maintaining the plan. The Project Plan is created at the start of the project and is regularly updated during the project to show what has been done to date. The Stage Plans are created before the stage and updated to show what has been done during the stage.

Question 6

Name the six project variables/six performance targets that planning helps to manage. (Tip: Think TeCQula SoBeR or BC QRST)

Answer 6

Planning helps to manage the six project variables, which are Time, Cost, Quality, Scope, Benefits and Risk.

Question 7

Why cannot all plans be created at the start of the project? What does PRINCE2 recommend as a solution? Answer in your own words.

Answer 7

It is impossible to plan an entire project from the start unless it’s a very small project and it has a lot in common with a very small project that has been done before. It is only possible to accurately plan a short time in advance, e.g.: 0 to 8 weeks. This is known as the planning horizon. So PRINCE2 recommends having different levels of plan, which are linked, to the management levels in a project organization.

Question 8

Name the three levels of management in a project team. Note: There is a plan type for each level.

Answer 8

The three management levels are: 1) Directing, 2) Managing and 3) Delivering.

Question 9

Name the type of plan in each of the management levels of Directing, Managing and Delivering and mention when this plan is created.

Answer 9

Answer:
• The Directing Level used the Project Plan
• The Managing Level uses the Stage Plan
• The Delivery level used the Team Plan
• The Project Plan is created during the Initiating a Project process and is a high level plan for the whole project. It will show the major products of the project, when they will be delivered and the associated cost. It is a major control document for the Project Board.
• The Stage Plan is created for and before each stage and is used by the Project Manager. It is much more detailed than the Project Plan and just focuses on one stage.
• The Team Plans are created by the Team Manager in the Managing Product Delivery process.

Question 10

Name one of the other plans that are created in the project besides the Project Plan, the Stage Plan and the Team Plan.

Answer 10

The other plan created during the project are the Benefits Review Plan which covers activities during the after the project and the exception plan.

Question 11

Which plan is mainly used by the Project Board?

Answer 11

The Project Plan is a high level plan and mainly used by the Project Board.

Question 12

What do the Project Board use to check how the project is progressing?

Answer 12

The Project Plan is always baselined at the start of the project, so the Project Board can compare this baselined plan to the current Project Plan at the end of each stage to see how the project is going compared to the original plan.

Question 13

How does the Stage Plan differ from the Project Plan?

Answer 13

The Stage Plan is just for one Stage and it’s a lot more detailed that the Project Plan. The Stage Plan is used by the Project Manager on a day-to-day basis.

Question 14

Who creates the Team Plans? Are they necessary?

Answer 14

The team plans are created by the Team Manager to plan the execution of one or more Work Packages. Team Plans and Team Managers are optional depending on the project’s size, complexity and the number of resources involved in creating the products. The Team Managers may create their Team Plans in parallel with the Project Manager when they create the Stage Plan.

Question 15

How can a Project Manager be involved in the development of a Team Plan?

Answer 15

A project manager can ask to review the Team Plan and it is up to the Team Manager to decide to allow this.

Question 16

Which plan is used to recover from the effect of tolerance deviation and if approved replaces the current plan? In other words it picks up from where the current plan had stopped.

Answer 16

This is the Exception Plan.

Question 17

Is an Exception Plan created to replace a Work Package that goes out of tolerance?

Answer 17

There is no Exception Plan at the delivery management level. If a Team Manager forecasts that the work package will exceed tolerances they will raise an issue to the Project Manager. The Project Manager can take corrective action by updating the Work Package or creating a new Work Package to complete the work.

Question 18

PRINCE2 uses the technique of product based planning to identify and analyze the plan’s products. What are the four steps in product based planning?

Answer 18

The four steps in Project Based Planning are:

1. Write the Project Product Description: The description of the main product
2. Create the product breakdown structure: List all products than need to be created
3. Write the Product Descriptions: Can be done for each product
4. Create the product flow diagram: Show product flow and inter-dependencies

Question 19

Product Based Planning has a number of benefits; list one or two of these benefits. Answer in your own words.

Answer 19

Here are some of the benefits of Product Based Planning:

1. Clearly identifies and documents the plan’s products and interdependencies between them.
2. Cleary shows what the project involves and avoids setting the wrong expectations.
3. Involves users in supplying product requirements, thus increasing their support.
4. Improves communication as both diagrams, the product breakdown structure and product flow diagram provide a simple overview of showing what needs to be done and make it much easier to get feedback.
5. Makes it easier to clarify what is in and out of scope and therefore later to avoid scope creep.
6. Easier to gain a clear agreement on what needs to be produced.

Question 20

The first steps in Product Based Planning are to write the Project Product Description. Who is responsible for this and usually creates the Project Product Description?

Answer 20

The Senior User is responsible for specifying the project product, but in practice the Project Manager may do most of the work as they will be used to do this and consult with the Senior User and Executive. The Project Product Description should be as detailed and complete as possible.

Question 21

What kind of information would you expect to find in a Project Product Description? Name 2 or 3 parts. (Tip: Think about the products and quality.)

Answer 21

The Project Product Description contains the following information:

1. Title: This is the Project Name
2. Purpose: What is the purpose of the product – reason for the product.
3. Composition: A description of the major products to be delivered by the project
4. Source Products: List of products that make up the main product (eg components)
5. Skills Required: Skills required to create the products
6. Customer Quality Expectations:
   a. A description of the expected quality and the standards that will be used
   b. This will cover all specifications and functionally of the products
7. Acceptance Criteria:
   a. This is a prioritized list of criteria that the product must provide before the customer can accept it.
   b. See this as a spread sheet list of all the quality expectations with an extra column to mark accepted.
8. Tolerances: Specify tolerances that may apply to the Project Product
9. Acceptance method: Describe how the project product may be accepted
10. Acceptance Responsibility: Who will be responsible for confirming acceptance

Question 22

What kind of data would come under the Customer Quality Expectations heading?

Answer 22

The Customers Quality Expectations would include:
• A description of the expected quality of the product.
• The standards and processes that will be applied to achieve quality.
• This will cover all specifications and functionally of the product.
• See the quality expectations as a prioritized list of required functionality.

Question 23

What is Acceptance Criteria? Give an example of the format of the Acceptance Criteria that is included in the Project Product Description. (Tip Acceptance uses information from Quality Expectations.)

Answer 23

Acceptance Criteria is a prioritized list of criteria that the project’s product must provide before the customer can accept it. See this as a spreadsheet list of all the quality expectations with an extra column to mark accepted.

Question 24

Which activity in planning am I referring to with the following text? “This is where the project product is broken down into the major products which are in turn then broken down into further products to give a hierarchical overview of the products.”

Answer 24

This is creating the product breakdown structure. This is the 2nd step in the Product Based Planning Technique.

Question 25

Who should be involved in a product breakdown structure?

Answer 25

The Project Manager should involve a group of people who represent the different interests of the product such as the user, supplier and people with specific knowledge known as subject matter experts and do this like a workshop. The Project Manager should prepare and facilitate the workshop.

Question 26

Should you use different breakdown structure diagrams at the start of a project than what you would use for each stage, or would you keep using the same breakdown structure diagram and just keep adding information to the original one?

Answer 26

PRINCE2 advises to use different diagrams. Now let me explain. The first breakdown structure will focus on the Project Product and lower level products will be identified and documented. To create the stage plans this product breakdown structure will be done again to a lower level of detail and focus only on the products that will be created in that stage. So it is best to create a new diagram and starting by using some of the information from the Product Project product breakdown structure and break this down further to show what products will be created in the stage.

Question 27

How can color be used in the product breakdown structure diagram?

Answer 27

Color can used to make the product break structure easier to read. E.g.: Use Color to identify different suppliers that will produce the products.

Question 28

What format of diagrams can be used to create a product breakdown structure? Name any 2.

Answer 28

You can use a top down diagram where more and more branches are added at the first, second and third layers. You can also use a Mind Map diagram. The basic rule to follow is that other people should be able to read it.

Question 29

What document has to be written for each of the products that are identified in the product breakdown structure?

Answer 29

A product description has to be written for each of the identified products in the product breakdown structure. The PRINCE2 manual also provides a description of this document. So it is a good idea to take a look at this when creating them.

Question 30

When should you start to create the Product descriptions? (Tip: I asked when to start – not complete)

Answer 30

Product descriptions should start to be written as soon as possible after they have been identified (e.g.: once they have been listed in the product breakdown structure) and this will most likely be a gradual process as more information can be added bit by bit. Note: Some products identified may be external so this information can be copied or product description can already exist from other projects.

Question 31

Who has the responsibility to create the product descriptions and who can they involve?

Answer 31

The Project Manager and Team Manager may have responsibility for the Product Descriptions but they should make sure to involve people with the required expertise to write these (known as subject matter experts) and those who will use the products.

Question 32

What kind of quality information is added to the product descriptions and who should provide this information?

Answer 32

The quality criteria information will detail what the product must have to be accepted, the accepted quality tolerances, and the method used to check quality and responsibilities. People who represent the users should be involved in the defining the quality criteria for the products and other quality information.

Question 33

Is it always necessary to write product descriptions even for very small projects?

Answer 33

No it is not always necessary. In some small projects, it may be enough write the Project Product Description, which is the main product to be produced and this will provide all the necessary information.

Question 34

Which diagram defines the sequence in which the products of the plan will be developed and shows the dependencies between them?

Answer 34

The product flow diagram defines the sequence in which the products of the plan will be developed and shows the dependencies between them. This diagram also shows the products, which are outside the scope of the plan.

Question 35

Should the Project Manager create the Product Flow diagram on their own?

Answer 35

The Project Manager should make sure to involve other people such as those who will help to deliver the products instead of trying to do this on their own. The Product Manager should use people with knowledge of the products and especially those who will help deliver the products to get their buy in.

Question 36

Can or should the product flow diagram be created at the same time as the product breakdown structure? E.g.: during the same workshop.

Answer 36

Yes and this is a good idea to create the product flow diagram at the same time as the product breakdown structure as you have the people you need in the room and one diagram may help to add further information to the other as it allows you to look at the information from another point of view and therefore benefit both diagrams.

Question 37

Name two drawing symbols that you can use in a product flow diagram and product breakdown structure diagram. (Tip: external product and normal product)

Answer 37

Use an ellipse shape to represent external products and a rectangle to represent normal products.

Question 38

Who is responsible for the following in the Plans theme?
• Set project tolerances and document them in the project mandate
• Approve Exceptions Plans when the project-level tolerances are forecast to be exceeded

Answer 38

This is Corporate & Programme Management.

Question 39

Who is responsible for the following in the Plans theme?
• Designs the plans
• Prepare the Project Plan and Stage Plans
• Organize corrective action to be taken when Work Package-level tolerances are forecast to be exceeded
• Prepare Exceptions plans when requested by Project Board

Answer 39

This is the Project Manager.

Question 40

Who is responsible for the following in the Plans theme?
• Ensure that Project Plans and Stage Plans remain consistent from the supplier perspective
• Commit supplier resources to Stage Plans

Answer 40

Senior Supplier.

Question 41

Who is responsible for the following in the Plans theme?
• Prepare Team Plans
• Prepare schedules for each Work Package

Answer 41

This is the Team Manager.

Question 42

Who is responsible for the following in the Plans theme?
• Assist with the compilation of Project Plans, Stage Plans and Team Plans
• Assist with planning tools and other tools
• Take care of the Configuration Management activities

Answer 42

This is Project Support.

Question 43

Who is responsible for the following in the Plans theme?
• Approve the project plan
• Defines tolerances for each stage and approve Stage Plans
• Approve Exceptions Plans when the stage-level tolerances are forecast to be exceed

Answer 43

This is the Executive.

Question 44

Who is responsible for the following in the Plans theme?
• Ensure that Project Plans and Stage Plans remain consistent from the user perspective
• Commit user resources to the Stage Plans (tip User Resources)

Answer 44

This is the Senior User.