Chapter 9: Plans Flashcards
(46 cards)
What do plans enable the project team to understand
- risks
- products that need to be delivered
- any issues with the scope
- which people, equipment and resources are needed
- when events should occur
Whether targets are achievable
What is the planning horizon
Planning becomes more difficult and uncertain the further into the future it extends
- there will be a time period over which it’s impossible to plan with accuracy
THIS IS THE PLANNING HORIZON
What’s a more effective method to planning to avoid the planning horizon
A detailed team plan for the short term and outline plan for the long term is a more effective approach
PRINCE2 addresses the planning horizon issue by requiring that both high level and detailed plans are created and maintained at the same time, reflecting the relative certainty and uncertainty on other side of the planning horizon
These are:
Project plan for the project as a whole
- this will usually be a high level plan, providing indicative timescales, milestones, costs and resource requirements based on estimates
A detailed stage plan for the current management stage, aligned with the overall project plan timescale
- this plan is produced before the start of the stage, and must not extend beyond the planning horizon
What is product based planning
What needs to be delivered (products) must be identified before deciding what activities, dependencies and resources are required to deliver those products
What are some benefits of product based planning
- identifying and documenting the products to be produced
- removing any ambiguity over what the project is expected to produce
- improving communication
- preparing the way for the production of work packages for suppliers
What must a project do regarding plans to be following PRINCE2
- ensure that plans enable the business case to be realised
- have at least 2 management stages: initiation stage & one other management stage
- produce a project plan for the project as a whole and a stage plan for each management stage
- produce specific plans for managing exceptions
- define roles and responsibilities
What is a project product description
A description of the overall projects output, including the customer’s quality expectations together with the acceptance criteria and methods for the product
What is a product breakdown structure
- A hierarchy of all products to be produced during a plan
LOOK AT DIAGRAM ON HOW PRINCE2 PLANS RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER
LOK AT DIGRAM
What’s an exception plan
A plan that often follows an exception report
Exception plans must be produced to show the actions required to recover from or avoid a forecast deviation from agreed tolerances in the project plan or stage plan
- if stage plan is being replaced, this needs the approval of the project board
- exception plans aren’t produced for team plans used to manage the delivery of work packages
What is a team plan
This is an optional level of plan used as the basis for team management control when executing work packages
A team plan is produced by a team manager to facilitate the execution of one or more work packages
- these plans are optional and their need and number will be determined by the size and complexity of the project and number of resources involved
What is the responsibility of corporate, programme management/ customer regarding plans
- set tolerances and document them in the project mandate/ confirm them to the project board for inclusion in project brief
What is the responsibility of the executive regarding plans
- approve project plan
- define tolerances for each management stage and approve stage plans
What is the responsibility of the senior user regarding plans
- assist the project manager in preparing project and stage plans
- commit user resources to stage plans
What is the responsibility of the senior supplier regarding plans
- assist PM in project and stage plans
- Commit user resources to stage plans
What is the responsibility of PM regarding plans
- design the plans
- prepare the project plan and stage plans
- decide how management stages and delivery steps are to be applied
What is the responsibility of team manager regarding plans
- prepare team plans
- prepare schedules to each work package
What is the responsibility of project assurance regarding plans
- review changes to the project plan to see whether there’s any impact on the needs of the business or the project business case
What is the responsibility of project support regarding plans
- assist with the compilation of project plans, stage plans and team plans
How long should management stages be
Length of management stages isn’t defined
Management stages should be shorter when there is greater risk, uncertainty or complexity
- they can be longer when risk is lower
Factors that influence this include;
- the planning horizon at any point in time
- delivery steps within the project
- alignment with programme activities
- level of risk
LOOK AT FIGURE 9.3, 9.4, 9.5
LOOK AT FIGURES
Order of ….
Writing a project product description (for project plan only)
Creating a product breakdown structure
Writing a product description
Creating a product flow diagram
Writing a product description
Project product description is created in the starting up a project process as part of the initial scoping activity
- it may be refined during the initiating a project process when creating the project plan
It’s subject to formal change control and should be checked at management stage boundaries for see if any changes are required