Producing a Project Management Plan

Question 1

Explain the Importance of Producing a Project Management Plan

Answer 1

• Improved decision-making and control: Each phase/ stage of the project will have clearly defined deliverables and activities.
• More focus on the early life cycle phases: The life cycle should help the organisation better govern their projects through the mandatory creation and approval of the project’s Business Case and Project Management Plan.
• More effective planning: Each phase of the project will require different resources and skill sets. Both resource and financial planning will be greatly enhanced through the use of a formal life cycle.

The life cycle will form the bass of the project management method: Having a defined set of tools/templates, outputs and roles and responsibilities for each stage of the project will form the basis of the organisation’s project method.

Question 2

Describe The Typical Contents of a Project Management Plan

Answer 2

• Executive Summary > this selection should include a few paragraphs describing, at a high level, the key elements of the project that are detailed throughout the project plan.
• Strategic/ organisational alignment > it must be determined which organisational objectives will be supported by undertaking the project.
• Project scope definition > the purpose and objectives of the project should be stated in this section. There should be definition as to the scope of the project as well as the other major deliverables.
• Feasibility assessment and contingency plans > this section should evaluate the economic, technical, operational and organisational feasibility of the project; identify and assess project risks; and provide contingency plans to address high impact risk factors.
• Constraints > a list of any known constraints imposed by the environment or by management e.g. fixed budget, limited resources etc.
• Material/ equipment requirements> this section should define space, hardware/ software, and other resources needed to complete the project successfully.
• Project schedule and milestones > the contents of this section will define the milestones and activity schedule of the project, integrating three elements: deliverables, due date or duration and critical dependencies.
• Project issues > issues are the things that have happened which are outside the authority of the project manager and need to be escalated in order to achieve a resolution.
• Change management > the change management process to be utilised on the project should be described in this section.
• Approvals > will capture approval signatures from project stakeholders.
• Attachments > included in this section will be pointers to pertinent documents such as the business case, notes and related documents.