- Ensures that the project processes are properly coordinated
- Tradeoffs between competing objectives and alternatives in order to meet stakeholder approval
- Project Plan Development
- Project Plan Execution
- Overall Change Control
- These processes may occur repeatedly over the project duration
- Historical Records are needed to perform project management well, they are inputs to continuous improvement
- Files
- Lessons Learned
- Actual Costs
- Time Estimates
- WBS
- Benchmarks
- Risks
- Uses outputs from other planning processes to create consistent document to guide project execution and control
- Iterated several times
- Documents planning assumptions
- Documents planning decisions that are chosen
- Facilitates communication
- Defines key management reviews
- Provides a baseline to track progress measurement and project control
Project Plan Development Inputs
- Other planning outputs: primarily the planning process outputs (WBS, base documents, application area inputs)
- Historical information – verify assumptions, records of past project performance
- Organizational policies – quality management, personnel administration, Financial controls
- Constraints – factors that limit performance, contractual provisions, budget
- Assumptions – risk factors
Tools & Techniques for Plan Development
- Project Planning Methodology – any structured approach (software, templates, forms, start-up meetings
- Stakeholder Skills & Knowledge – tap into plan development; use expertise for reasonableness
- PMIS – Out of the box approach to support all project aspects through closure
Project Plan Development Outputs
- Project Plan is a collection that changes over time as more information about the project becomes available
- Baseline will change only in response to approved scope change
- Project Plan includes some or all of the following:
- Project Charter
- Project Management approach or strategy
- Scope statement
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Budget, schedule, risks
- Key Staff, Major Milestones
- Change Control Plan, Management and Communications Plan
- Cost Estimates, scheduled start dates and responsibility assignments
- Performance measurement baselines
- Major milestones and target dates
- Required Staff
- Risks, constraints and assumptions
- Subsidiary management plans (scope, schedule)
- Open Issues
- Pending Decisions
Supporting Details to the Project Plan
- Outputs from planning processes
- Technical documentation
- Business requirements, specifications, and designs
- Relevant standards
- Additional information not previously known
Project Plan Execution
- Primary process for carrying out the project plan
- Most costly aspect of project management
- Direction of organizational resources and interfaces
Project Plan Execution Inputs
- Project Plan
- Supporting Detail
- Organizational Policies
- Corrective Action – anything to bring expected performance in line with the project plan
Tools & Techniques for Plan Execution
- General Management Skills
- Product Skills and Knowledge – defined as part of planning, provided by staffing
- Work Authorization System – formal procedure for sanctioning work to ensure completion – written or verbal authorization
- Status review meetings – regular exchanges of information
- Project Management Information System
- Organizational Procedures
Project Plan Execution Outputs
- Work results – the outcome of activities performed is fed into the performance reporting process
- Change Requests – expand/shrink project scope, modify costs and schedule estimates
Overall Change Control
- Influencing factors that create change to ensure beneficial results; ensure that change is beneficial
- Determining that change has occurred
- Managing actual changes as they occur
- Evaluate impact of change
- Meet with team to discuss alternatives
- Meet with management to present decision
Change control requires
- Maintaining integrity of performance measurement baselines (project plan)
- Ensuring changes to scope are accurately recorded
- Coordinating changes across knowledge areas (scheduling, risk, cost, quality, etc.)
- Determine all factors that control change and pro-actively preventing the occurrence; evaluate the impact of change