Whenever there is a confirmed decision to pursue a project, creating the project charter would be one of the first and key steps to take in order to start the project. And as soon as the project charter is approved by the project sponsors, the next key step would typically be to start developing the project management plan.

Project Management Plan Overview

The project management plan, also called the project plan, defines the framework on how the project will be managed, monitored and controlled, and it consists of various management plans and baselines. You can think of the project management plan as the ultimate reference guide for the project that defines the framework for project management and sets the performance measures for the project. The project management plan will define how each project phase and process will be managed, which tools and techniques are going to be used, how changes will be implemented, how performance will be measured and much more.

What Types Of Projects Need A Project Management Plan?

All types of projects whether predictive, agile or hybrid will have a project management plan. The only difference is the level of details, contents and naming.

Project Management Plan In Details

According to the project needs, there may be many different types of management plans developed for the project. These include the scope management plan, schedule management plan, cost management and more. And there also may be many different types of baselines developed for a project, such as the scope baseline, schedule baseline and cost baseline. The project management plan is the document that will integrate all these management plans and baselines. According to the type, size and complexity of the project, the content and the details of the project management plan will vary.

Consider the scope management plan for example. The scope management plan defines how the project scope will be defined, managed, validated and controlled. It will be the framework for scope management and will serve as a guide to the project team. Once the scope management plan is approved, it will become a part of the project management plan, just like all the other management plans created for the project.

If you take a look at the schedule management plan, it defines the framework on how the project schedule will be developed, monitored and controlled. The schedule management plan will specify the scheduling method (predictive or agile), the scheduling software, the level of details that the project activities will contain, the frequency of preparing schedule reports, the change control procedures to the project schedule and much more. Once the schedule management plan is approved, it will also become a part of the project management plan.

Just like the scope management plan and schedule management plan, all the management plans define the framework of planning, managing, monitoring and controlling a particular project area. They document the processes, tools and methods related with their management area. All of these management plans will be integrated under the project management plan when they are approved.

The other important section of the project management plan is the project baselines. There may be many different types of baselines developed for a project according to the project needs. These typically include the scope baseline, schedule baseline, and the cost baseline. A baseline defines the agreed fixed target points that are used to compare the project’s progress against. Once a project baseline is approved by the appropriate stakeholders, that baseline becomes a fixed reference that can only be changed through formal change control procedures, which is also very important to know for the PMP and CAPM exam.

Let’s consider the schedule baseline for example. Schedule baseline is the target project schedule that is used to measure project performance throughout the whole project, which is approved by the relevant project stakeholders (typically the project sponsors). As the project progresses, the actual start and finish dates of the project activities will be compared with the planned start and finish dates in the schedule baseline to monitor the schedule performance of the project.

After the approval of the schedule baseline, the project manager cannot modify the schedule baseline because of the project delays. Or, if the project sponsor is asking to add extra scope to the project without awarding any time extension to the project deadline, the scope addition would need to be denied by the project manager.

In short, all the project baselines get frozen at the time they get approved. And in order to make any change in any baseline, this time there must a change order that is also approved by all the relevant parties. For these reasons, creating viable baselines is extremely important for avoiding future conflicts as they will always be reference documents that will be heavily used in problematic times. Just like the management plans, all the project baselines will also become a part of the project management plan as they are approved.

Components Of The Project Management Plan

A project management plan may include the following components:

• Project life cycle description
• Project development approach
• Scope management plan
• Requirements management plan
• Change management plan
• Configuration management plan
• Schedule management plan
• Cost management plan
• Quality management plan
• Resource management plan
• Communications management plan
• Risk management plan
• Procurement management plan
• Scope baseline
• Schedule baseline
• Cost baseline
• Performance measurement baseline
• Management reviews 

How Does The Project Management Plan Differ According To The Project Type?

The level of details that the project management plan will contain differ between predictive, agile and hybrid projects. Predictive projects may create a detailed and baselined project management plan from the beginning of the project. On the other hand, the agile projects would create a high-level project management plan because of the unknowns in the scope and in the requirements of the project. As the project progresses, the project management plan would be updated to include more detailed information. The project management plan for agile projects should be flexible in order to adapt to the changing project requirements. 

The contents of the project management plan will also differ for predictive, agile and hybrid projects. Agile teams define and document a project vision at the very start of the project. Afterwards, agile teams would work on creating a high-level product backlog and make high-level plans regarding the releases and iterations. The high-level plans and the product backlog items are only detailed when they’re really needed, such as before starting the iteration.

On the other hand, in predictive environments, the project teams may define all the project activities with all their details such as their duration, cost, resource requirements at the start of the project. As the project schedule is developed, it would be baselined with the approval of the relevant stakeholders and the project’s progress would be compared to the schedule baseline. 

In predictive environments, if there are changes in the project, the baselined work would need to go through the formal change control procedures. Next, the project management plan would be updated to include those changes. Note that the project management plan is a living document even for predictive projects as there isn’t any project that progresses without a single change.

How To Create A Project Management Plan

Most organizations have templates for creating the project management plan a part of their organizational process assets. Even though using a template may be a good starting point, the project management plan is the primary management document and it should be tailor-made to address the unique needs of the project.

PMP And CAPM Exam Tips On The Project Management Plan

Project management plan is in the heart of project management and for that reason having a solid knowledge about it is extremely important for PMP and CAPM exam preparation. It is also crucial to know the components of the project management plan.