A complete guide to introducing the project management plan (Project Management Plan). Project Management Plan is essential for project success. Without a plan, you cannot expect your project to be completed on time and delivered successfully. Worse, unplanned, and failed projects cost organizations a lot in terms of wasted time, wasted money, and wasted resources.
We all know that it’s important to have a detailed project management plan before your project begins.
Before we delve into this topic and examine all its aspects, we will first start with the basics.
What is a project management program?
Google can give you many definitions of a project management program, but we decided to keep it simple. The project management plan is a formal document prepared by the project manager.
This document briefly states the exact basics of the project’s objectives, the implemented processes, and how to monitor and control them to achieve these objectives. The project management plan defines the scope, budget, objectives, timeline, and deliverables of the project.
The project management plan should be used as a reference throughout the project to confirm that project management is performed regularly and in sync with policies and procedures.
Project performance is calculated based on the performance measurement basis (scope, schedule, and cost basis) in the project management plan.
A project management plan provides basic project information and can be used to introduce project members to it.
What are the different parts of a project management program?
Professional project management requires a plan that describes how to manage it. A project management program includes everything that defines project management, but some standard items provide the core regardless of industry or project type.
The main components of the project management program are:
Statement scope
Planning and developing a clear scope statement is the first step in preparing a project management plan. A scope statement is used as a written confirmation of the anticipated results of a project and the constraints under which you will work. The scope of the statement should be SMART, intelligent, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Executive summary
An executive summary provides a summary of the project management plan and includes the major project elements detailed in the overall project plan. This item summarizes the report so that project stakeholders do not have to review the entire report to understand its purpose.
Project schedule
Scheduling is an important part of the project schedule. Generally, external stakeholders set deadlines. Creating a project schedule with the help of rated project management software makes it easier for managers to communicate project milestones and deadlines to stakeholders.
Project budget
In this section, project managers estimate the total cost of the project. A project budget includes an estimate of the combined costs of all the activities, tasks, and milestones that a project must address. The budget must be approved by all stakeholders involved.
Resource planning
Resource planning is a continuous strategy that involves determining the resources (people, equipment, materials, etc.) needed to carry out project activities. Resource planning helps project managers allocate tasks to human and non-human resources and accurately track resource capacity.
List of beneficiaries
Stakeholders can grow throughout a project, and this is no exception. You can easily forget a few small stakeholders and their major impact on the project outcome is likely to be huge. This is why a stakeholder list should be created and stored in the project management plan and discussed regularly.
Communication management
Every project needs a fast and timely communication strategy that should be well-defined in the project management plan. The communication needs of a project include things like project updates, progress reports, investor circulars, etc. The communication strategy should define different modes of use, frequency, and recipient(s).
Any type of risk can affect your project’s schedule, performance, or budget. Potential risks are classified as “problems” when they become reality. The right way to manage risk is to create a risk register that lists the most important risks involved in the successful implementation and delivery of the project.
Procurement plan
Procurement planning is the process of identifying required external products and services, how to procure them, and how to measure their quality and progress. A good procurement plan includes the following steps:
- List the needs.
- Determine estimated values and costs.
- Decide on requirements.
- Identify interrelationships between requirements.
- Combine similar requirements.
- Identify appropriate purchasing methods and processes.
- Schedule time for each process.
- Prepare an implementation schedule.
How to create a project management plan?
One of the critical factors for successful project delivery is having a well-developed project plan.
According to Forbes, 25% of technology projects fail, which is a terrifying number for project leaders. However, you don’t need to be a master to create a successful project plan.
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