Project management plan

As soon as the project manager has received his brief or project instructions, he must produce a document which distils what is generally a vast amount of information into a concise, informative and well-organized form that can be distributed to all members of the project team and indeed all the stakeholders in the project. This document is called a project management plan (PMP), but is also sometimes just called a project plan, or in some organizations a coordination procedure.rnThe PMP is one of the key documents required by the project manager and his/her team. It lists the phases and encapsulates all the main parameters, standards and requirements of the project in terms of time, cost and quality/performance by setting out the ‘Why’, ‘What’, ‘When’, ‘Who’, ‘Where’ and ‘How’ of the project. In some organizations the PMP also includes the ‘How much’, that is the cost of the project. There may, however, be good commercial reasons for restricting this information to key members of the project team.rnThe contents of a PMP vary depending on the type of project. While it can run to several volumes for a large petrochemical project, it need not be more than a slim binder for a small, unsophisticated project.rnThere are, however, a number of areas and aspects which should always feature in such a document. With the permission of the British Standards Institution, the main headings of what is termed the Model Project Plan are given below, but augmented and rearranged in the sections given above.rnGeneralrn1. Forewordrn2. Contents, distribution and amendment recordrn3. Introductionrna. Project diaryrnb. Project historyrnThe Whyrn4. Project aims and objectivesrna. Business casernThe Whatrn5. General descriptionrna. Scopernb. Project requirementrnc. Project security and privacyrnd. Project management philosophyrne. Management reporting systemrnThe Whenrn6. Programme managementrna. Programme methodrnb. Program softwarernc. Project life cyclernd. Key datesrne. Milestones and milestone slip chartrnf. Bar chart and network if availablernThe Whorn7. Project organizationrn8. Project resource managementrn9. Project team organizationrna. Project staff directoryrnb. Organizational chartrnc. Terms of reference (TOR)rni. for staffrnii. for the project managerrniii. for the committees and working grouprnThe Wherern10. Delivery requirementsrna. Site requirements and conditionsrnb. Shipping requirementsrnc. Major restrictionsrnThe Howrn11. Project approvals required and authorization limitsrn12. Project harmonizationrn13. Project implementation strategyrna. Implementation plansrnb. System integrationrnc. Completed project workrn14. Acceptance procedurern15. Procurement strategyrna. Cultural and environmental restraintsrnb. Political restraintsrn16. Contract managementrn17. Communications managementrn18. Configuration managementrna. Configuration control requirementsrnb. Configuration management systemrn19. Financial managementrn20. Risk managementrna. Major perceived risksrn21. Technical managementrn22. Tests and evaluationsrna. Warranties and guaranteesrn23. Reliability management (see also BS 5760: Part 1)rna. Availability, reliability and maintainability (ARM)rnb. Quality managementrn24. Health and safety managementrn25. Environmental issuesrn26. Integrated logistic support (ILS) managementrn27. Close-out procedurernThe numbering of the main headings should be standardized for all projects in the organization. In this way the reader will quickly learn to associate a clause number with a subject. This will not only enable him/her to find the required information quickly, but will also help the project manager when he/she has to write the PMP. The numbering system will in effect serve as a convenient checklist. If a particular item or heading is not required, it is best simply to enter ‘not applicable’ (or NA), leaving the standardized numbering system intact.rnApart from giving all the essential information about the project between two covers, for quick reference, the PMP serves another very useful function. In many organizations the scope, technical and contractual terms of the project are agreed in the initial stages by the proposals or sales department. It is only when the project becomes a reality that the project manager is appointed. By having to assimilate all these data and write such a PMP (usually within two weeks of the hand-over meeting), the project manager will inevitably obtain a thorough understanding of the project requirements as he/she digests the often voluminous documentation agreed with the client or sponsor.rnClearly not every project requires the exact breakdown given in this list and each organization can augment or expand this list to suit the project. If there are any subsequent changes, it is essential that the PMP is amended as soon as changes become apparent so that every member of the project team is immediately aware of the latest revision. These changes must be numbered on the amendment record at the front of the PMP and annotated on the relevant page and clause with the same amendment number or letter.rnThe contents of the project management plan are neatly summarized in the first verse of the little poem from the Elephant’s Child by Rudyard Kipling: • I keep six honest serving-menrn• (They taught me all I knew); • Their names are What and Why and When, • And How and Where and Who.