How to Write a Project Management Plan

Kevin Payravi, Wikimedia Commons

The Project Management Institute (PMI) reports that only 64% of projects meet their intended goals.  The difference between a successful project and an unsuccessful one can usually be narrowed down to one word: Planning.  Even small projects can benefit from a Project Management Plan.

The following Project Management Plan checklist is adapted from the PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge:

1. Introduction

   Provide an overview of the project.  Identify what the project is intended to accomplish, who the stakeholders are, and the success factors.  Be as quantitative as possible with success factors. i.e. Is there a specific quality standard that can be attached?  Is there a date that must be met?  If there is a project charter, this is a good reference for what to include in this section.

2. Scope Statement.
   

   State what tasks and activities are part of the project and what are not.  If the scope is not well defined in any area, this is probably a good time to define it, keeping in mind that the biggest cause of failed projects is confusion related to the project scope.  Extra tasks cost money, and the stakeholders generally interpret any undefined areas in the scope in their own favor.  For example, if the project scope for an interchange project does not define land purchasing, the owner will assume it is part of the project, and the engineer will probably assume it isn’t.  Not that that would ever happen…

3. Deliverables

   All projects must have deliverables.  These are the products or services that the project produces and “delivers” to the customer or client.  They should be spelled out in detail within the project management plan, together with applicable details about their quality, length, size, or any other standards that apply.

4. Project Schedule

   Since projects have a defined beginning and end, the schedule is extremely important.  The project should be broken down into tasks (aka activities) to an appropriate level of detail.  For small projects, this could be as simple as identifying deadline dates.  Software could be used, like Microsoft Project or ProjectEngineer.  Sufficient allowances need to made for contingencies, and all stakeholders should be aware of the timelines involved.  The Project Manager should be aware of the critical path at all times throughout the project, to be able to respond when critical issues arise.  This is also a good place to identify the dates for the key project deliverables.  We have a handy project scheduling tutorial to get your started.

5. Budget

   Each task in the activity list should have an assigned budget.  The total budgets should be rolled up into a total project budget.  This allows for accurate project cost tracking, and earned value analysis to determine the status at any time.  Potential for changes and adequate reasons can also be documented.

6. Quality Management Plan

   For engineering projects, quality is a major consideration.  Quality success factors and specifications should be identified at the beginning of the project and all stakeholders should be aware of them.  Provide a description of the processes that will be used to ensure that the quality of the product(s) meet the requirements.

7. Human Resources Plan

   The project roles and responsibilities should be identified, and the method of acquisition of the project team should be identified.  It should be ensured that these individuals have the time and capability to carry out the tasks required of them.  Any special training, conferences, or presentations should be identified.

8. Communication

   Define what major communications will be made at what phases of the project, such as project review meetings.  Define the communication strategy with key stakeholders, as well as that inevitable stakeholder that has a minor financial interest but disproportionate impact on the project outcome (like the adjacent landowner mentioned above).

9. Risk Management Plan

   This is the place to identify and prioritize the risks to a successful project.  The plan should list, in table form (or similar) each risk, the mitigation strategy, and the plan of action should that risk come to pass.  Optionally each risk can also be prioritized and ranked for probability and severity (Risk = Probability x Severity).  There is nothing more comforting than having a well thought out plan when something bad happens and taking the extra time to be comprehensive up front can make you sleep well at night.  As I write this, the United States eastern seaboard is rebuilding from Hurricane Sandy.  I wonder how many project management plans contained hurricane contingency plans – undoubtedly not many.  In any case, the PMI reports that this is one of the most underrated sections of the project management plan.

10. Procurement Management Plan.

    Almost all engineering projects have sub-consultants, sub-contractors, and suppliers.  The project management plan should identify at the outset what external products and services are required, how they will be procured, and how their progress and quality will be monitored.

Good Luck on your Project Management Plan!

Related posts:

Project Management, PMBOK style 39 Project Success Factors Day 9: Create a Project Management Plan Parts of a Project Management Plan Project Management Plan – The 12 Core Components How to Write an Engineering Proposal