When managing a project, there are many things to keep track of – timelines, budgets, and deliverables. A project management plan is a document that describes how a project is executed, controlled, and monitored. A project management plan keeps track of all these things in an organized way so that everyone can see how their work fits into the overall picture.
You can pursue the best online project management courses offered by KnowledgeHut to learn to lead project teams to success and advance your career in the domain. Get comprehensive training from experts in the industry and ace the project management exams.
What Is a Project Management Plan?
A project management plan is a document that describes the scope, approach, and resources required to complete the project. It’s also a living document that is updated throughout the project as changes occur or new information becomes available.
A good project manager knows how to use their plan effectively and efficiently, but it’s important for everyone involved in the project to understand what they’re looking at when they read your plan. Your planning process will vary depending on how much time you have before you start working on your projects.
The Project Management Plan and PMBOK Guide
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s largest professional association for project managers and publishes the PMBOK Guide. The PMBOK Guide is a set of standards project managers use to manage projects.
It contains everything you need to know about managing any project, from identifying stakeholders and creating a budget to setting up communication channels and meeting deadlines. The guide is used by project managers worldwide as an authority to best carry out their job roles.
Components of a Project Management Plan
The Scope Statement
The scope statement is the high-level description of your project and includes all of your project’s goals, objectives, and deliverables.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
The WBS is an outline of the project, which helps organize the work into manageable components.
WBS Dictionary
A WBS Dictionary is a document that describes the structure of the WBS and provides a list of all the elements that make up the WBS.
Schedule Management Plan
A schedule management plan encompasses the development process, baseline setting, progress tracking, and reporting alongside various control techniques. Mind-mapping tools streamline this process, offering a visual organization of tasks and timelines that ensures a comprehensive and immediate understanding of the project schedule.
Cost Management Plan
A cost management plan is a document that describes the process of planning and controlling costs throughout a project.
Quality Management Plan
Quality management plans include quality metrics defined by the organization implementing the project and any additional metrics defined by subcontractors or vendors who will provide specific parts of your solution or service.
Communications Management Plan
The Communications Management includes information on who will be involved in communications activities, what types of communication are needed and how they will be conducted.
Risk Management Plan
Risk management is an important part of a project plan, and it allows you to identify potential risks and prepare for them in advance.
How To Create a Project Management Plan?
Pursue the best online project management courses to understand better how to create a project management plan.You can build a solid project management plan by following these steps:
Determine the project’s goal
Creating a solid foundation is the first step in building anything worthwhile.
To lay the groundwork, ask yourself the following questions:
● What motivates you to create this project?
● What is its purpose?
● What are the implications for your stakeholders?
● How is your team doing?
For help answering those questions, follow the steps mentioned below.
Homework and research
● Research is important to back up your reasons for launching this project.
● What is the current state of your company? How are things going? What isn’t working?
● How many resources are available? Do you need anything else?
● Understand the current mechanics before trying to improve them and figure out the real issue.
Discuss feedback with your team
● As part of this phase, meet with anyone who might be able to contribute to this project. Speak with any employees involved in the project before narrowing things down.
● To effectively present the plan to your stakeholders, you need to look at things from their perspective.
● It will be easier to meet with your stakeholders once you have taken care of that.
Stakeholders should be identified
● Keep in mind that your consideration shouldn’t be limited to the board and other stakeholders.
● Stakeholders in this project may include your customers and employees.
● Everyone who could be impacted by these changes should be considered a stakeholder.
● You can then identify your priorities and goals after you have nailed down your “why” and have met with your team and all prominent stakeholders.
Establish a scope of work
Building the foundation is the most important part of your project management plan if you compare it to building a house. Next, you must sketch out how your project will be executed and what it will look like once it’s underway.
Before proceeding, please answer the following questions:
How much is your budget?
● Your budget should be taken into consideration before creating an elaborate project scope. It’s not just about the money you invest.
● In addition to your time and manpower, you should also consider your other valuable resources. What is your budget for using these?
Is there a scope for your project?
● Develop a clear project scope that outlines all small and large details to help strike the right balance.
● Including deliverables and a schedule for deliverables is also part of the project scope.
Create a plan or outline
Based on all you have learned, create a plan of action. To eliminate multiple rounds of revision, it would be better to finalize as much as possible before moving on with the project plan,
Include the following in the project outline:
● The question “why”
● Objectives
● The stakeholders
● Creating a budget
● Indications of scope
● Result-oriented
● Schedule of deliverables
Describe how your biggest results influenced your project management plan on a page about your research.
Discuss the initial plan with your colleagues
Your team must finalize your document before sending it to all your stakeholders. Project managers often neglect this step for time’s sake, a costly and critical error. You’ll encounter several hindrances if the plan and implementation aren’t aligned. If you want to ensure that your team approves this draft plan, you should finalize it first with your team, and it would ensure that the project plan is carried out smoothly.
Make sure your plan is finalized
Your plan is ready for finalization based on the feedback you received from your team. Taking your time with this official plan is imperative since you will send it to stakeholders. If any issues arise, you should also include plans for handling them. Your stakeholders will appreciate your proactive approach if you highlight possible hiccups rather than reacting. It is always appreciated when someone shows foresight.
Conclusion
There is no one way to create a project management plan. The most important thing is that you understand what the plan is for and how it will help you complete your project. You should then think about what information needs to go into each section of the plan.
Once you have decided on the sections and collected all the necessary information, it’s time to put your thoughts into writing. Be sure to use clear, concise language so everyone can understand what they need to do! It is vital to pursue the best online project management courses offered by Knowledgehut to have a better idea about how to create an effective project management plan.
FAQs
Q. What is included in a project management plan?
A project management plan consists of an executive summary, stakeholder or team chart, communication sub-plan, Gantt chart/ timeline, risk assessment, and resource sub-plan.
Q. What is the purpose of a project management plan?
A project management plan’s primary purpose is to serve as a roadmap for the execution and control phases. The project’s goals, objectives, work scope, milestones, risks, and resources are detailed in the project plan and other information required for the execution phase.
Q. Which are the 3 main elements of a project plan?
The scope, budget, and timeline are the three key components of a project plan.
Also Read: Why immigration business plans Are Crucial for Immigration Purposes?
