PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN TEMPLATE

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

<PROJECT NAME>

TEAM NAME:
MEMBERS:
ISM 4314

DATE
 Project Management Plan

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................2
PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH................................................................................................2
PROJECT SCOPE................................................................................................................................2
MILESTONE LIST..............................................................................................................................2
SCHEDULE BASELINE AND WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE.........................................................2
CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN.........................................................................................................3
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN.........................................................................................3
COST MANAGEMENT PLAN..............................................................................................................3
PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN..............................................................................................4
PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT PLAN.............................................................................................4
SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT PLAN......................................................................................................4
RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN...............................................................................................................5
STAFFING MANAGEMENT PLAN.......................................................................................................5
RESOURCE CALENDAR.....................................................................................................................5
COST BASELINE................................................................................................................................5
SPONSOR ACCEPTANCE....................................................................................................................6

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INTRODUCTION
The Introduction provides a high level overview of the project and what is included in this
Project Management Plan. This should include a high level description of the project and
describe the projects deliverables and benefits. Excessive detail is not necessary in this section
as the other sections of the project plan will include this information. This section should
provide a summarized framework of the project and its purpose. Look back at the Project
Charter for information to include in this section.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH

This section is where you outline the overall management approach for the project. This section
should describe, in general terms, the roles and authority of project team members. It should
also include which organizations will provide resources for the project and any resource
constraints or limitations. If there are any decisions which must be made by specific individuals
—for example authorizing additional funding by the project sponsor—this should also be stated
here. It should be written as an Executive Summary for the Project Management Plan.

PROJECT SCOPE
State the scope of the project in this section. The scope statement from the project charter should
be used as a starting point; however, the project plan needs to include a much more detailed
scope than the charter. This detail should include what the project does and does not include.
The more detail included in this section, the better the product. This will help to clarify what is
included in the project and help to avoid any confusion from project team members and
stakeholders.

MILESTONE LIST
Provide a summary list of milestones including dates for each milestone. Include an introductory
paragraph in this section which provides some insight to the major milestones. This section
should also mention or discuss actions taken if any changes to the milestones or delivery dates
are required.

SCHEDULE BASELINE AND WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

This section should discuss the WBS, WBS Dictionary, and Schedule baseline and how they will
be used in managing the project’s scope. The WBS provides the work packages to be performed
for the completion of the project. The WBS Dictionary defines the work packages. The
schedule baseline provides a reference point for managing project progress as it pertains to
schedule and timeline. The schedule baseline and work breakdown structure (WBS) should be
created in Microsoft Project. The WBS can be exported from the MS Project file.

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CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN

This section should describe your change control process. Ideally, this process will be some type
of organizational standard which is repeatable and done on most or all projects when a change is
necessary. Changes to any project must be carefully considered and the impact of the change
must be clear in order to make any type of approval decisions. Many organizations have change
control boards (CCBs) which review proposed changes and either approve or deny them. This is
an effective way to provide oversight and ensure adequate feedback and review of the change is
obtained. This section should also identify who has approval authority for changes to the project,
who submits the changes, how they are tracked and monitored.

For complex or large projects the Change Management Plan may be included as an appendix to
the Project Management Plan or as a separate, stand-alone document. We have a detailed
Change Management Plan template available on our website.

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN

The purpose of the Communications Management Plan is to define the communication
requirements for the project and how information will be distributed to ensure project success.
You should give considerable thought to how you want to manage communications on every
project. By having a solid communications management approach you’ll find that many project
management problems can be avoided. In this section you should provide an overview of your
communications management approach. Generally, the Communications Management Plan
defines the following:
 Communication requirements based on roles
 What information will be communicated
 How the information will be communicated
 When will information be distributed
 Who does the communication
 Who receives the communication
 Communications conduct

For larger and more complex projects, the Communications Management Plan may be included
as an appendix or separate document apart from the Project Management Plan. We have a
detailed Communications Management Plan template available on our website.

COST MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Cost Management Plan clearly defines how the costs on a project will be managed
throughout the project’s lifecycle. It sets the format and standards by which the project costs are
measured, reported, and controlled. Working within the cost management guidelines is
imperative for all project team members to ensure successful completion of the project. These
guidelines may include which level of the WBS cost accounts will be created in and the
establishment of acceptable variances. The Cost Management Plan:
 Identifies who is responsible for managing costs
 Identifies who has the authority to approve changes to the project or its budget

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 How cost performance is quantitatively measured and reported upon

 Report formats, frequency and to whom they are presented

For complex or large projects the Cost Management Plan may be included as an appendix to the
Project Management Plan or as a separate, stand-alone document. We have a detailed Cost
Management Plan template available on our website.

PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Procurement Management Plan should be defined enough to clearly identify the necessary
steps and responsibilities for procurement from the beginning to the end of a project. The project
manager must ensure that the plan facilitates the successful completion of the project and does
not become an overwhelming task in itself to manage. The project manager will work with the
project team, contracts/purchasing department, and other key players to manage the procurement
activities.

For larger projects or projects with more complicated procurement management requirements,
you can include the Procurement Management Plan as a separate document apart from the
Project Management Plan. We have a detailed Procurement Management Plan available on our
website.

PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT PLAN

It is important that the approach to managing the projects’ scope be clearly defined and
documented in detail. Failure to clearly establish and communicate project scope can result in
delays, unnecessary work, failure to achieve deliverables, cost overruns, or other unintended
consequences. This section provides a summary of the Scope Management Plan in which it
addresses the following:
 Who has authority and responsibility for scope management
 How the scope is defined (i.e. Scope Statement, WBS, WBS Dictionary, Statement of
Work, etc.)
 How the scope is measured and verified (i.e. Quality Checklists, Scope Baseline, Work
Performance Measurements, etc.)
 The scope change process (who initiates, who authorizes, etc.)
 Who is responsible for accepting the final project deliverable and approves acceptance of
project scope

We have a detailed Scope Management Plan available on our website which can be included as
an appendix to the Project Management Plan for larger or more complex projects. Be sure to
review it and determine if it's necessary for managing your project.

SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT PLAN

This section provides a general framework for the approach which will be taken to create the
project schedule. Effective schedule management is necessary for ensuring tasks are completed

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on time, resources are allocated appropriately, and to help measure project performance. This
section should include discussion of the scheduling tool/format, schedule milestones, and
schedule development roles and responsibilities.

Be sure to check out the detailed Schedule Management Plan available on our website. The
separate Schedule Management Plan is suitable for larger projects or projects where the schedule
management is more formalized.

RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN

This section provides a general description for the approach taken to identify and manage the
risks associated with the project. It should be a short paragraph or two summarizing the
approach to risk management on this project.

Since risk management is a science in itself, we have many risk management templates available
on our website. Look for the detailed Risk Management Plan, Risk Register along with
templates for performing a risk assessment meeting.

STAFFING MANAGEMENT PLAN

Discuss how you plan to staff the project. This section should include discussion on matrixed or
projectized organizational structure depending on which is being used for this project. This
section should also include how resources will be procured and managed as well as the key
resources needed for the project.

RESOURCE CALENDAR
Include a Resource Calendar as part of your project plan. The resource calendar identifies key
resources needed for the project and the times/durations they'll be needed. Some resources may
be needed for the entire length of the project while others may only be required for a portion of
the project. This information must be agreed to by the Project Sponsor and Functional Managers
prior to beginning the project.

COST BASELINE
This section contains the cost baseline for the project upon which cost management will be
based. The project will use earned value metrics to track and manage costs and the cost baseline
provides the basis for the tracking, reporting, and management of costs.

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SPONSOR ACCEPTANCE

Approved by the Project Sponsor:

___________________________________________ Date:____________________
<Project Sponsor>
<Project Sponsor Title>

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