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Preparing a Project Management Plan

Project planning is the single most important activity that the project team undertakes to ensure the success of the project. Yet too often, project managers shortchange the planning process—with predictably unpleasant results. To prevent such problems at your firm, preparing an adequate project management plan should be required for all projects except the smallest (> $10,000). This article very briefly outlines what’s involved:

Avoiding the Activity Trap

Ironically, many PMs go to great lengths to plan the scope of their projects in detail, but spend little time defining project goals or planning how they will actually accomplish the work. Why? Many are susceptible to what is known as the “activity trap.” To understand the activity trap, it’s important to distinguish between activities and achievements:

u Activities—the means to an end. For our projects, this involves simply completing the tasks necessary to fulfill the project scope. When caught in the activity trap, the goal of the project is viewed as merely completing all tasks within budget and on schedule.

u Achievements—the desired end results. PMs with an achievement orientation channel activity toward satisfying project goals, which target meeting client needs and expectations. The scope of work, budget, and schedule are then viewed as means towards achieving specific desired outcomes, rather than as ends in themselves.

One of the principal values of planning is that it helps focus the PM and project team on achieving project goals, and thus avoiding the activity trap. A well-planned project is one where the emphasis on meeting both client and company needs drives all project activity.

Core Elements of the Plan

The project management plan (PMP) should, at a minimum, answer the following basic questions:

u Why? What are the client’s needs that are driving the project? What does the project need to achieve? You should identify not only the technical needs, but the strategic or business needs that underlie the project. Additionally, the client’s personal needs will define critical service expectations.

u What? What needs to be done to satisfy the client’s needs? This includes defining project goals (desired results), overall project approach (strategy), and the detailed scope of work (tasks). This is discussed in Chapter 3.

u How? Specifically how will we do the work to achieve project goals? This question is at the heart of planning. Simply put, planning determines the most efficient sequencing of activities to accomplish the desired results, recognizing the interdependencies of the tasks and other inputs needed to successfully complete the work. Addressing the “how” question also involves defining who will do the work (staffing), by when (schedule), and how much it will cost (budget).

To ensure project success, all three core elements should be addressed in the PMP. Don’t make the mistake of focusing almost exclusively on the “what”—developing a detailed task list without linking the scope to clear goals or precisely defining the optimum sequencing of the tasks.

Typical PMP Contents

The length and detail of the PMP will vary depending on the project’s size and complexity. A three– to four-page plan may be adequate for a small, straightforward project. But for a larger, more complex project, the PMP might require 20 to 30 pages. The PM and project team should decide the level of detail needed, based in part on what parameters will be tracked in project reviews. Typical PMP sections are:

  • Project goals

  • Scope of work (what will be done)

  • Schedule (when will it be done)

  • Financial plan (budget, total project cost)

  • Team organization / resource plan (who will do it)

  • Client service plan

  • Quality control plan

  • Communication plan (optional on small projects)

  • Change management process (optional on small projects)

  • Contingency and risk management plan (optional on small projects)

  • Project closeout checklist

PMP Format

A good PMP is not a lengthy report with extensive text. Rather, it’s a compilation of bullet points, tables, figures, and copies of pertinent documents (e.g., the proposal) with only enough text to communicate critical project information. For small projects, it may simply involve filling out a standard template. The primary objective to keep in mind when preparing the PMP is that this should be a document that is frequently used during the course of the project. Therefore, be sure to organize the material in a logical fashion, provide a table of contents as appropriate, and communicate the needed information in the most efficient, clearest way possible.  

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