Project Management Plan - How to Create

As a project manager it is important to have a comprehensive project management plan in place. This document describes how you will achieve realistic measurements, monitor and control the project as well as manage and close it successfully. The project management plan contains all the subplans and baselines you need to effectively manage each component of the project. It is an important project artifact and should be updated regularly as the project progresses.

A project management plan can be either summary oriented or detail oriented. The preliminary fact that it has summary content suggests that it will be elaborated over time as assumptions about the project become clearer.

Regardless of the situation the project management plan must always include approved baselines. A project management plan is always a document that needs to be approved. The people who will approve this document can be the Project Manager, Project Sponsor, functional manager, or project team. Contrary to popular belief, senior management and the customer are not among the people who will approve the project management plan.

The key outcome of the planning process group, in the traditional approach, was the project management plan. This plan would then create input to the execution, measurement, monitoring and controlling, and closing process groups. The process of developing a project management plan is conducted in the planning process group and integration management knowledge area.

Develop Project Management Plan Process

Project management planning is not a one time event. The creation of a project management plan requires assembling multiple documents, called management plans. Management plans are extremely important for any project to be successful. There is a management plan for each knowledge area.  After we have completed the initiating process group, we will need to work on creating a project management plan. Any feedback from stakeholders about how the processes will be tailored will be of invaluable importance. Well defined deliverables, clear and prioritized goals will be the guide to be successful.

Inputs of Project Management Plan Creation