Project Scope Management Work Package Agile Management Series 1 Agile and Scrum Part 1

What is a Project Management Plan

Many professionals are known to make a mistake of considering a Project Management Plan as a Gantt chart or a schedule. Professionals who carry this misconception into the PMP certification exam are the least likely ones to pass the exam. As you will see in this article, a Project management Plan is a document that defines how a project is executed, monitored and controlled; and it is much more than a schedule chart. A solid understanding of the project plan can pay rich dividends throughout our preparation for the PMP certification exam, and also help us in managing our projects. So, let us take a detailed look at the Project Management Plan. What is a Project Management Plan? A project management plan is a formal approved document that defines how the project is executed, monitored and controlled. It may be a summary or a detailed document and may be a compendium of baselines, subsidiary management plans and other planning documents. This document is used to define the approach used by the project team to deliver the intended project management scope of the project .The project manager creates the project management plan following inputs from the project team and the key stakeholders. Most of the large consulting firms and professional project management firms tend to have a formally agreed and version controlled project management plan approved in the early stages of the project, and applied throughout the project. The performance of the project is measured against the performance measurement baseline included in the project management plan. The scope baseline, schedule baseline and the cost baseline is collectively referred to as the performance measurement baseline. If there is a deviation from the baseline while the work is being done, the project manager deals with them by making adjustments to correct the deviation. If these adjustments fail to correct the deviations, then formal change requests to the baselines becomes necessary. The project manager spends a substantial amount of time in ensuring that the baselines are achieved .This in turn ensures that the project sponsor and the organization gets the full benefits of the projects that are chartered . Besides proper planning, a project managers abilities also lie in efficiently controlling the project and getting the project completed as per the project management plan. What are the components of a Project Management Plan?

The project management plan is a collection of baselines and subsidiary plans. The plan includes: Baselines for : Scope, Schedule, Cost

Management Plans for: Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Human Resources, Communications, Risk and Procurement Other plans : Requirement management plan, Change management plan, Configuration management plan, Process Improvement Plan. When is the Project Management Plan created? As per the PMBOK guide, the Project management plan is an output of the Develop Project Management Plan process in the Project Integration Management Knowledge area. The project management plan is not created all at once. It is progressively elaborated, which means it is developed, refined, revisited and updated. Since the project management plan integrates all the knowledge area management plans into a cohesive whole, it needs to be assembled after all the component plans have been created. Most of the components of the project management plan are created in various processes defined in the PMBOK guide. For instance, as per the PMBOK guide, the Communications Management Plan is developed in the Plan communications process. However, the schedule management plan, cost management plan and scope management plan are created in the develop project management plan process. When a project charter is created in the initiating process group, it contains a summary of scope, budget and a summary (milestone) schedule. Since we already have these things at the time we begin developing the project plan, we can go ahead and develop the scope management plan, cost management plan and the schedule management plan, instead of waiting. Later when we perform the Plan scope, Estimate costs, and Develop schedule processes as per the PMBOK guide, we can revise the components of the project plan with more detail to reflect a deeper understanding of the project.

Approval of the Project Management Plan Since the project management plan is a formal document that is used to manage the execution of the project, it must receive a formal approval. Formal approval means a signoff (signature). Now, who approves the project management plan, depends on the organizational structure and a number of other factors. Usually, the customer or the senior management of an organization do not approve the document. The customer signs the contract but often leaves the internal workings to the organization which delivers the project. The performing organizations senior management cannot get down to the level of of reviewing every component of a project plan and approving the document and especially not for each and every project. Typically the project plan is approved by the project manager, project sponsor or the functional managers who provides the resources for the project. It becomes less difficult for a project manager to get his project management plan approved, if he successfully identifies all the stakeholders and their requirements and objectives and deals with the conflicting priorities in advance. Thus, a Project Management Plan is a formal approved document that defines how the project is managed, executed and controlled. Author

Agile Management Series 1: Agile and Scrum Part 2 How to deal with Assignable causes?

Risk register is an important component of the overall risk management framework. An in-depth understanding of this topic will enable us to understand the risk management processes better. Risk register is also an important topic of study for the PMP certification exam. What is a Risk Register? The purpose of a risk register is to record the details of all risks that have been identified along with their analysis and plans for how those risks will be treated.

The risk register database can be viewed by project managers as a management tool for monitoring the risk management processes within the project. Risk register is used to identify, assess, and manage risks down to acceptable levels through a review and updating process. It is the responsibility of the project manager to ensure that the risk register is updated whenever necessary. The task of updating the risk register is usually delegated to the project control function. Risks that have been managed, avoided or are no longer relevant can be removed from the risk register. The associated risk action plans can also be deleted from the risk register. The list of risks that are identified and recorded in the risk register drives the following risk management processes specified in the PMBOK Guide: Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis Plan Risk Response Monitor and Control Risk

In the Perform Qualitative Analysis process, details are added to the existing list of risks in the risk register including the priority of risks, the urgency of the risks, the categorization of risks and any trends that were noticed while performing this process. In the Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis process the risk register is updated with the probabilities associated with each identified risk and the probability of meeting the cost and time projections. Additionally risk priorities are updated and trends that have been observed are also noted. In the Plan Risk Response process, a specific response plan is created to manage each risk. These risk response plans are updated in the risk register as an output of this process. While managing risks, we need to remember not all risks are negative. Positive risks are opportunities. Accordingly, a project manager should devise strategies for managing negative risks or threats and positive risks or opportunities. In the Monitor and Control risks process, plans are re-assessed and re-evaluated. The risk register is updated with information on new risks as an output of this process. This information should be regularly updated in the risk register, whether it is changes to the risk estimates or actual numbers such as costs related to weather damage. When is a Risk Register created?

As per the PMBOK Guide, the risk register is the output of the Identify Risk process in the Risk Management knowledge area. The identify risk process is a planning process used to identify the risks, which could impact the project and understand the nature of those risks. Although the identify risks process is performed early on in the project, risks change overtime and new risks arise. Therefore it may be necessary to perform the identify risks process multiple times throughout the project. What are the components of a Risk Register? There is no standard list of components that should be included in the risk register. PMI PMBOK Guide and PRINCE2, among other organizations make recommendations for risk register contents; however these are not the only recommendations that may be used. The following table displays key components of a risk register that is used in managing risks in large and complex projects. Date As the Risk Register is a living document, it is important to record the date that risks are identified or modified. Optional dates to include are the target and completion dates.

Reference Number of the key element. Reference Number Key Element

A brief description of the key element. Except for very small projects, risk identification becomes unproductive if we consider the project as a whole. It is much easier and productive to break up the whole project into sections or key elements for risk identification.

Risk Group

This column is used for grouping similar risks as an aid to developing treatment options and action plans.

Unique Identifying Number

A unique identifying number for the risk. It often has the form E.xx where E is reference number of the key element and xx is a 2 digit identifying number.

Risk

A brief description of the risk, its causes and

its impact.

Existing Controls

A brief description of the controls that are currently in place for the risk. At an early stage in the life of a project, the controls may be those that are expected to be in place if normal project management processes are followed.

Consequence

The consequence rating for the risk, using scales

Likelihood

The likelihood rating for the risk, using scales

Agreed Priority

Agreed priority for the risk, based on an initial priority determined from a matrix,adjusted to reflect the views of the project team in the risk assessment workshop.

Inherent Rating

The inherent rating for the risk, if there were a credible failure of controls or they failed to work as intended, using scales.

Action Summary

A cross reference to the action summary for the risk

Responsibility

The name of the individual responsible for managing the risk

Conclusion A risk register is an important component of the overall risk management framework. The risk register database records all identified risks in the project. It is created in the Identify Risks process as per the PMBOK Guide. It also drives the other risk processes like Perform Qualitative

Risk Analysis, Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis, Plan Risk Responses, and Monitor and Control Risks. Author