Executive Summary The Executive Summary is an optional section for the project management plan and may be used for providing a summary of the information contained in the project plan. Recommendation is that the executive summary be written in such a way that a person could read only this page and be familiar with the project. Suggestion is to include a short background, what the project is producing, procurements, total budget amount and finish date, and possibly: key business needs and objectives from the charter, key scope elements, or key communication efforts (e.g., public website). Introduction The Introduction provides the foundation for the project plan by covering the purpose of the plan itself, the project‘s background and purpose, assumptions and constraints, the approach/methodology for managing and executing the project, the project’s relationship to other systems/projects, and lastly, a list of related documents. Purpose of this document The purpose of the project management plan is to define the project scope, schedule, budget, and quality expectations of the project, and to provide a comprehensive strategy for managing the project. Include links if external management plans will be used. Background This information may be transferred from the background section of the project charter and updated as necessary. xx Project Purpose Include the project justification and its relationship to the agency business/strategic plan. This could also include a summary description of the product of the project. xx Project Assumptions and Constraints Assumptions The project has the following assumptions: xx xx
Constraints The project has the following constraints: xx Option 1: Cost, schedule, scope, and quality are often in conflict during projects. The sponsor elected to prioritize as follows: Consult with sponsor and arrange according to project priority. Quality Scope Cost Schedule Option 2: Cost, schedule, scope, and quality are often in conflict during projects. The sponsor elected to prioritize these constraints as displayed in the following matrix: Consult with sponsor and arrange according to project priority. Table 1: Constraint Matrix CONSTRAINT Accept Flexible Fixed Cost X Schedule X Scope X Quality X Constraint Matrix General Guidelines: Accept: The constraint is the first place to adjust to account for a change in the project Flexible: A change can occur in this constraint only after the options that made changes in the constraint marked “Accept” are exhausted Fixed: No changes are desired in the constraint unless all other options have been exhausted Constraint Matrix Rules: Each constraint can be in only one column (Accept, Flexible, or Fixed) There can be only one Flexible constraint There can be only one Fixed constraint Project Approach The method of project management to be used in this project is based on the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and the North Dakota Project Management Guidebook. Both methodologies are based on initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing processes to ensure that the project completes its objectives on time and on budget, while meeting the quality expectations of the stakeholders.
Organizational change management is also part of this project approach and is the process of transitioning individuals, teams, and the organization to a desired future state. Good organizational change management is considered a key success factor in projects and will be further explained in . Project Repository This area may need to be customized for agencies that have their own repository or if another type of repository is used. Since the state has specific records retention requirements, recommendation is that the state’s SharePoint site be the repository. The official project repository is the location where all project documentation will be stored. This repository will be the primary repository of record in accordance with the records retention section of STD009-05 and/or the performing organization’s records retention policies. The project repository is a Microsoft SharePoint site and is located at insert. All project team members will have access to the repository. Security access for this SharePoint site must be granted by the project manager. The repository is the primary tool the project manager will use to manage and control the project, and contains areas for the following: Consider adding the link or making the bullets below a hyperlink. Project Control Register to track cost/schedule variance and budget Procurement management Deliverable acceptance management Action items Issue management Change management Risk management Decision tracking The current retention policy requires that project repositories and associated documents be available for six years after the project is closed. After six years, the project information will be deleted. Project information that must be retained longer than six years should be stored by the agency in a separate location. The following WMS reference may not apply or be applicable only to the project manager. The Work Management System (WMS) will also be used for this project to track and record Information Technology Department (ITD) project team assignments. WMS is also used for approval of budget items such as planning estimates, budget estimates and after-analysis cost estimates. Security access to WMS must be granted by ITD. WMS Work Order #xxx WMS Service Request #X