Understanding the Component of Project Management Plan

The project management plan is one of the most important documents discussed in this blog. It may be thought of as the culmination of all the planning processes. It is crucial that you understand what it is , where it comes from , and how it is used.

For the purpose of the understanding , the definition of the project management plan is a single approved document that guides execution , monitoring and control, and closure. The use of at the word single in this definition is a bit unusual, since the project management plan is actually made up of several documents. however once these component documents become approved as the project management plan , they become fused together as one document.

Don't assume that the project management plan is always overly formal or detailed. The project management plan should be appropriate for the project. that means that it may be documented as a summery lever or it may be very details.

Following is the list of the components that make up the project management plan.

• Scope management plan 
• Scope baseline
• Requirement management plan
• Scheduling management plan 
• Cost management plan 
• Cost management plan 
• Quality management plan 
• Process management plan
• Human resource plan 
• Communication management plan 
• Rick management plan 
• Procurement management plan 
• Schedule baseline
• Cost performance baseline
• Change management plan 
• Configuration management plan   

Understanding about Project Life Cycle

The Project Life Cycle is a  simply a representation  of the phases that a project typically goes through. These phases are general , but they are representative of the common flow of activities on that project.

There are six phases from Early to Late Project Phases . They are :

Conceptual Phases -----Planning phases ----Construction Phases----Testing Phases----Implementation Phases---Closure Phases 


In this six phases focus on the fact that :

• Resource and cost level rises early in the project and drop over time
• Risk and stakeholders ability to influence the project is highest early in the Project and decrease as the project Progresses.

Understanding about Project Managers Management Skills

The Practice of project management overlaps many other discipline. Since most projects are preformed within organisation, there are other management skills that make up the foundation of project management. These skills will probably have significant effect on projects. the project manager should have experience in  :

Leading 
Motivating people and inspiring them to commit. 

Communicating
Exchange information clearly and correctly. They are important to the project manger and critical to the success of any project. 

Negotiation
Working to reach mutual agreement. Negotiations may happen with groups or individuals inside and outside the organisation. The goal of the negotiating is to create a win win outcome that is sustainable for all parties. 

Problem Solving 
Defining the problem and dealing with the factors that contribute to our cause the problem. Problem solving is such an important and favored skill for the project manager that should be very carefully considered for any project. 

Influencing 
Accomplishing something without necessary having formal power. Influencing the organisation requires a keen understanding of the way the organisation is structured, both formally and informally. 

What is project roles and responsibility ?

Another area where study requires this is regarding Project Roles and responsibility . Following are the terms related to project roles. 

Project Manager : 

The project manager is the person ultimately responsible for the outcome of the project. The project manager is 

- Formally en powered to use organisational resources
- To control of the project 
- Authorize to spend the project budget 
- Authorize to make decisions for the project 

Project manager are typically found in the matrix and projectised organisation 

Because the project manager is in charge of the project , most of the projects problems and responsibility belongs to him. It is typicality a bad idea for the project manager to escalate a problem to someone else. The responsibility to manage the project rests with the project manager and that includes the fixing the problems. 

Project Coordinator :

In some organisation , project manager do not exist. instead these organisation use the role of a project coordinator . The project coordinator is weaker than a project manager. This person may not be allowed to make budget decision or overall project decision , but they may have some authority to reassign resources. Project coordinators are usually found in weak matrix or functional organisation. 

Project Expeditor :

The weakest of the three project management roles , an expeditor is a staff  assistant who has a little or no formal authority. This person reports to the executive who ultimately has responsibility for the project. The expeditors primary responsibility lies in making sure things arrive on time and that task are completed on time. An expedior is usually found in a functional organisation and this role may be only part time in many organisation . 

Senior Management 

For the exam , you can think of senior management as any one more senior than the project manager. Senior managements role on the project is to help prioritize projects and make sure the project manager has the proper authority  ans access to resources. Senior management issues strategic plans and goals and make sire that the company projects are aligned with them.  Additionally , senior management may be called upon to resolve conflicts with in the organisation.

Functional Manager

The function manager is the departmental manager in most organisational structures, such as the manager of engineering, director of marketing, or information technology manager. The functional manager usually , owns the resources that are loaned to the project, and has human resources responsibility for them. Additionally , he may be asked to approve the over all project plan. Functional managers can be a rich sources of expertise and information available to the project manager and can make a valuable contribution to the project.


Stockholder 

Stakeholders are individuals who are involved in the project or whose interests many be positively or negatively affected as a result of the execution or completion of the project. They may exert influence over the project and its results . This definition can be very board, and it can include a vast number of people !  Often when the term stakeholders appears , it may be referring to the key stakeholders who are identified as the most important or influential one on the project . 


Sponsor 

The sponsor is the person paying for the project. He many be internal or external  to the company. In some organisation the sponsor is called the project champion , Also , the sponsor and the customer my be the same person , although the usual distinctions is that the sponsor is internal to the performing organisation and the customer is external. 

The sponsor may provide valuable input on the project , such as due sates and other milestones , important product features , and constraints and assumptions . if a serious conflict arises between the project manager and customer , the sponsor may be called to help work with the customer and resolve the dispute. 

What is Project Base Line ?

The term Baseline is used for specific components of the project plan.: Specifically , scope, time and cost. The base line is simply the original plan plus any approved changes. 

Many people who take the exam do not understand that the baseline includes all approved changes. Baseline are used as tools to measure how performance deviates from the plan , so if the plan changes , the new plan become the base line. This is an important concept of the project baseline. 

Suppose you were running a one mile race, and you consider that distance as your baseline. Your plan was to run at the healthy pace of six minutes per mile. Now suppose that the race length was changed to a three mile race. you run the race and still finished in a very respectable twenty minutes.

Would you want your progress measured against the original distance or the updated one ? if you did not update the baseline to three miles , your pace of twenty minutes against the original distance of one mile would not be very impressive at all. your performance measurement would only be a meaningful if you had a accurate baseline. 

Remember that your project baseline is defines as the original plan plus all approved changes. Even though the baseline changes as the plan changes , it is good idea to keep records that shows how the plan has progressed and changed over time.    

Projects

A project is a temporary group of related tasks undertaken to create a unique product, service or results.

-A project is a time limited. It has a define beginning and end.
-A project is unique it has not been attempted before by this organisation
-A project is undertaken for a purpose. it will yield a specific product , service or results.

Project Organisation . 

Project Phases

Many organizations use project methodology that define project phases.

These phases names like :

-Requirment gathering
-Design phase
-Construction
-Testing
-Implementation

Project Process

Process are encountered regularly when studying for the pmp exam.
For purpose of the test.  I think of process package of Input, tools and output uses together to do some thing necessary and valuable for the project.

For example . Develop schedule is the process in which the project schedule is created.

Identify risks is the process in which the list of risk is created.

There are 42 process of project management you will need to understand.

Essential Terms :: Andy :: Chapter -2

Begin your PMP exam study by cementing your understanding of the following terms :

Process :
Phases :
Project :
program :
Portfolio:
Progressive elaborations
Historical information
Baseline :
Lesson learned
System