Project Management
Project Management
Carlos F. Amaral 01-07-2013
1. Discuss the primary function of a project plan.
According to the Project Management Book of Knowledge, the project plan is "...a formal, approved document used to guide both project execution and project control. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning assumptions and decisions, facilitate communication among stakeholders, and document approved scope, cost, and schedule baselines. A project plan may be summarized or detailed."
Therefore, the Project plan should document the scope, cost and schedule of a project. These 3 factors together comprise the triple constraint, so called because if any one of these factors changes, the other 2 factors must be adjusted to maintain the quality of the finished product. The project plan also outlines any assumptions about the project and serves as a communication tool amongst stakeholders. The stakeholders are defined as anyone who will be affected by the project.
At a minimum, a project plan should answer the following questions:
1) Why-Why is this project being undertaken, what are the goals?
2) What-What work will be completed on this project? What is the scope of the project?
3) Who-Who will be involved in this project and what are their responsibilities?
4) When-What is the timeline, what are the milestones and when do they need to be accomplished?
2. List and describe the nine (9) categories of information needed in a project master plan.
1) Introduction-This would briefly lay out the purpose of the project, background information and a high level overview of the milestones of the project.
2) Goals and Objectives-This section will lay out the goals and objectives of the project, both from the view of the business (i.e. increase productivity) and the project itself (i.e. implement a new database).
3) Scope-What will the project accomplish, for example implement a new SQL
Carlos F. Amaral 01-07-2013
1. Discuss the primary function of a project plan.
According to the Project Management Book of Knowledge, the project plan is "...a formal, approved document used to guide both project execution and project control. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning assumptions and decisions, facilitate communication among stakeholders, and document approved scope, cost, and schedule baselines. A project plan may be summarized or detailed."
Therefore, the Project plan should document the scope, cost and schedule of a project. These 3 factors together comprise the triple constraint, so called because if any one of these factors changes, the other 2 factors must be adjusted to maintain the quality of the finished product. The project plan also outlines any assumptions about the project and serves as a communication tool amongst stakeholders. The stakeholders are defined as anyone who will be affected by the project.
At a minimum, a project plan should answer the following questions:
1) Why-Why is this project being undertaken, what are the goals?
2) What-What work will be completed on this project? What is the scope of the project?
3) Who-Who will be involved in this project and what are their responsibilities?
4) When-What is the timeline, what are the milestones and when do they need to be accomplished?
2. List and describe the nine (9) categories of information needed in a project master plan.
1) Introduction-This would briefly lay out the purpose of the project, background information and a high level overview of the milestones of the project.
2) Goals and Objectives-This section will lay out the goals and objectives of the project, both from the view of the business (i.e. increase productivity) and the project itself (i.e. implement a new database).
3) Scope-What will the project accomplish, for example implement a new SQL
References: PMBOK, 2000 Edition Microsoft "Process 4: Create the Master Schedule", http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc543353.aspx