In general, a project management plan contains an explanation of how the plans and decisions of a project will be carried out. In simple terms, the contents of project management are 4W (Why, What, Who, When) and 1H (How).
The project management plan (PMP) is considered a living document, which means that if there are changes to the project plan while the project is in progress, the project management must also be updated or changed. So, why is PMP considered important for companies?
Project management should be viewed as a tool that helps companies to carry out designated projects effectively and efficiently. But of course the use of this tool can not automatically guarantee the success of the project.
Project management can be a very important and powerful tool in the hands of a company that understands its use and has the competence to implement it.
Project Management Plan Making Process
Usually a project management plan is made by a project manager, then it will be signed by key stakeholders, and become the basis for a project plan. If there is a change, then the change will be formally entered into change control and will be used as a comparison material between the actual project and the baseline project.
After the project manager has completed the project management plan document, a kick-off meeting will be held to officially start the project. The purpose of the kick-off meeting is to inform stakeholders that the project will officially run and provide an overview to each stakeholder regarding what activities will be carried out.
Remeber, whether small or large projects, the creation of project management documents is a must.
Contents of the Project Management Plan
Usually before a project starts, a manager or project auditor will ask for important documents such as project charters and project management plans. The project auditor will ask for a thorough explanation of the contents of project management, which aims to assess the readiness of all stakeholders in carrying out a project.
The project management plan has a baseline that will be made in the planning phase. There are 3 baselines, including the scope baseline (containing the project scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary), schedule baseline (containing the project schedule which has a start date and end date for each activity), and cost baseline (containing the project budget).
The three baselines are usually referred to as the Performance Measurement Baseline. Because usually the project manager will always compare the current project with the baseline.
The performance will then become a report to stakeholders regarding the condition of the project, whether it is still in scope or out of scope. And whether under, within or over budget, and whether behind, on, or ahead of schedule.
Every time there is a change related to the baseline during executing and monitoring & Controlling, then the change will be entered into the change control system. If approved, the project manager can update the baseline in project management.
Basic Project Management Plan
There are two tools and techniques in making or developing project management, namely expert judgment and facilitation techniques. The following are some basics in making a management plan that need to be considered:
- Project charter, used as a starting point for initial planning in initiating process group.
- Output from other processes. All baseline and subsidiary plans that become outputs in other planning processes will be inputs to this process.
- Enterprise environmental factors, are industry or government standards, project management information systems, organizational structure, culture, management practices, infrastructure, and personnel administration.
- Organizational process assets, can be in the form of standardized guidelines, Work Instruction (WI), proposal evaluation criteria, performance measurement criteria, project management plan templates, change control procedures, project files from various projects, historical information and lessons learned knowledge base, and configuration management knowledge base.
In general, the Project Management Plan aims to ensure that the activities carried out can achieve certain goals that have been targeted by the company. In working on a project, various things are needed starting from human resources, capital and others.
In addition, project management is also concerned with variables such as scope, cost, time, quality and risk.
