A Project  Management Plan

A plan defines what work will be done, who will perform the work, when the work will be accomplished, how it will be monitored and controlled and how much the work will cost.  A project plan also defines how the project team will conduct reviews, present status and in general manage the project.  All of these will be summarised in the Project Management Plan (PMP) which will be the controlling document for managing the project to provide the project deliverables

The Benefits of Planning.

A well-prepared plan provides the management team with a means to accomplish project objectives and to direct work and assess project status and is critical to the success of the project.  The management team members include the Project Manager, the Business Managers, and any specialists.  The plan is prepared at a detailed level consistent with the needs of the level of management.  In addition, a well-defined plan provides the  platform for user agreement and a clear and common understanding of how the project team intends to manage the project.

Objectives of Planning

The plan is to determine which tasks require to be undertaken and the skills required to do them. We plan to obtain a clear view of what level of resource is required and when they are required.  A plan provides the project team with clearly defined work assignments.  Each member of the project team must have clearly defined work assignments, schedules, and budget definitions.  The team must know the user's requirements as well as the individual contributions to those requirements.  Without these, they cannot manage a project adequately.

Quality of Planning

No plan is perfect.  A plan is nothing more than our best estimate of how a project should be performed.  Plans must be modified as a project progresses.  The right thing to do is to develop and baseline the deliverables and assumptions and plan to the best of our ability. 

Communicating the Plan

The plan must be documented and communicated to all levels of the team as well as 
the business unit and any external parties. We have made documenting easier for Managers who want to gain more experience in documenting project plans based on knowledge and expertise from certified and experienced professional Practitioners