Which process group includes the development of the project management plan?

Project Management 101 -  The Planning Process Group

In my previous post, I explained the Initiating Process Group.  In this post, I'd like to focus on the second of 5 Process Groups: The 'Planning Process Group.'

The Planning Process Group consists of 24 Processes:

1. Develop Project Management Plan
2. Plan Scope Management
3. Collect Requirements
4. Define Scope
5. Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
6. Plan Schedule Management
7. Define Activities
8. Sequence Activities
9. Estimate Activity Resources
10. Estimate Activity Duration
11. Develop Schedule
12. Plan Cost Management
13. Estimate Costs
14. Determine Budget
15. Plan Quality Management
16. Plan Human Resource Management
17. Plan Communications Management
18. Plan Risk Management
19. Identify Risks
20. Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
21. Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
22. Plan Risk Responses
23. Plan Procurement Management
24. Plan Stakeholders Management

In this post, I'd like to focus on the first process and highlight the key concepts of developing an appropriate Project Management Plan.

Develop Project Management Plan

The Project Management Plan is the most important document for a Project Manager (PM).  It can be thought of as a 'meta-plan' or a 'plan of plans' and is a collection of smaller plans and strategies that should, ideally, be concrete enough to ensure the project doesn't become a run-away freight train, but flexible enough to allow for any changes and unknowns.  'The key benefit of this process is a central document that defines the basis of all project work.'*

The Project Management Plan spells out how a project is to be run.  The content of this plan will vary depending on the application area and level of project complexity.**  It is important to note that the Project Management Plan isn't a document that is fixed throughout the lifetime of a project; it is 'progressively elaborated by updates, and controlled and approved through'*** another process we will discuss later, the Perform Integrated Change Control process.  PMs should ensure that the Project Management Plan is aligned with the Program and with any organizational goals and standards.  For example, if the program management plan specifies that a certain stakeholder (e.x. the Marketing Department) be consulted at a specific point in time, all the projects in within this program should have a Project Management Plan that reflects this program requirement.  The figure below depicts the process flow:

Fig 1: Develop Project Management Plan

Outputs from other processes, such as baselines and subsidiary plans are inputs to this process.  Any changes to these documents may require updates to the Project Management Plan.  

Enterprise Environmental Factors may include such things as:

• Government Regulations
• Industry Codes, Standards and Guidelines 
• Project management body of knowledge for a particular market segment (e.x. Oil & Gas) and/or focus area (e.x. software development)
• Project Management Information System (e.x. MS Project)
• Company Culture, Management Practices and Structure

Organizational Process Assets may include such things as:

• Standardized work guidelines
• Project templates
• Project documents from previous (similar) projects
• Historical information; especially lessons learned

The primary Tools & Techniques a PM has at his/her disposal to develop the Project Management Plan is two-fold:

1. Expert Judgement to tailor the process to fit the project, define project parameters, means and ends from a technical and managerial perspective, resource allocation, specify which key decisions are to be subject to the formal change control process , prioritization of project activities 
2. Facilitation Techniques include methods such as brainstorming, conflict resolution, problem solving and effective meeting management

The output of this process is the Project Management Plan, which describes 'how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled.  It integrates and consolidates all of the subsidiary plans and baselines from the planning processes:'****

Relevant project baselines may include the Scope baseline, Schedule baseline and Cost baseline.

Subsidiary plans may include:

• Scope management plan
• Requirements management plan
• Schedule management plan
• Cost management plan
• Quality management plan
• Process improvement plan
• Human resource management plan
• Communications management plan
• Risk management plan
• Procurement management plan
• Stakeholder management plan

The Project Management Plan can also include the following supporting documents:

• Descriptions of tools and techniques to be implemented 
• Work methodology descriptions
• A Change Management Plan that captures how changes or potential changes are to be identified, monitored and controlled
• A description of how all established project baselines are to be maintained (e.x. how to stay within budget, schedule and scope)
• Mode and frequency of communication among stakeholders
• 'Key management reviews for content, the extent of, and timing to address, open issues and pending decisions.'*****
• SMART Goals

The level of detail the Project Management Plan will have is entirely up to the PM.  It should reference relevant supporting documents and have enough detail to help run the project.  In short, the Project Management Plan is the playbook to the 'Game of Projects.'  Like the playbook a football or hockey coach would carry around, it isn't overly detailed or too 'high level.'  It contains just enough information to successfully and strategically guide the Project Team from project inception to the close.

In my next post, I'll continue in the discussion of the next few processes in the Planning Process Group.  It's no mistake that PMI has so many processes (24!) in this Process Group.  As the old adage goes: 'If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.'  This truism is certainly relevant to all Project Managers, so they shall do well to heed this warning.

October 8th Edit: Unfortunately, the lead up to the Thanksgiving Holiday (for us Canadians!) has made for an incredibly busy week. There will be a 1 week hiatus this week; I shall resume my series on Project Management next week. Please stay tuned and Happy Thanksgiving!

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* p. 72  (c)2013 Project Management Institute.  A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) - Fifth Edition 

** Ibid p. 74

*** Ibid p. 74

**** Ibid p. 76

Which process group is the develop project management plan in?

What is develop project management plan process?

What process is included in the planning process group?

What are the 5 process groups in PMI?