The Project Management Plan (PMP) serves as the single, approved source of documentation for how a project will be executed, monitored, and controlled from start to finish. It is the central guide developed by the project manager to integrate all aspects of the work. This document ensures the entire project team and all stakeholders are aligned on the approach, processes, and methods that will govern the work. The PMP must be developed and approved before the execution phase begins, establishing the framework for achieving the intended project outcomes.
Defining the Project Management Plan
The Project Management Plan is a formal document that dictates the strategy for managing the project work and producing the project’s deliverables. It details each element and how it will be constructed and managed. Unlike the Project Charter, which authorizes the project, the PMP is a procedural roadmap detailing the “how.”
This plan is a consolidation of all subsidiary management plans and baselines into one cohesive document. The PMP is progressively elaborated, meaning it starts with a certain level of detail and becomes more specific as the project team gains understanding of the work. It is approved by relevant stakeholders and only changes through a formal change control process, maintaining its status as the single source of truth for the project.
The Purpose of the PMP
The primary function of the PMP is to establish a common understanding across all parties involved in the project. It ensures that every stakeholder is aligned regarding expectations, processes, and performance targets. The plan provides the necessary structure for guiding the day-to-day work of the project team during execution.
It serves as the primary reference for all project decision-making, allowing the project manager to assess whether a proposed action aligns with the approved strategy. The PMP also establishes the project’s governance framework, defining the procedures for managing issues, resources, and communication. By documenting the agreed-upon approach, the plan provides a historical record used to measure performance against established targets.
Core Components: The Performance Baselines
A portion of the Project Management Plan establishes the performance measurement baseline, which is the combined, approved scope, schedule, and cost plan. These three baselines are the reference points against which project performance is measured. Any performance variance requires comparison against these initial approved parameters to determine corrective action.
The Scope Baseline defines the agreed-upon project deliverables and the work required to create them, including the project scope statement and a Work Breakdown Structure. The Schedule Baseline is the approved version of the project schedule, including the planned start and finish dates for all activities and milestones. The Cost Baseline represents the approved, time-phased budget, including all authorized expenditures for completing the work. These baselines are linked, and a change to one necessitates assessing the impact on the other two.
Subsidiary Plans for Project Execution and Control
The PMP is composed of numerous subsidiary plans, each defining the approach for a specific area of project management. These plans detail the methods used to manage the work and achieve the performance baselines. Collectively, they provide operational guidance for the project team.
Scope Management Plan
Specifies the procedures for defining, maintaining, and controlling the project scope. It outlines how the project team will prepare the scope statement and create the Work Breakdown Structure. It also details the method for formal acceptance of completed project deliverables by the customer.
Requirements Management Plan
Describes how project requirements will be collected, analyzed, documented, and managed throughout the project lifecycle. It defines the process for prioritizing requirements and establishing a mechanism to track their status. This plan ensures all approved requirements are traceable back to the business objectives.
Schedule Management Plan
Defines the policies, procedures, and documentation for developing, managing, and controlling the project schedule. It establishes the scheduling methodology and the tools used to track progress. The plan also specifies the required level of accuracy and the units of measure for all schedule activities.
Cost Management Plan
Sets out the format and criteria for planning, structuring, and controlling project costs. It defines the level of precision required for cost estimates and the rules for measuring cost performance, often utilizing Earned Value Management techniques. It also determines the reporting formats for cost tracking.
Quality Management Plan
Describes how the project team will implement quality policies and ensure deliverables meet the required standards. It identifies the quality metrics and the processes for continuous improvement. The plan specifies quality assurance and control activities, such as audits and inspections.
Resource Management Plan
Defines the approach for acquiring, managing, and controlling the team and physical resources required for the project. It outlines the structure for defining roles and responsibilities and the plan for team development. This plan also addresses resource allocation and the strategy for managing scarcity.
Communications Management Plan
Defines the information needs of stakeholders, specifying what information will be communicated, to whom, and by what method. It outlines the frequency and format of project reporting. The plan ensures the timely generation, collection, storage, and distribution of project information.
Risk Management Plan
Details how risk management activities will be structured and performed throughout the project. It defines the risk categories, the probability and impact matrix, and the stakeholder tolerances for risk. This plan establishes the protocols for identifying, analyzing, and responding to threats and opportunities.
Procurement Management Plan
Describes how the project team will acquire goods and services from outside the performing organization. It details the types of contracts used and the decision criteria for make-or-buy analyses. The plan outlines the processes for vendor selection and contract administration.
Stakeholder Engagement Plan
Defines the strategies and actions necessary to promote productive involvement of stakeholders in project decision-making and execution. It identifies the current and desired engagement levels of key stakeholders. This plan ensures the project manager employs appropriate communication and management techniques for each group.
Managing and Controlling the PMP
The Project Management Plan is a dynamic document that must be managed and controlled throughout the project lifecycle to remain relevant. A Change Management Plan, often embedded within the PMP, defines the formal process for requesting, reviewing, and approving changes to the project baselines or the plan itself. This process, known as Integrated Change Control, ensures no unauthorized adjustments occur that could derail the project’s objectives.
Configuration management procedures are implemented to manage the evolution of the document and its components, involving version control. During execution, the PMP serves as the benchmark against which the project manager compares actual progress to planned performance, allowing for timely intervention if deviations occur.
Tailoring the Plan to Project Needs
The Project Management Plan is not a rigid template but a flexible framework that must be adapted to the specific needs of each project. Not every project requires every subsidiary plan listed; the complexity, size, and organizational maturity determine which components are necessary. A small, low-risk project may consolidate several management plans into a single section of the PMP.
The project methodology also dictates the structure and content of the plan, requiring adjustments for approaches like Waterfall, Agile, or Hybrid models. Tailoring ensures the plan is efficient and focused, rather than a bureaucratic hurdle. This adaptability ensures the PMP provides maximum value as a guiding document without creating unnecessary overhead.