Many professionals are known to make a mistake of considering a Project Management Plan as as the Schedule created using MSP / Primavera. Professionals who carry this misconception didn’t get the real picture of Project Management and they are the least likely ones to pass the PMP certification exam. As you will see in this article, a Project management Plan is a document that defines how a project is executed, monitored and controlled; and it is much more than a schedule chart. A solid understanding of the project plan can pay rich dividends throughout the preparation for the PMP certification exam, and also help you in managing your projects.

So, let us take a detailed look at the Project Management Plan.

What is a Project Management Plan?

A project management plan is a formal approved document that defines how the project is executed, monitored and controlled. It may be a summary or a detailed document and may be a compendium of baselines, subsidiary management plans and other planning documents. This document is used to define the approach used by the project team to deliver the intended project management scope of the project .The project manager creates the project management plan following inputs from the project team and the key stakeholders.

Most of the large consulting firms and professional project management firms tend to have a formally agreed and version controlled project management plan approved in the early stages of the project, and applied throughout the project.

The performance of the project is measured against the performance measurement baseline included in the project management plan. The scope baseline, schedule baseline and the cost baseline is collectively referred to as the performance measurement baseline. If there is a deviation from the baseline while the work is being done, the project manager deals with them by making adjustments to correct the deviation. If these adjustments fail to correct the deviations, then formal change requests to the baselines becomes necessary. The project manager spends a substantial amount of time in ensuring that the baselines are achieved .This in turn ensures that the project sponsor and the organization gets the full benefits of the projects that are chartered . Besides proper planning, a project manager’s abilities also lie in efficiently controlling the project and getting the project completed as per the project management plan.

The components of a Project Management Plan (normally all or most of them)

• Scope Management Plan
• Schedule Management Plan
• Cost Management Plan
• Quality Management Plan
• Process Improvement Plan
• Human Resources Management Plan
• Communications Management Plan
• Risk Management Plan
• Risk Register (Qualitative and Quantitatively Analyzed)
• Procurement Management Plan
• Change Management Plan
• Configuration Management Plan
• Requirements Management Plan
• Schedule Baseline
• Cost Performance Baseline
• Scope Baseline

The project management plan is a collection of baselines and subsidiary plans. The plan includes:

Baselines for : Scope, Schedule, Cost

Management Plans for : Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Human Resources,       Communications, Risk and Procurement

Other plans : Requirement management plan, Change management plan,         Configuration management plan, Process Improvement Plan.

When is the Project Management Plan created?

As per the PMBOK guide, the Project management plan is an output of the Develop Project Management Plan process in the Project Integration Management Knowledge area.

The project management plan is not created all at once. It is progressively elaborated, which means it is developed, refined, revisited and updated. Since the project management plan integrates all the knowledge area management plans into a cohesive whole, it needs to be assembled after all the component plans have been created.

Most of the components of the project management plan are created in various processes defined in the PMBOK guide. For instance, as per the PMBOK guide, the Communications Management Plan is developed in the Plan communications process.

However, the schedule management plan, cost management plan and scope management plan are created in the develop project management plan process. When a project charter is created in the initiating process group, it contains a summary of scope, budget and a summary (milestone) schedule. Since we already have these things at the time we begin developing the project plan, we can go ahead and develop the scope management plan, cost management plan and the schedule management plan, instead of waiting. Later when we perform the Plan scope, Estimate costs, and Develop schedule processes as per the PMBOK guide, we can revise the components of the project plan with more detail to reflect a deeper understanding of the project.

Approval of the Project Management Plan

Since the project management plan is a formal document that is used to manage the execution of the project, it must receive a formal approval. Formal approval means a signoff (signature).

Now, who approves the project management plan, depends on the organizational structure and a number of other factors.

Usually, the customer or the senior management of an organization do not approve the document. The customer signs the contract but often leaves the internal workings to the organization which delivers the project. The performing organization’s senior management cannot get down to the level of reviewing every component of a project plan and approving the document and especially not for each and every project.

Typically the project plan is approved by the project manager, project sponsor or the functional managers who provides the resources for the project.

It becomes less difficult for a project manager to get his project management plan approved, if he successfully identifies all the stakeholders and their requirements and objectives and deals with the conflicting priorities in advance.

Thus, a Project Management Plan is a formal approved document that defines how the project is managed, executed and controlled.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the PMP® exam?

PMP® stands for Project Management Professional certification. This is an exam offered by PMI® (Project Management Institute, USA www.pmi.org) for practicing Project Managers. PMP® Exam is a globally recognized certification exam and is well respected in the industry. The exam is extremely popular. There are about 350,000 certified PMPs all over the world.

The PMP Certification Exam consists of 200 Multiple Choice Questions, which must be answered within 4 hours. These questions are randomly generated from a question database which has many hundred questions. Out of 200 questions answered, 25 questions are pre-test questions which will not be used for scoring. These pre-test questions are randomly inserted by the computer into your exam with the idea of evaluating whether these will be used as “real” questions in future exams. This is a normal and valid way to test new questions on actual exam takers and see how they respond. But because you don’t know which ones are the pre-test questions it is important to answer all the 200 questions to the best of your ability.

2. What kind of organization is PMI®?

Project Management Institute was founded in 1969. The goal of PMI® is continuous growth and development of the discipline of Project Management. PMI® started the PMP® exam in 1984. PMI offers four types of services/products. These are Project Management certification, Project Management Research and Standards, Project Management Professional Development programs, and Project Management publications.

3. What certification exams does PMI® offer?

PMI offers now five different exams related to the discipline of Project Management. These are -
i. PgMP®: Program Management Professional
ii. PMP®: Project Management Professional
iii. CAPM®: Certified Associate Project Manager
iv. PMI-SP®: PMI Scheduling Professional
v. PMI-RMP®: PMI Risk Management Professional

Among these PMP® certification is most popular. Sisoft focuses on PMP® certification. PMI® provides a handbook for each of these exams.

4. What is the procedure to get PMP® certified?

The certificate requires that you have at least 4,500 hours of experience in Project Management. Also the candidate should have attended at least 35 hours of class room training on Project Management. PMI explains the eligibility criteria in detail in the PMP® certification handbook.

Let us tell you the STEPS towards PMP® Certification so that you are fully aware of the process:
STEP 1: Attend the 35 Contact Hours Project Management Training program – Sisoft Techniologies 4 Days workshop fees Rs 14,000+ tax. (Early Bird Discount: 10%)

STEP 2: We provide you with an attendance certificate which will give you 35 Contact Hours Credit – This is mandatory before you can go for PMP® Examination.

STEP 3: (OPTIONAL STEP) Get a PMI® Membership online through PMI website – Fees $129 (Payment through Credit Card)

STEP 4: Apply for PMP® Examination Online through PMI Website: Offline support would be provided by Sisoft.

STEP 5: PMI® will send you an approval email confirming that your application has been approved (but just keep in mind that it may still go through audit process). You get a one year window from the approval date to appear for the PMP® Exam. You go back to the PMI Website and login with an id provided to you and password and make an online payment.

STEP 6: Now you need a PROMETRIC CENTER nearest to your location (Sisoft will assist) and schedule your examination. You can go to www.prometric.com and find the nearest PROMETRIC CENTER. Get your 4 hour slot exam day / slot booked so that you can appear for the examination (A Prometric center in TVM also).

STEP 7: You go to the PROMETRIC CENTER AND GIVE THE EXAM – RESULTS ARE GIVEN AFTER THE EXAM. There are 200 questions out of which 25 are PRE-TEST Questions. Scoring will be done on 175 questions. Questions are of multiple choice types and there is no negative marking.

5. How many questions are there in the exam? How much time do I get?

The PMP® exam is a computer based exam conducted in the Prometric centers. The exam has 200 multiple choice questions. Each question has exactly one correct answer. You will get four hours to answer these questions. Most people find four hours to be more than sufficient for the exam. Out of these 200 questions, 25 questions are pretest questions. These are randomly places throughout the exam and are used for research purposes. These questions are not evaluated while computing exam results. You will only be evaluated on the basis of 175 questions.
To pass the PMP® examination, you must answer a minimum of 106 of the 175 scored questions correctly. After you finish and submit the exam, in the Prometric center you will immediately receive the overall mark-sheet for the exam in the Prometric center.

6. Is there any negative marking in the exam?

There is no negative marking in the exam. Unanswered questions are treated as wrong questions. Exam is preceded by 15-minute computer tutorial on the format of the exam.
After clearing the exam, you will receive the PMP® certificate by mail after 2 months. Examination scores are confidential. About 80% candidates clear the exam.

7. What is the new format of the exam?

With effect from July 1st 2009, the PMP® exam is based on PMBOK IVth edition. The PMBOK IVth edition was launched on Dec 31st, 2008. Exam results are divided in six areas. There are no minimum marks in separate areas.

8. Can I view my exam results at the PMI site?

You can view your PMP® credential status at https://www.pmi.org/certapp/default.aspx. You can also view certification status of other individuals at https://www.pmi.org/CertApp/Registry.aspx.

9. How much does it cost to take the PMP® exam?

PMP® is an expensive exam. This ensures that only serious candidates pursue it. It also ensures that the certificate remains prestigious. The exam costs $405 for PMI members and $555 for non-members. Since the annual fees for PMI membership is $119, it is cheaper to become a member and then apply for the exam.

10. How do I prepare for PMP® certification?

The program is mainly based on the PMBOK. PMBOK stands for Project Management Book of Knowledge. When you become a member of PMI, you get the PMBOK on a CD. PMBOK is very short and concise. Most people find it a bit difficult to read. The current exam is based on the fourth edition of PMBOK. The approach that we suggest is this –

1.Read one of the recommended books.

2.Read the PMBOK.

3.Read the tutorial on preparepm.com.

4.Take a few mock exams.

5.Revise the sections of the books and PMBOK on which you are not scoring well.

6.When you start scoring above 80% in the mock exams, you are ready to visit a Prometric center for the exam.

11. Do you have any other tips for the exam?

The two important tips that we suggest are –

1.Sleep well the night before the exam.

2.After you enter the exam room, spend the first five to ten minutes to write down some key notes on the rough sheet, before starting the exam. This will be like a brain dump of what you have memorized. These notes can include Earned Value Management (EVM) and other formulae, list of processes and their inputs, outputs, and tools and techniques. Later in the exam, these notes will act as a good reference for you.