Development of Project Support Plans

Project support plans are the adjunct documents of project management. They provide many essential concepts and guidance for managing various aspects of the project. These "adjunct" plans should be used to satisfy the technical and business aspects of project management, and they, too, will become more detailed as the projects they support become more complex. Also, larger, more complex projects may warrant the use of additional project support plans than may be required by smaller projects. In some organizations, the sup port plans listed in this practice may even be cited as primary project management plans because of their inherent need in each and every project.

To that end, the organization should examine its needs and prescribe any standard or recurring project support plans that it requires for use in every project conducted by the organization.

Conceptually

This practice provides the project manager, project team, and various stakeholders with a basis for managing the technical and business aspects of each project, in addition to providing increased or expanded guidance for project management.

For example, a primary plan may specify the need for project management audits, providing some basic details about the audits to be conducted. In turn, an Audit Management Plan might be created (as a support plan) to provide more information about how, when, and where to conduct any required project management audits.

The purpose of this practice is to provide sufficient guidance within the organization and options for project managers when planning their approach to project management for a given project. There are possibly as many different project support plans as the mind can conceive that address all aspects of project business and technical management. The project support plans in this practice highlight some of the more prevalent planning documents that can be considered for use by project managers.

Project support plans are normally prepared during Project Planning (Plan Phase). However, they should be reviewed and updated as necessary throughout the project.

Using Project Support Plans

The following list presents a variety of project support plans that can be prescribed or otherwise considered for use at the discretion of the project manager, or as per the nature of technical work, business requirements, or skill and experience of the project team on each project.

Auditing Plan --Specifies the scheduled and unscheduled technical, business, and project management reviews to be conducted; may be an extension of or included in the quality management plan.

Budget Plan --Presents the company, division, or relevant organizational unit annual budget for consideration relative to the current project and project planning effort.

Business Case Plan --Specifies the preparation, analysis, and presentation of business assessments that provide the justification to pursue the project opportunity.

Configuration Management Plan --Describes the procedures used to apply technical and administrative direction and oversight to identify, document, and control specification of the functional and physical characteristics of any deliverable item or system.

Cost Management Plan --Presents the procedures for tracking and managing cost variance and provides guidance for general oversight of the project budget, including management of cost changes.

Construction Plan --Provides information for coordinating, communicating, and directing the construction of a capital facility in terms of scope, quality, time, and cost.

Project Contingency Plan --Identifies alternative strategies to be used if any specified risk events occur; this plan may be an extension of, or included as a part of, the project's risk management plan.

Customer Relationship Management Plan --Specifies the steps to be taken to manage customer expectations and involvement in the project effort.

Customer Support Plan --Describes the activities designed to assist the customer with a product or service after acceptance. (Sometimes called a Maintenance Plan) Documentation Plan --Specifies the design, development, storage, and disposal of reports, correspondence, information, records, logs, references, and other project data and technical documents; this plan may be an extension of, or included as a part of, the project Communication Management Plan.

Engineering Design Plan --Describes the project deliverables in the form of specifications, drawings, data flow diagrams, or any other methods that can be used to pro vide detailed information on how to build the product.

Equipment Management Plan --Prescribes how any major equipment and material used on a project will be acquired, managed for efficient use, and disposed of at the conclusion of the project.

Estimating Plan --Specifies the information required and the steps necessary for conducting an effective estimate of cost, schedule, and resource utilization. This can be an extension of, or included with, the project work plan.

Facilities Management Plan --Designates the facilities that will be used to support project work, provide staffing locations, and serve related project facility needs.

It will prescribe the actions and responsibilities associated with acquiring, managing, and maintaining project facilities. It will provide guidance for vacating, returning, transferring ownership or use, or otherwise disposing of facilities at the conclusion of the project.

Financial Performance Plan --Stipulates business unit performance goals for a given financial period (or a given project).

Health and Safety Plan --Outlines the performance standards and requirements designed to promote healthy and safe practices to protect project team members' health and safety in the work environment.

Inspection Plan --Presents the design for the examination or measurement of work to verify whether an item or activity conforms to specific requirements. This may be a separate plan or incorporated into the Project Quality Management Plan.

Inventory Management Plan --Presents the design, approach, and procedures for the use and control of materials required to execute the project.

Logistics Support Plan --Presents the design, approach, and procedures for the acquisition and movement of materials and personnel required to conduct the project.

Make-or-Buy Plan --Explains the procedures for analyzing whether a particular product or service can be produced or performed in a cost-effective manner by the performing organization or if it should be contracted out to another organization.

Manufacturing Plan --Provides the scheme for building the product or deliverable required by the project effort.

Materials Procurement Plan --Describes sourcing of raw or prefabricated materials to support execution of the project.

Operations Plan --Defines interface roles and responsibilities between the project team and the relevant organization's business units.

Peer Review Plan --Structures the content and method of peer technical reviews of the deliverable product.

Portfolio Management Plan --Identifies pending and approved products of the relevant organization; defines the prioritization of approved products and projects, and the current project.

Procurement Management Plan --Describes management of the procurement processes from solicitation planning through contract closeout.

Product Life Cycle Plan --Defines how the technical product will be created and will evolve into a new offering, and how it will be maintained during its "life."

Project Organization Plan --Defines the management structure for the project and how it interfaces with the relevant organization; this may be an extension of, or included in, either the project charter or the project Staff Management Plan.

Regulatory Compliance Plan --Explains how the work of the project will be managed to conform to applicable government regulations or industry standards.

Resource Allocation Plan --Specifies resources, at least in terms of type and numbers, that are deemed necessary and are approved by executives and senior management for assignment to the project, usually as a part of the project selection process.

Resource Utilization Management Plan --Presents the procedures for tracking and managing resource utilization variance, and provides guidance regarding how to measure and manage project team member assignments and performance.

Schedule Management Plan --Presents the procedures for tracking and managing schedule variance and provides guidance for general oversight of the project schedule, including management of schedule changes.

Staff Training Plan --Specifies training to be under taken by designated or potential project team members so that they may qualify in project skill, knowledge, and competency requirements.

Staff Transition Plan--Addresses staff replacement issues and migration from the project to other assignments in the organization; this may be a part of, or an extension of, the project Staff Management Plan.

Strategic Business Plan--Sets the organizational business direction and context for decision making in the development and execution of the project.

Systems Integration Test Plan --Defines operating requirements and standards for combined elements of a system or the system as a whole.

Technical Plan --Describes how the scope and deliverables of the project will be achieved from the perspective of the technical or professional work to be performed.

Testing Plan --Defines the method and criteria for checking the conformance to requirements of the deliverable product or its components.

Tooling Plan--Provides the design for manufacturing equipment used to produce product components.

Transportation Plan --Defines how the product will be transported through distribution channels to reach the customer's points of product acceptance.

Verification Plan --Provides for the evaluation of the correctness of the project output (deliverable) for various stages of product development based on the criteria for that stage.

Warranty and Field Support Plan --Provides for replacement and repair of parts and extended services associated with product delivery.

An attempt was made to present items in the preceding list with generic titles as a means to offer the organization a perspective in what can be accomplished relative to project planning. Undoubtedly, there are numerous technical and business planning components that are unique to industries and organizations that are not listed here. The organization should identify those requirements and create the preferred format and content guidance for inclusion in the project planning process.