Prepare a Project Management Plan for your project Approximately 3,000 words for groups of three.
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project_management_plan_template.pdf
PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN TEMPLATE <PROJECT NAME>
COMPANY NAME
STREET ADDRESS
DATE
This is a template for your second assignment. You are required to prepare a project plan.
Text in Green represents the planning areas you need to cover.
In each case an example/overview is given based on the ‘SmartVoice’ Project. You need to
provide your own project. It should be based on the project you identified in your first
assessment and incorporate any feedback to that assessment.
You may choose a different project but should consult your lecturer first.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH ................................................................................................ 2 PROJECT SCOPE ................................................................................................................................ 3 MILESTONE LIST .............................................................................................................................. 3
SCHEDULE BASELINE AND WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE .......................................................... 4 CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN ......................................................................................................... 4 COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN ......................................................................................... 5 COST MANAGEMENT PLAN .............................................................................................................. 7
PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN ............................................................................................... 8 PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT PLAN .............................................................................................. 9 SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT PLAN .................................................................................................... 10
QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN ...................................................................................................... 11 RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN ............................................................................................................. 12 RISK REGISTER .............................................................................................................................. 13 STAFFING MANAGEMENT PLAN ..................................................................................................... 13
RESOURCE CALENDAR ................................................................................................................... 14 COST BASELINE ............................................................................................................................. 15 QUALITY BASELINE ....................................................................................................................... 16
SPONSOR ACCEPTANCE .................................................................................................................. 17
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INTRODUCTION The Introduction provides a high level overview of the project and what is included in this
Project Management Plan. This should include a high level description of the project and
describe the projects deliverables and benefits. Excessive detail is not necessary in this section
as the other sections of the project plan will include this information. This section should
provide a summarized framework of the project and its purpose. Look back at the Project
Charter for information to include in this section.
Total Software Incorporated (TSI) has recently approved the SmartVoice project to move
forward for project initiation within the research and development (R&D) group. This project
will result in the development of new voice recognition software and supports TSI’s corporate
strategy of providing progressive solutions to clients which improve productivity in both the
workplace and home environment. While voice recognition software is currently available, TSI
believes that new technological developments will enable our team to develop a solution far
superior to what is currently available.
TSI has been successful in gaining market share because of its aggressive pursuit of product
quality, ease of use, flexibility, and customer service. Additionally, customers understand that
our products may be applied to a wide range of uses for business and personal functions. By
leveraging our reputation for superior quality and user-friendly products, and capitalizing on new
technology, TSI can position itself as the premier provider of effective and easy to use voice
recognitions software in today’s marketplace.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH This section is where you outline the overall management approach for the project. This section
should describe, in general terms, the roles and authority of project team members. It should
also include which organizations will provide resources for the project and any resource
constraints or limitations. If there are any decisions which must be made by specific
individuals—for example authorizing additional funding by the project sponsor—this should also
be stated here. It should be written as an Executive Summary for the Project Management Plan.
The Project Manager, Joe Green, has the overall authority and responsibility for managing and
executing this project according to this Project Plan and its Subsidiary Management Plans. The
project team will consist of personnel from the coding group, quality control/assurance group,
technical writing group, and testing group. The project manager will work with all resources to
perform project planning. All project and subsidiary management plans will be reviewed and
approved by the project sponsor. All funding decisions will also be made by the project sponsor.
Any delegation of approval authority to the project manager should be done in writing and be
signed by both the project sponsor and project manager.
The project team will be a matrix in that team members from each organization continue to
report to their organizational management throughout the duration of the project. The project
manager is responsible for communicating with organizational managers on the progress and
performance of each project resource.
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PROJECT SCOPE State the scope of the project in this section. The scope statement from the project charter should
be used as a starting point; however, the project plan needs to include a much more detailed
scope than the charter. This detail should include what the project does and does not include.
The more detail included in this section, the better the product. This will help to clarify what is
included in the project and help to avoid any confusion from project team members and
stakeholders.
The scope of TSI’s SmartVoice project includes the planning, design, development, testing, and
transition of the SmartVoice voice recognition software package. This software will meet or
exceed organizational software standards and additional requirements established in the project
charter. The scope of this project also includes completion of all documentation, manuals, and
training aids to be used in conjunction with the software. Project completion will occur when the
software and documentation package has been successfully executed and transitioned to TSI’s
manufacturing group for production.
All SmartVoice project work will be performed internally and no portion of this project will be
outsourced. The scope of this project does not include any changes in requirements to standard
operating systems to run the software, software updates or revisions.
MILESTONE LIST Provide a summary list of milestones including dates for each milestone. Include an introductory
paragraph in this section which provides some insight to the major milestones. This section
should also mention or discuss actions taken if any changes to the milestones or delivery dates
are required.
The below chart lists the major milestones for the SmartVoice Project. This chart is comprised
only of major project milestones such as completion of a project phase or gate review. There
may be smaller milestones which are not included on this chart but are included in the project
schedule and WBS. If there are any scheduling delays which may impact a milestone or delivery
date, the project manager must be notified immediately so proactive measures may be taken to
mitigate slips in dates. Any approved changes to these milestones or dates will be communicated
to the project team by the project manager.
Milestone Description Date
Complete Requirements
Gathering
All requirements for SmartVoice must be determined
to base design upon
2/28/xx
Complete SmartVoice
Design
This is the theoretical design for the software and its
functionality
5/31/xx
Complete SmartVoice
Coding
All coding completed resulting in software prototype 7/31/xx
Complete SmartVoice
Testing and Debugging
All functionality tested and all identified errors
corrected
8/31/xx
Complete Transition of
SmartVoice to TSI
Completed software and documentation transitioned
to operations group to begin production
11/30/xx
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Production
SCHEDULE BASELINE AND WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE This section should discuss the WBS, WBS Dictionary, and Schedule baseline and how they will
be used in managing the project’s scope. The WBS provides the work packages to be performed
for the completion of the project. The WBS Dictionary defines the work packages. The
schedule baseline provides a reference point for managing project progress as it pertains to
schedule and timeline. The schedule baseline and work breakdown structure (WBS) should be
created in Microsoft Project. The WBS can be exported from the MS Project file.
The WBS for the SmartVoice Project is comprised of work packages which do not exceed 40
hours of work but are at least 4 hours of work. Work packages were developed through close
collaboration among project team members and stakeholders with input from functional
managers and research from past projects.
The WBS Dictionary defines all work packages for the SmartVoice Project. These definitions
include all tasks, resources, and deliverables. Every work package in the WBS is defined in the
WBS Dictionary and will aid in resource planning, task completion, and ensuring deliverables
meet project requirements.
The SmartVoice Project schedule was derived from the WBS and Project Charter with input
from all project team members. The schedule was completed, reviewed by the Project Sponsor,
and approved and base-lined. The schedule will be maintained as a MS Project Gantt Chart by
the SmartVoice Project Manager. Any proposed changes to the schedule will follow TSI’s
change control process. If established boundary controls may be exceeded, a change request will
be submitted to the Project Manager. The Project Manager and team will determine the impact
of the change on the schedule, cost, resources, scope, and risks. If it is determined that the
impacts will exceed the boundary conditions then the change will be forwarded to the Project
Sponsor for review and approval. The SmartVoice boundary conditions are:
CPI less than 0.8 or greater than 1.2
SPI less than 0.8 or greater than 1.2
If the change is approved by the Project Sponsor then it will be implemented by the Project
Manager who will update the schedule and all documentation and communicate the change to all
stakeholders in accordance with the Change Control Process.
The Project Schedule Baseline and Work Breakdown Structure are provided in Appendix A,
Project Schedule and Appendix B, Work Breakdown Structure.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN This section should describe your change control process. Ideally, this process will be some type
of organizational standard which is repeatable and done on most or all projects when a change is
necessary. Changes to any project must be carefully considered and the impact of the change
must be clear in order to make any type of approval decisions. Many organizations have change
control boards (CCBs) which review proposed changes and either approve or deny them. This is
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an effective way to provide oversight and ensure adequate feedback and review of the change is
obtained. This section should also identify who has approval authority for changes to the
project, who submits the changes, how they are tracked and monitored.
For complex or large projects the Change Management Plan may be included as an appendix to
the Project Management Plan or as a separate, stand-alone document. We have a detailed
Change Management Plan template available on our website.
The following steps comprise TSI’s organization change control process for all projects and will
be utilized on the SmartVoice project:
Step #1: Identify the need for a change (Any Stakeholder)
Requestor will submit a completed TSI change request form to the project manager
Step #2: Log change in the change request register (Project Manager)
The project manager will maintain a log of all change requests for the duration of the
project
Step #3: Conduct an evaluation of the change (Project Manager, Project Team, Requestor)
The project manager will conduct an evaluation of the impact of the change to cost, risk,
schedule, and scope
Step #4: Submit change request to Change Control Board (CCB) (Project Manager)
The project manager will submit the change request and analysis to the CCB for review
Step #5: Change Control Board decision (CCB)
The CCB will discuss the proposed change and decide whether or not it will be approved
based on all submitted information
Step #6: Implement change (Project Manager)
If a change is approved by the CCB, the project manager will update and re-baseline
project documentation as necessary as well as ensure any changes are communicated to
the team and stakeholders
Any team member or stakeholder may submit a change request for the SmartVoice Project. The
SmartVoice Project Sponsor will chair the CCB and any changes to project scope, cost, or
schedule must meet his approval. All change requests will be logged in the change control
register by the Project Manager and tracked through to completion whether approved or not.
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN The purpose of the Communications Management Plan is to define the communication
requirements for the project and how information will be distributed to ensure project success.
You should give considerable thought to how you want to manage communications on every
project. By having a solid communications management approach you’ll find that many project
management problems can be avoided. In this section you should provide an overview of your
communications management approach. Generally, the Communications Management Plan
defines the following:
Communication requirements based on roles
What information will be communicated
How the information will be communicated
When will information be distributed
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Who does the communication
Who receives the communication
Communications conduct
For larger and more complex projects, the Communications Management Plan may be included
as an appendix or separate document apart from the Project Management Plan. We have a
detailed Communications Management Plan template available on our website.
This Communications Management Plan sets the communications framework for this project. It
will serve as a guide for communications throughout the life of the project and will be updated as
communication requirements change. This plan identifies and defines the roles of SmartVoice
project team members as they pertain to communications. It also includes a communications
matrix which maps the communication requirements of this project, and communication conduct
for meetings and other forms of communication. A project team directory is also included to
provide contact information for all stakeholders directly involved in the project.
The Project Manager will take the lead role in ensuring effective communications on this project.
The communications requirements are documented in the Communications Matrix below. The
Communications Matrix will be used as the guide for what information to communicate, who is
to do the communicating, when to communicate it, and to whom to communicate.
Communication
Type Description Frequency Format Participants/
Distribution Deliverable Owner
Weekly Status Report
Email summary of
project status Weekly Email
Project Sponsor, Team and
Stakeholders Status Report
Project Manager
Weekly Project Team Meeting
Meeting to review action register and
status
Weekly In Person Project Team Updated Action
Register
Project Manager
Project Monthly Review (PMR)
Present metrics and
status to team and sponsor
Monthly In Person Project Sponsor,
Team, and Stakeholders
Status and Metric
Presentation
Project Manager
Project Gate Reviews
Present closeout of
project phases and kickoff next phase
As Needed In Person Project Sponsor,
Team and Stakeholders
Phase completion report and
phase kickoff
Project Manager
Technical Design Review
Review of any technical
designs or work
associated with the project
As Needed In Person Project Team Technical
Design Package
Project Manager
Project team directory for all communications is:
Name Title E mail Office Phone Cell Phone
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John Davis Project Sponsor [email protected] xxx-xxx-xxxx xxx-xxx-xxxx
Joe Green Project Manager [email protected] xxx-xxx-xxxx xxx-xxx-xxxx
Herb Walker Senior
Programmer [email protected] xxx-xxx-xxxx xxx-xxx-xxxx
Jason Black Programmer [email protected] xxx-xxx-xxxx xxx-xxx-xxxx
Mary White Sr. Quality
Specialist [email protected] xxx-xxx-xxxx xxx-xxx-xxxx
Ron Smith Quality
Specialist [email protected] xxx-xxx-xxxx xxx-xxx-xxxx
Tom Sunday Technical Writer [email protected] xxx-xxx-xxxx xxx-xxx-xxxx
Karen Brown Testing
Specialist [email protected] xxx-xxx-xxxx xxx-xxx-xxxx
Communications Conduct:
Meetings:
The Project Manager will distribute a meeting agenda at least 2 days prior to any scheduled
meeting and all participants are expected to review the agenda prior to the meeting. During all
project meetings the timekeeper will ensure that the group adheres to the times stated in the
agenda and the recorder will take all notes for distribution to the team upon completion of the
meeting. It is imperative that all participants arrive to each meeting on time and all cell phones
and blackberries should be turned off or set to vibrate mode to minimize distractions. Meeting
minutes will be distributed no later than 24 hours after each meeting is completed.
Email:
All email pertaining to the SmartVoice Project should be professional, free of errors, and provide
brief communication. Email should be distributed to the correct project participants in
accordance with the communication matrix above based on its content. All attachments should
be in one of the organization’s standard software suite programs and adhere to established
company formats. If the email is to bring an issue forward then it should discuss what the issue
is, provide a brief background on the issue, and provide a recommendation to correct the issue.
The Project Manager should be included on any email pertaining to the SmartVoice Project.
Informal Communications:
While informal communication is a part of every project and is necessary for successful project
completion, any issues, concerns, or updates that arise from informal discussion between team
members must be communicated to the Project Manager so the appropriate action may be taken.
COST MANAGEMENT PLAN The Cost Management Plan clearly defines how the costs on a project will be managed
throughout the project’s lifecycle. It sets the format and standards by which the project costs are
measured, reported, and controlled. Working within the cost management guidelines is
imperative for all project team members to ensure successful completion of the project. These
guidelines may include which level of the WBS cost accounts will be created in and the
establishment of acceptable variances. The Cost Management Plan:
Identifies who is responsible for managing costs
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Identifies who has the authority to approve changes to the project or its budget
How cost performance is quantitatively measured and reported upon
Report formats, frequency and to whom they are presented
For complex or large projects the Cost Management Plan may be included as an appendix to the
Project Management Plan or as a separate, stand-alone document. We have a detailed Cost
Management Plan template available on our website.
The Project Manager will be responsible for managing and reporting on the project’s cost
throughout the duration of the project. The Project Manager will present and review the
project’s cost performance during the monthly project status meeting. Using earned value
calculations, the Project Manager is responsible for accounting for cost deviations and presenting
the Project Sponsor with options for getting the project back on budget. All budget authority and
decisions, to include budget changes, reside with the SmartVoice Project Sponsor.
For the SmartVoice Project, control accounts will be created at the fourth level of the WBS
which is where all costs and performance will be managed and tracked. Financial performance of
the SmartVoice Project will be measured through earned value calculations pertaining to the
project’s cost accounts. Work started on work packages will grant that work package with 50%
credit; whereas, the remaining 50% is credited upon completion of all work defined in that work
package. Costs may be rounded to the nearest dollar and work hours rounded to the nearest
whole hour.
Cost and Schedule Performance Index (CPI and SPI respectively) will be reported on a monthly
basis by the Project Manager to the Project Sponsor. Variances of 10% or +/- 0.1 in the cost and
schedule performance indexes will change the status of the cost to yellow or cautionary. These
will be reported and if it’s determined that there is no or minimal impact on the project’s cost or
schedule baseline then there may be no action required. Cost variances of 20%, or +/- 0.2 in the
cost and schedule performance indexes will change the status of the cost to red or critical. These
will be reported and require corrective action from the Project Manager in order to bring the cost
and/or schedule performance indexes back in line with the allowable variance. Any corrective
actions will require a project change request and be must approved by the CCB before it can be
implemented.
Earned value calculations will be compiled by the Project Manager and reported at the monthly
project status meeting. If there are indications that these values will approach or reach the
critical stage before a subsequent meeting, the Project Manager will communicate this to the
Project Sponsor immediately.
PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN The Procurement Management Plan should be defined enough to clearly identify the necessary
steps and responsibilities for procurement from the beginning to the end of a project. The project
manager must ensure that the plan facilitates the successful completion of the project and does
not become an overwhelming task in itself to manage. The project manager will work with the
project team, contracts/purchasing department, and other key players to manage the procurement
activities.
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For larger projects or projects with more complicated procurement management requirements,
you can include the Procurement Management Plan as a separate document apart from the
Project Management Plan. We have a detailed Procurement Management Plan available on our
website.
The Project Manager will provide oversight and management for all procurement activities under
this project. The Project Manager is authorized to approve all procurement actions up to
$50,000. Any procurement actions exceeding this amount must be approved by the Project
Sponsor.
While this project requires minimal or no procurement, in the event procurement is required, the
Project Manager will work with the project team to identify all items or services to be procured
for the successful completion of the project. The Project Manager will then ensure these
procurements are reviewed by the Program Management Office (PMO) and presented to the
contracts and purchasing groups. The contracts and purchasing groups will review the
procurement actions, determine whether it is advantageous to make or buy the items or resource
required services internally, and begin the vendor selection, purchasing and the contracting
process.
In the event a procurement becomes necessary, the Project Manager will be responsible for
management any selected vendor or external resource. The Project Manager will also measure
performance as it relates to the vendor providing necessary goods and/or services and
communicate this to the purchasing and contracts groups.
PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT PLAN It is important that the approach to managing the projects’ scope be clearly defined and
documented in detail. Failure to clearly establish and communicate project scope can result in
delays, unnecessary work, failure to achieve deliverables, cost overruns, or other unintended
consequences. This section provides a summary of the Scope Management Plan in which it
addresses the following:
Who has authority and responsibility for scope management
How the scope is defined (i.e. Scope Statement, WBS, WBS Dictionary, Statement of Work, etc.)
How the scope is measured and verified (i.e. Quality Checklists, Scope Baseline, Work Performance Measurements, etc.)
The scope change process (who initiates, who authorizes, etc.)
Who is responsible for accepting the final project deliverable and approves acceptance of project scope
We have a detailed Scope Management Plan available on our website which can be included as
an appendix to the Project Management Plan for larger or more complex projects. Be sure to
review it and determine if it's necessary for managing your project.
Scope management for the SmartVoice Project will be the sole responsibility of the Project
Manager. The scope for this project is defined by the Scope Statement, Work Breakdown
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Structure (WBS) and WBS Dictionary. The Project Manager, Sponsor, and Stakeholders will
establish and approve documentation for measuring project scope which includes deliverable
quality checklists and work performance measurements.
Proposed scope changes may be initiated by the Project Manager, Stakeholders or any member
of the project team. All change requests will be submitted to the Project Manager who will then
evaluate the requested scope change. Upon acceptance of the scope change request the Project
Manager will submit the scope change request to the Change Control Board and Project Sponsor
for acceptance. Upon approval of scope changes by the Change Control Board and Project
Sponsor the Project Manager will update all project documents and communicate the scope
change to all stakeholders. Based on feedback and input from the Project Manager and
Stakeholders, the Project Sponsor is responsible for the acceptance of the final project
deliverables and project scope.
The Project Sponsor is responsible for formally accepting the project’s final deliverable. This
acceptance will be based on a review of all project documentation, testing results, beta trial
results, and completion of all tasks/work packages and product functionality.
SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT PLAN This section provides a general framework for the approach which will be taken to create the
project schedule. Effective schedule management is necessary for ensuring tasks are completed
on time, resources are allocated appropriately, and to help measure project performance. This
section should include discussion of the scheduling tool/format, schedule milestones, and
schedule development roles and responsibilities.
Be sure to check out the detailed Schedule Management Plan available on our website. The
separate Schedule Management Plan is suitable for larger projects or projects where the schedule
management is more formalized.
Project schedules for the SmartVoice Project will be created using MS Project 2007 starting with
the deliverables identified in the project’s Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Activity
definition will identify the specific work packages which must be performed to complete each
deliverable. Activity sequencing will be used to determine the order of work packages and
assign relationships between project activities. Activity duration estimating will be used to
calculate the number of work periods required to complete work packages. Resource estimating
will be used to assign resources to work packages in order to complete schedule development.
Once a preliminary schedule has been developed, it will be reviewed by the project team and any
resources tentatively assigned to project tasks. The project team and resources must agree to the
proposed work package assignments, durations, and schedule. Once this is achieved the project
sponsor will review and approve the schedule and it will then be base lined.
In accordance with TSI’s organizational standard, the following will be designated as milestones
for all project schedules:
Completion of scope statement and WBS/WBS Dictionary
Base lined project schedule
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Approval of final project budget
Project kick-off
Approval of roles and responsibilities
Requirements definition approval
Completion of data mapping/inventory
Project implementation
Acceptance of final deliverables
Roles and responsibilities for schedule development are as follows:
The project manager will be responsible for facilitating work package definition, sequencing, and
estimating duration and resources with the project team. The project manager will also create the
project schedule using MS Project 2007 and validate the schedule with the project team,
stakeholders, and the project sponsor. The project manager will obtain schedule approval from
the project sponsor and baseline the schedule.
The project team is responsible for participating in work package definition, sequencing,
duration, and resource estimating. The project team will also review and validate the proposed
schedule and perform assigned activities once the schedule is approved.
The project sponsor will participate in reviews of the proposed schedule and approve the final
schedule before it is base lined.
The project stakeholders will participate in reviews of the proposed schedule and assist in its
validation.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN This section discusses how quality management will be used to ensure that the deliverables for
the project meet a formally established standard of acceptance. All project deliverables should
be defined in order to provide a foundation and understanding of the tasks at hand and what work
must be planned. Quality management is the process by which the organization not only
completes the work, but completes the work to an acceptable standard. Without a thorough
Quality Management Plan, work may be completed in a substandard or unacceptable manner.
This section should include quality roles and responsibilities, quality control, quality assurance,
and quality monitoring.
For larger or more complex projects, the Quality Management Plan may be included as an
appendix or separate document. A detailed Quality Management Plan is available for use on our
website.
All members of the SmartVoice project team will play a role in quality management. It is
imperative that the team ensures that work is completed at an adequate level of quality from
individual work packages to the final project deliverable. The following are the quality roles and
responsibilities for the SmartVoice Project:
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The Project Sponsor is responsible for approving all quality standards for the SmartVoice
Project. The Project Sponsor will review all project tasks and deliverables to ensure compliance
with established and approved quality standards. Additionally, the Project Sponsor will sign off
on the final acceptance of the project deliverable.
The Project Manager is responsible for quality management throughout the duration of the
project. The Project Manager is responsible for implementing the Quality Management Plan
and ensuring all tasks, processes, and documentation are compliant with the plan. The Project
Manager will work with the project’s quality specialists to establish acceptable quality
standards. The Project Manager is also responsible for communicating and tracking all quality
standards to the project team and stakeholders.
The Quality Specialists are responsible for working with the Project Manager to develop and
implement the Quality Management Plan. Quality Specialists will recommend tools and
methodologies for tracking quality and standards to establish acceptable quality levels. The
Quality Specialists will create and maintain Quality Control and Assurance Logs throughout the
project.
The remaining member of the project team, as well as the stakeholders will be responsible for
assisting the Project Manager and Quality Specialists in the establishment of acceptable quality
standards. They will also work to ensure that all quality standards are met and communicate any
concerns regarding quality to the Project Manager.
Quality control for the SmartVoice Project will utilize tools and methodologies for ensuring that
all project deliverables comply with approved quality standards. To meet deliverable
requirements and expectations, we must implement a formal process in which quality standards
are measured and accepted. The Project Manager will ensure all quality standards and quality
control activities are met throughout the project. The Quality Specialists will assist the Project
Manager in verifying that all quality standards are met for each deliverable. If any changes are
proposed and approved by the Project Sponsor and CCB, the Project Manager is responsible for
communicating the changes to the project team and updating all project plans and
documentation.
Quality assurance for the SmartVoice Project will ensure that all processes used in the
completion of the project meet acceptable quality standards. These process standards are in
place to maximize project efficiency and minimize waste. For each process used throughout the
project, the Project Manager will track and measure quality against the approved standards with
the assistance of the Quality Specialists and ensure all quality standards are met. If any changes
are proposed and approved by the Project Sponsor and CCB, the Project Manager is responsible
for communicating the changes to the project team and updating all project plans and
documentation.
RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN This section provides a general description for the approach taken to identify and manage the
risks associated with the project. It should be a short paragraph or two summarizing the
approach to risk management on this project.
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Since risk management is a science in itself, we have many risk management templates available
on our website. Look for the detailed Risk Management Plan, Risk Register along with
templates for performing a risk assessment meeting.
The approach for managing risks for the SmartVoice Project includes a methodical process by
which the project team identifies, scores, and ranks the various risks. Every effort will be made
to proactively identify risks ahead of time in order to implement a mitigation strategy from the
project’s onset. The most likely and highest impact risks were added to the project schedule to
ensure that the assigned risk managers take the necessary steps to implement the mitigation
response at the appropriate time during the schedule. Risk managers will provide status updates
on their assigned risks in the bi-weekly project team meetings, but only when the meetings
include their risk’s planned timeframe.
Upon the completion of the project, during the closing process, the project manager will analyze
each risk as well as the risk management process. Based on this analysis, the project manager
will identify any improvements that can be made to the risk management process for future
projects. These improvements will be captured as part of the lessons learned knowledge base.
RISK REGISTER
The Risk Register for this project is provided in Appendix C, Risk Register.
STAFFING MANAGEMENT PLAN Discuss how you plan to staff the project. This section should include discussion on matrixed or
projectized organizational structure depending on which is being used for this project. This
section should also include how resources will be procured and managed as well as the key
resources needed for the project.
The SmartVoice Project will consist of a matrix structure with support from various internal
organizations. All work will be performed internally. Staffing requirements for the SmartVoice
Project include the following:
Project Manager (1 position) – responsible for all management for the SmartVoice Project. The
Project Manager is responsible for planning, creating, and/or managing all work activities,
variances, tracking, reporting, communication, performance evaluations, staffing, and internal
coordination with functional managers.
Senior Programmer (1 position) – responsible for oversight of all coding and programming tasks
for the SmartVoice Project as well as ensuring functionality is compliant with quality standards.
Responsible for working with the Project Manager to create work packages, manage risk,
manage schedule, identify requirements, and create reports. The Senior Programmer will be
managed by the Project Manager who will provide performance feedback to the functional
manager.
Programmer (1 position) – responsible for coding and programming for the SmartVoice Project.
All coding and programming tasks will be reviewed by the Senior Programmer prior to
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implementation. Responsibilities also include assisting with risk identification, determining
impacts of change requests, and status reporting. The Programmer will be managed by the
Project Manager and feedback will be provided to the functional manager for performance
evaluations by the Project Manager and Senior Programmer.
Senior Quality Specialist (1 position) – responsible for assisting the Project Manager in creating
quality control and assurance standards. The Senior Quality Specialist is also responsible for
maintaining quality control and assurance logs throughout the project. The Senior Quality
Specialist will be managed by the Project Manager who will also provide feedback to the
functional manager for performance evaluations.
Quality Specialist (1 position) – responsible for assisting the Project Manager and Senior Quality
Specialist in creating and tracking quality control and assurance standards. The Quality
Specialist will have primary responsibility for compiling quality reporting and metrics for the
Project Manager to communicate. The Quality Specialist will be managed by the Project
Manager who will provide feedback, along with the Senior Quality Specialist to the functional
manager for performance evaluations.
Technical Writer (1 position) – responsible for compiling all project documentation and
reporting into organizational formats. Responsible for assisting the Project Manager in
Configuration Management and revision control for all project documentation. Responsible for
scribing duties during all project meetings and maintaining all project communication
distribution lists. The Technical Writer will be managed by the Project Manager who will also
provide feedback to the functional manager for performance evaluations.
Testing Specialist (1 position) – responsible for helping establish testing specifications for the
SmartVoice Project with the assistance of the Project Manager and Programmers. Responsible
for ensuring all testing is complete and documented in accordance with TSI standards.
Responsible for ensuring all testing resources are coordinated. The Testing Specialist will be
managed by the Project Manager who will also provide feedback to the functional manager for
performance evaluations.
The Project Manager will negotiate with all necessary TSI functional managers in order to
identify and assign resources for the SmartVoice Project. All resources must be approved by the
appropriate functional manager before the resource may begin any project work. The project
team will not be co-located for this project and all resources will remain in their current
workspace.
RESOURCE CALENDAR Include a Resource Calendar as part of your project plan. The resource calendar identifies key
resources needed for the project and the times/durations they'll be needed. Some resources may
be needed for the entire length of the project while others may only be required for a portion of
the project. This information must be agreed to by the Project Sponsor and Functional Managers
prior to beginning the project.
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The SmartVoice Project will require all project team members for the entire duration of the
project although levels of effort will vary as the project progresses. The Project is scheduled to
last one year with standard 40 hour work weeks. If a project team member is not required for a
full 40 hour work week at any point during the project, their efforts outside of the SmartVoice
Project will be at the discretion of their Functional Manager.
COST BASELINE This section contains the cost baseline for the project upon which cost management will be
based. The project will use earned value metrics to track and manage costs and the cost baseline
provides the basis for the tracking, reporting, and management of costs.
The cost baseline for the SmartVoice project includes all budgeted costs for the successful
completion of the project.
Project Phase Budgeted Total Comments
Planning $350,000 Includes work hours for all
project team members for
gathering requirements and
planning project
Design $250,000 Includes work hours for all
project team members for
work on SmartVoice
conceptual design
Coding $200,000 Includes all work hours for
coding of SmartVoice
Testing $175,000 Includes all work hours for
testing (including beta testing)
SmartVoice Resource Calendar
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Month
H o
u rs
p e r
m o
n th PM
Programmers
Quality Specs
Tech Writer
Testing Spec
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of SmartVoice software
Transition and Closeout $150,000 Includes all work hours for
transition to operations and
project closeout
QUALITY BASELINE This section should include the quality baseline for the project. The purpose of this baseline is to
provide a basis for ensuring that quality can be measured to determine if acceptable quality
levels have been achieved. It is important for all projects to clearly define and communicate
quality standards and the quality baseline serves this purpose.
The SmartVoice Project must meet the quality standards established in the quality baseline. The
quality baseline is the baseline which provides the acceptable quality levels of the SmartVoice
Project. The software must meet or exceed the quality baseline values in order to achieve
success.
Item Acceptable Level Comments
Voice Recognition At least 98% recognition level
with 2% or less errors in text
Using standard TSI English
language databases
Compatibility No errors associated with
running software with
compatible applications
Using the _______ suite of
applications
Supporting Documentation Less than 1% failure rate in
beta testing new users to run
setup and execute software
functionality
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SPONSOR ACCEPTANCE
Approved by the Project Sponsor:
__________________________________________ Date: ___________________
<Project Sponsor>
<Project Sponsor Title>
