Project Plan

Template
Document Control
Document Information
©

Information
Document Id [Document Management System #]
Document Owner [Owner Name]
Issue Date [Date]
Last Saved Date [Date]
File Name [Name]

Document History

Version Issue Date Changes

[1.0] [Date] [Section, Page(s) and Text Revised]

Document Approvals

Role Name Signature © Date

Project Sponsor

Project Review Group

Project Manager

Quality Manager
(if applicable)

Procurement Manager
(if applicable)

Communications Manager
(if applicable)

Project Office Manager

(if applicable)

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Table of Contents

TEMPLATE GUIDE....................................................................................1
1 PLANNING BASIS..............................................................................2
1.1 SCOPE.................................................................................................................................. 2
1.2 MILESTONES.......................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 PHASES................................................................................................................................ 2
1.4 TASKS.................................................................................................................................. 3
1.5 EFFORT................................................................................................................................. 3
1.6 RESOURCES........................................................................................................................... 4

2 PROJECT PLAN.................................................................................4
2.1 SCHEDULE............................................................................................................................. 4
2.2 DEPENDENCIES.......................................................................................................................5
2.3 ASSUMPTIONS........................................................................................................................ 5
2.4 CONSTRAINTS........................................................................................................................ 5

3 PROJECT BUDGET, RISK LOG AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT............................6

3.1 PROJECT BUDGET................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 RISK LOG.............................................................................................................................. 6
3.3 CHANGE MANAGEMENT............................................................................................................6

4 APPENDIX.......................................................................................7

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Template Guide

What is a Project Plan?

The Project Plan is the central document by which the project is formally managed. A
Project Plan is a document which lists the activities, tasks and resources required to
complete the project and realise the business benefits outlined in the Project Business
Case. A typical Project Plan includes:

 A description of the major phases undertaken to complete the project

 A schedule of the activities, tasks, durations, dependencies, resources and timeframes
 A listing of the assumptions and constraints identified during the planning process.

To create a Project Plan, the following steps are undertaken:

 Reiterate the project scope

 Identify the project milestones, phases, activities and tasks
 Quantify the effort required for each task
 Allocate project resource
 Construct a project schedule
 List any planning dependencies, assumptions, constraints
 Document the formal Project Plan for approval.

When to use a Project Plan

Although a summarised Project Plan is identified early in the Project Start-up Phase (within
the Business Case), a detailed Project Plan is not usually created until the project scope has
been formally defined (within a Project Charter) and the project team appointed. The Project
Plan is completed early in the Project Planning Phase and is, typically, prior to a Quality
Plan and the formalisation of a Supplier's contract. Unlike other documents in the Project
Lifecycle, the Project Plan is referenced constantly throughout the project. As the project is
undertaken, the Project Manager tracks the percentage of task completion and the task
completion date (actual vs planned) to assess overall project performance. These statistics
are communicated to the Project Sponsor/Board within a regular Project Status Report.

How to use this template

This document provides a guide on the topics usually included in a Project Plan. Sections
may be added, removed or redefined at your leisure to meet your particular business
circumstance. Example tables, diagrams and charts have been added (where suitable) to
provide further guidance on how to complete each relevant section.

Summary of Project

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 Title of the project:
Location(s) of the project:
Total duration of the …. months
project (months):
Total budget of the project …….USD
(amount):
Program financing requested …….USD
(amount):
Objectives of the project: Overall objective(s):
Specific
objective(s):
Target group(s)3:
Final beneficiaries4:
Estimated results:
Main activities:
3
“Target groups” are the groups/entities who will directly benefit from the action at
the action purpose level.
4
“Final beneficiaries” are those who will benefit from the action in the long term at
the level of the society or sector at large.

1 Planning Basis

1.1 Scope
The activities and tasks defined in the project plan must be undertaken within the scope of
the project. For this reason, reiterate the scope of the project here as defined in the Project
Charter.

1.2 Milestones
A milestone is “a major event in the project” and represents the completion of a set of
activities. Examples of milestones include:

 Business Case approved

 Feasibility Study approved
 Project Charter approved
 Project Team appointed
 Project Office established.

List and describe the key project milestones within the following table:

Milestone Description Delivery Date

Business Case The Business Case has been documented xx/yy/zz
Approved. and was approved by the Project Sponsor.

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1.3 Phases
A phase is “a set of activities which will be undertaken to deliver a substantial portion of the
overall project”. Examples include:

 Project Initiation
 Project Planning
 Project Execution
 Project Monitoring
 Project Closure.

List and describe the major project phases within the following table.

Phase Description © Sequence

Project Initiation Defining the project by developing a business Phase # 1
case, feasibility study and Project Charter as
well as recruiting the project team and
establishing the project office.

1.4 Tasks
A ‘task’ is simply an item of work to be completed within the project. List all tasks required to
undertake each activity, within the following table:

Phase Activity Task Sequence

Project Develop Identify Quality Targets 1st
Plannin Quality Identify Quality Assurance Techniques 2nd
g Plan Identify Quality Control Techniques 3rd
Document Quality Plan 4th

1.5 Effort
For each task listed above, quantify the likely ‘effort’ required to complete the task.

Task © Effort
Identify Quality Targets no. days
Identify Quality Assurance Techniques no. days
Identify Quality Control Techniques no. days
Document Quality Plan no. days

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 1.6 Resources
For each task identified, list the resources allocated to complete the task.

Task © Resource
Identify Quality Targets name
Identify Quality Assurance Techniques name
Identify Quality Control Techniques name
Document Quality Plan name

--> Resource plan

2 Project Plan
2.1 Schedule
Provide a summarised schedule for each of the phases and activities within the project.

ary February March Apr

ID Task Name Duration 5/01 12/01 19/01 26/01 2/02 9/02 16/02 23/02 1/03 8/03 15/03 22/03 29/03
3 INITIATION 16 days

4 Develop Business Case 4 days

10 Perform Feasibility Study 5 days

17 Establish Terms of Reference 4 days

23 Appoint Project Team 3 days

28 Set-up Project Office 3 days

33 Perform Stage-Gate 1 day

34

35 PLANNING 48 days

36 Create Project Plan 9 days

47 Create Resource Plan 5 days

54 Create Financial Plan 5 days

61 Create Quality Plan 4 days

67 Create Risk Plan 6 days

75 Create Acceptance Plan 4 days

81 Create Communications Plan 4 days

87 Create Procurement Plan 4 days

93 Contract Suppliers 6 days

101 Perform Stage-Gate 1 day

102

103 EXECUTION 5 days

104 Build Deliverables 3 days

109 Monitoring and Control 4 days

122 Perform Stage-Gate 1 day

123

124 CLOSURE 7 days

125 Perform Project Closure 6 days

132 Review Project Completion 1 day

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Note: Refer to the Appendix for a detailed project schedule.

Download a free Gantt chart template here

2.2 Dependencies
‘Dependencies’ are logical relationships between phases, activities or tasks which influence
the way that the project must be undertaken. Dependencies may be either internal to the
project (e.g. between project activities) or external to the project (e.g. a dependency between
a project activity and a business activity). There are four types of dependencies:

1. Finish-to-start (the item this activity depends on must finish before this activity can start)
2. Finish-to-finish (the item this activity depends on must finish before this activity can
finish)
3. Start-to-start (the item this activity depends on must start before this activity can start)
4. Start-to-finish (the item this activity depends on must start before this activity can finish).

List any key project dependencies identified by completing the following table:

Activity Depends on © Dependency Type

Set-up Project Office Appoint Project Team Finish-to-start

In the example given above, the activity ”Appoint Project Team” must finish before activity
“Set-up Project Office” can start.

2.3 Assumptions
List any planning assumptions made. For example:

It is assumed that:

 The project will not change in scope

 The resources identified will be available upon request
 Approved funding will be available upon request.

2.4 Constraints
List any planning constraints identified. For example:

 The project must operate within the funding and resource allocations approved
 The project team must deliver the software with no requirement for additional hardware
 Staff must complete the project within normal working hours.

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3 Budget, Risks and Change Management
3.1 Project Budget

List the task and how much the labor and materials necessary to execute it will cost. Then
add your budget to the appropriate column and the actual spend to the next column in order
to track planned costs against actual costs.

WBS Task Labor Materials Budget Actual

1 Blueprints $100 $200 $300 $250

Download a WBS for Excel

Download a free project budget for Excel

3.2 Risk Log

Identify risks to the project and list them here. Include the impact, response, level of risk and
who on the team will own the response if the issue in fact arises.

ID Risk Impact Response Risk Level Risk Owner

1 Supply Schedule Backup High Daniel
delay Supplier Johnson

Download a free risk register template for Excel

3.3 Change Management

When a change request is made, use this log to track its impact, response and whether the
change control board has approved it or not.

Date Request Impact Approval Date Date

Identified Started Completed
1/2/2024 Add Schedule Yes 1/20/2024 1/30/2024
spackle

Download a free Change Log Template for Excel

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4 Appendix
Attach any documentation you believe is relevant to the Project Plan. For example:

 Detailed Project Schedule (listing all project phases, activities and tasks)
 Other documentation (Business Case, Feasibility Study, Project Charter)
 Other relevant information or correspondence.

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