BUS605: Strategic Project Management

The detailed project plan is an output of the project planning framework. Once the tasks are identified and their sequence, resources required, and time to complete estimated, it is a relatively simple step to determine the project's schedule and budget. All of this information can be entered into a project management software package that can determine the start and end dates for the project, as well as the final cost.

Once completed, the project plan should be reviewed by the project manager, the project sponsor, and the project team to make sure it is complete, accurate, and, most important, able to achieve the project's MOV. Generally, the project plan will go through several iterations as new information becomes known or if there are compromises with respect to scope, schedule, and budget. In addition, many of the details of the project plan are summarized in the project charter in order to provide a clearer picture as to how the plan will be carried out. Once the project plan is approved, it becomes the baseline plan that will serve as a benchmark to measure and gauge the project's progress. The project manager will use this baseline plan to compare the actual schedule to the estimated schedule and the actual costs to budgeted costs.