Projects that adopt a traditional or waterfall approach depend on having an integrated project management plan. This plan is approved by the main stakeholders in the project and the project is implemented according to this plan. The performance of the project is measured and compared to the project management plan to ensure that the project is on the right track and progressing as planned.
But what are the frequently asked questions about a project management plan in the PMP exam?
Questions about the components of the project management plan.
Questions about a change in some of the project's artifacts and whether you need to request a change or not.
Questions about performance measurement in relation to the project management plan and whether there is a variance between the actual performance and the plan.
Before answering these questions, we need first to review the components of a project management plan. The project management plan consists of:
Subsidiary plans
Scope Management Plan
Requirements management plan
Schedule Management Plan
Cost Management Plan
Quality Management Plan
Resource Management Plan
Communication Management Plan
Risk Management Plan
Procurement Management Plan
Stakeholder Engagement Plan
Baselines
Scope Baseline
Schedule Baseline
Cost Baseline
Other Information
Change Management Plan
Configuration Management Plan
Development Approach
Project Life Cycle
To answer the previous questions
The components of the project management plan that were mentioned once the plan was approved by the project stakeholders during the project kick-off meeting became part of the project management plan and can only be changed by a formal change request through the integrated change control procedure.
Regarding other project artifacts, which may include some project documents such as the assumption log, stakeholder register, or risk register, the project manager can update any of them without requesting a change.
Project performance is measured in relation to scope, schedule, cost, etc., is compared against the project management plan, to monitor the project performance if it is progressing according to the plan or if there is a variance. If there is a variance, the cause of the variance is known and the necessary corrective or preventive measures are taken to get back on the right track. Sometimes the problem may be with the plan itself that it was unrealistic, or new circumstances have arisen that call for changing the plan (or parts of it), of course, through the integrated control of the change.
