Project Management Checklist
Project Management Checklist
Project Management Checklist
The EPO project management checklists are intended to assist the project manager in planning, executing and controlling projects. The checklists consist of Yes/No questions based on the knowledge areas in the PMBOK 2004 edition. If the answer to a question is No, review the explanation provided and consider what needs to be done in your organization or on your project to move to a Yes answer. Suggested EPO eBooks and Templates are identified to facilitate the change from No to Yes answers. The content list below can be used to jump to a selected topic. PMBOK Knowledge Area Integration Project Management Topic Obtaining Project Approval Initiating the Project Tracking Project Progress Managing Issues & Changes Closing the Project Planning the Scope Planning the Work Planning Activities Estimating Activities Developing the Schedule Monitoring the Schedule Estimating Project Costs Establishing the Budget Monitoring Project Costs Quality Management Inspections Testing Human Resource Planning Managing the Team Stakeholder Identification Communications Planning Reporting Project Status Risk Identification Risk Assessment Risk Response Planning Procurement Planning Evaluating Bids & Proposals Contract Administration
Scope Time
Cost
Quality
Risk
Procurement
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Integration
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Potential Project Identification
EPO e-book
Project Prioritization & Approval
The needs of potential projects will often surpass the Potential Project Project Prioritization available resources and finances. Prioritization will establish Identification, Project & Approval the relative importance of competing projects and screen out Priority & Approval projects will low importance or poor benefits. Prioritization is not an approval process; rather it is a screening and ranking process. The output from prioritization is a list of projects that have been ranked according to their relative importance. Project prioritization should be done by department managers and division Vice Presidents. Project approvals are obtained from executives who belong to a Project Approval Committee. The Project Business Case describes the project costs and benefits to enable a business decision whether or not to proceed with the project. The Business Need Assessment provides an analysis of the high level business requirement being addressed by the project and an opportunity to comment on the relative importance of the project. The cost benefit analysis is performed to determine if the benefits of completing the project outweigh the costs of performing the work Return on Investment (ROI) is a percentage based on the net income from a project divided by the costs of the project. The payback period for a project is the time it takes for the benefits of a project to repay its costs. The Project Approval Committee (or a similar group of senior management) needs to balance the business, financial and technical criteria from a corporate perspective when granting approvals to proposed projects The Project Charter is the document that formally acknowledges the existence of the project. It may be prepared by the Project Sponsor, the Project Manager, or as a collaborative effort. Assumptions are conditions upon which the project is based. They often involve a degree of risk and express situations that the project may encounter. These assumptions must be communicated to project stakeholders and confirmed where required. Constraints are restrictions that will impact project management options. Because these constraints will limit the project management approaches or alternatives available, it is imperative that both Project Sponsor and Project Manager share an understanding of these limitations The Project Manager should be assigned prior to project initiation and his/her authority should be defined and agreed to by the project sponsor.
Are potential projects prioritized by business management prior to approval? Does a Project Approval Committee exist to review and approve projects?
Project Business Case, Project Priority & Approval Project Business Case Project Business Case
Is a business case prepared for each project approval? Is a business need assessment conducted for each potential project?
Is a cost/benefit analysis completed for each project? Are objective criteria such as Return on Investment (ROI) or payback period used to prioritize and approve projects? Are project approvals based on business, financial and technical criteria?
Project Charter
Project Initiation & Scope Planning Project Initiation & Scope Planning
Has the Project Manager been assigned and his/her authority defined?
Project Charter
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Integration
Are project team tracking meetings held to monitor progress and discuss issues? Do project team members report time spent on project activities?
Project team tracking meetings should be held on a regular basis to discuss progress on activities and status of high priority risks and open issues, changes and decisions. Time reports should be completed on a regular basis (daily or weekly) by team members and reviewed by team leads or the project manager. An issue is a situation that occurs outside the control of the project team that must be resolved in order for progress to continue. In most cases, the issue must be resolved by a certain date or there will be an adverse affect on the project deliverables, target dates or costs. The resolution to the issue needs to be documented and understood by all parties affected. Change is a constant on projects; it is a reality of project management. Changes require deviations from project plan and can impact project scope, cost or schedule. The changes must be handled through five Change Management processes: identification, evaluation, recommendation, approval, and incorporation. The Project Steering Committee consists of various project stakeholders. The specific make up of the Project Steering Committee will vary from project to project and will depend on a number of factors The Project Manager, in conjunction with the project team and/or Project Steering Committee will have to make important decisions during the project that will affect its outcome. In some cases the decision will be made by the project team and communicated to those affected. In other cases, the decision will be escalated to the Project Steering Committee for approval. In response to decisions or issue resolutions, actions may be required. Actions are not to be confused with planned tasks or activities in the project schedule. Actions are unforeseen tasks undertaken to bring the project back into alignment with baseline project plan. Project lessons describe what worked well on the project. This will provide an opportunity to carry these successes over to future projects. Challenges and opportunities encountered on the project provide recommendations for improvement on future projects. The purpose of the project review is to: Assess the project management techniques used on the project and recommend changes where applicable, Review the application of the organizations project management framework and identify improvements to the framework based on lessons learned on projects, Assess the feasibility of continuing with the project (or program) and provide validation to terminate the project if necessary. The purpose of the business case review is to compare the achievement of business objectives and project benefits with what was originally forecast The Project Team Review section should be completed by the team and submitted to the project reviewers for inclusion in the Project Closure Report The technical review focuses on the technology and lifecycle processes used on the project.
Team Tracking Meeting Time Report, Tracking View Project Issue, Change Management Log
Project Tracking
Project Tracking
Does a Project Steering Committee exist to help manage issues and changes? Is there a process in place to escalate important project decisions?
Stakeholder Management
Has a review of the project business case been conducted? Has the project team provided an assessment of challenges and successes from their perspective? Has a review of the technology and lifecycle processes been conducted?
Project Review & Closure Project Review & Closure Project Review & Closure
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Scope
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Project Scope Statement
EPO e-book
Project Initiation & Scope Planning
Has the project strategy been defined and agreed to by the project sponsor? Has a scope management matrix been prepared and agreed to by the project sponsor? Has a scope stability assessment been prepared? Has a scope change management approach been prepared?
Project Scope Statement Scope Management Plan Scope Management Plan Scope Management Plan
Project Initiation & Scope Planning Project Initiation & Scope Planning Project Initiation & Scope Planning Project Initiation & Scope Planning
Work Package, WBS Planning View Work Package, WBS Assignment View
Version 7.0
Time
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Activity Plan, Activity Planning View Activity Plan, Activity Planning View
EPO e-book
Activity Planning & Estimating Activity Planning & Estimating
Activity Scheduling
Activity Scheduling
Estimating Activities
Have activity duration and effort estimates been prepared?
Have PERT duration estimating techniques been used? Have resource effort estimates been prepared for each activity?
Using PERT estimating, three duration estimates are prepared for each activity: optimistic (O), pessimistic (P) and most likely (M).
The effort required to perform an activity is dependent on the Activity Plan, Activity resources assigned. Because effort is variable by resource, Estimating View it should be estimated for each resource assigned to an activity. The critical path is defined as the sequence of activities with the longest duration. The critical path activities should be associated with production of important project deliverables and not support tasks.
Activity Scheduling
Resource leveling is necessary when: Activity Plan, One resource is assigned to multiple activities and their Resource Leveling over allocation must be leveled out by extending the duration View of some activities. Too many activities are assigned to one resource and some activities must be transferred to other resources. Multiple resources (with varying availability) are assigned to one activity. There are times in the schedule when resources are not fully occupied and will need work. Activity dependencies can be shifted to level off peaks and fill in valleys of resource usage
Activity Scheduling
Have duration compression techniques been applied to the project schedule? Have schedule milestones been established? Has a baseline project schedule been established?
To meet fixed end dates, the duration of the project critical path may need to be shortened. This duration compression can be accomplished through fast tracking or crashing the schedule. Schedule milestones (evenly distributed throughout the schedule) are established for status tracking and reporting A project baseline provides a foundation for tracking & reporting and managing the effects of change.
Activity Scheduling
Activity Scheduling
Activity Scheduling
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Time
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Cost
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
EPO e-book
Project Estimating & Budgeting
Have estimates been prepared for labor, equipment, supplies, expenses and financing costs to be incurred by the project? Have estimating assumptions been recorded?
Project estimates and budgets are both based on the project accounts which, in turn, must be tied to the corporate financial Chart of Accounts. The structure of the financial chart of accounts will vary from one organization to another Estimating assumptions should be documented for reference during cost control and to help support the management of risks, issues and changes.
Has a project cost management plan been prepared? Have funding release amounts been defined for the project?
Project Budget The project budget, which forms the baseline for cost control, is a time phased distribution of project costs. An estimate becomes a budget when costs are allocated to time phases (usually months or years). The Cost Management Plan establishes how the project Cost Management estimating, budgeting and cost control processes will occur Plan
Typically, funding is based on budget amounts and is Cost Management released in increments before money is spent on the project. Plan
Are earned value performance indices used to forecast project completion costs and variances?
Earned value calculations provide a means of estimating project completion costs based on actual cost and schedule performance.
Earned Value Performance Calculator, Performance Report View, Project Performance Earned ValueReport Performance Calculator, Performance Report View, Project Performance Report
Are actual costs being recorded on the project? Are procedures in place to reestablish the cost baseline?
Actual cost expenditures incurred by the project can be captured using timesheets or the organizations cost accounting process Approved change requests can be incorporated into the project baselines. A new baseline schedule and/or project budget (depending on the nature of the change) is established
Version 7.0
Quality
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
EPO e-book
Quality Management Quality Management Plan Control Chart, Pareto Diagram Quality Management
Inspections
Are project deliverables subjected to formal inspections?
Inspection Report
Inspections provide a mechanism to detect defects early and improve the overall quality of project products. This will, in turn, improve productivity and motivate team members to produce better quality deliverables The primary objective of a deliverable review is to gain Deliverable acceptance of a product so that work can proceed on to the Acceptance next phase or step. This acceptance should be based on predefined acceptance criteria. Acceptance criteria describe the conditions required for the project deliverables to be accepted by the project sponsor. The acceptance criteria should be prepared early in the project; initial acceptance criteria should be included in the Project Charter to ensure that the project sponsor and the project team are in agreement throughout the project.
Does a formal review and acceptance process exist for project deliverables?
Software Inspections & Deliverable Reviews Software Test Planning & Execution
Are acceptance criteria defined for review and testing of project deliverables?
Testing
On software development projects, are test scripts and test cases defined for software testing? Test scripts identify the business functions to be tested. Test cases should be defined for each business function identified in the test script. They are designed to exercise the applications response to both good and bad test data
Test Case
During software testing, are defects recorded and prioritized for resolution?
Tests can be executed either manually or through the use of an automated testing tool that pumps test cases through the application. In both cases it is important to record test results, track defects and assign priorities to deal with defects
Defect report, Defect Software Test Tracking Log Planning & Execution
Version 7.0
Human Resources
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Project Human Resource Plan
EPO e-book
Human Resource Planning
Some of the resources assigned to the project will require training to perform their roles and produce their deliverables. This may occur when: New technology is being adopted on a project, A software package has been purchased, Employees are provided with career development opportunities on projects.
Team Management
Do project team members understand their roles on the project and how they will work together?
Team Charter
Team Development
Have open communication channels been established within the project team?
The groundwork for open communications within the project team is laid with the Team Communications Plan
Team Management
Version 7.0
Communications
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Stakeholder Identification
EPO e-book
Stakeholder Identification & Analysis
Has the stake in the project and the required commitment from each stakeholder been identified?
Have the priorities, support and influence of key stakeholders been identified?
Communications Planning
Has a project stakeholder communications plan been prepared? Has a project meeting plan been prepared? The Project Stakeholder Communications Plan describes how communication will be accomplished with each stakeholder. The Project Meeting Plan identifies (for each type of project meeting) the: Meeting attendees, Objectives of the meeting, Agenda items, Logistics such as timeframe, frequency and location, Technology medium The Project Presentation Plan identifies (for each type of project presentation) the: Presentation audience (individuals or groups), Objectives of the presentation (what will be accomplished), Logistics such as timeframe, frequency, and location, Equipment required for the presentation (projectors, screens, flipcharts, laptops, etc), The presentation type (speech, presentation, video)
Communications Planning
The Project Document Distribution Plan describes: Document Original source of the information (previous project or Distribution Plan deliverable of current project), Project repository location of the deliverable (hyperlink to Web URL or directory folder name), Distribution schedule (completion date or distribution frequency) Distribution list (based on stakeholder communication plan)
Communications Planning
Version 7.0
Communications
The Project Stakeholders Communications plan should describe procedures for: Accessing information between scheduled communications, Updating and refining the communications plan as the project progresses.
Communications Planning
Is project schedule and cost status reported to stakeholders on a regular basis? Is the status of project issues and changes reported to stakeholders on a regular basis?
The status of outstanding (or recently resolved) changes and Project Progress issues should be reported to stakeholders regularly. The Report, Project description of the issue should include the impact on Status Report schedule, cost and deliverable (where known) and a resolution required by date. The description of the change should include a business justification for the change and the impact on cost and schedule. A description of the specific risk and triggering event should be provided along with the risk priority (high, medium, or low). The consequences that arise from the risk occurrence should be described and the approved risk decision (prevent, mitigate, monitor, or accept) should be indicated
Is the status of high priority project risks reported to stakeholders on a regular basis?
Version 7.0
Risk
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Risk Management Plan
EPO e-book
Risk Management
Risk Identification
Risk Identification
Risk Assessment
Has an assessment of each potential risk event been prepared? For each identified risk, an assessment of its urgency, growth, probability, and impact should be conducted. Each risk should be described in sufficient detail to be understood by project team members, sponsors and management. The priority of the risk is assigned based on the probability and impact assessment. Attention should be focused on high probability and high impact risks. Decision trees provide a graphical representation of decisions and quantify the risks and rewards of these decisions. Readiness Assessment footprints are a means to evaluate risks associated with one or more alternatives. These risks are assessed using eight categories of organizational readiness and the corresponding attributes of alternatives under consideration.
Have high priority project risks been identified? Are decision tree techniques used to quantify project risks and opportunities? Has a readiness assessment been done to evaluate risks associated with one or more alternatives?
Readiness Footprint
Readiness Assessment
Risk Response Plan, Risk Assessment & Risk Register Response Planning
Has a risk monitoring plan been implemented for high priority risks?
The Risk Monitoring plan describes: Risk Response Plan, Risk Assessment & The tracking and control of risks (a continuous process Risk Register Response Planning, involving both the project team and management). Risk Management The preventative action plans to be implemented How the status of existing risks and the potential for new risks are to be assessed. Triggers that alert the project team of a risk occurrence and the corrective action to be taken.
Version 7.0
Procurement
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
EPO e-book
Procurement Planning
Statement of Work
Procurement Planning
Has the project team performed a buy vs. build analysis on project deliverables?
Procurement Planning
Alternative Selection
Is a rational process used to select from alternatives and minimize risks from selection decisions?
Alternative Selection
Contract Administration
Has a Contract Management Plan been prepared for each contract on the project?
Contract Administration
Upon completion of the contract, has a contract closure report been prepared?
Contract Administration
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