Top Ten "Must Have" Project Management Documents

Project Management consists of managing your project plan, achieving your project objectives, and delivering the intended project results to your users, customers and management.  As a Project Manager, doing this effectively requires a disciplined project management approach using key project management methods, tools, and documents to guide your progress.  What are these important project management documents?

1. User Requirements & Project Assumptions:
   customer comments, stated and implied requirements, and project assumptions from the customer or management.
2. Feasibility Study:
   industry research, costs, and methods that provide the basis for the financial justification to management.
3. Business Case Justification:
   the financial justification to management derived from the feasibility study, user requirements and project assumptions.
4. Project Charter:
   the basic problem, goals, benefits, and schedule
5. Project Plan:
   the detailed schedule, budget, resources, risks, assumptions, and roles & responsibilities for all stakeholders.
6. Acceptance Plan:
   customer criteria for receipt of project deliverables.
7. Quality Plan:
   the project management policies, procedures, standards, and reviews used to ensure customer acceptance.
8. Communications Plan:
   the stakeholders, what they need to know, and when.
9. Procurement Plan:
   external resources and the tender management process for acquisition.
10. Post Project Review:
    important project achievements and lessons learned from project errors for future project improvements.

Top Ten ” Must Have” Project Management Documents:

1. User Requirements & Project Assumptions
2. Feasibility Study
3. Business Case Justification
4. Project Charter
5. Project Plan
6. Acceptance Plan
7. Quality Plan
8. Communications Plan
9. Procurement Plan
10. Post Project Review

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Posted by Chris Anderson on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 under Top Ten, project management