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Planning activities are the most critical aspect of project management due to the high number of interrelated project tasks. Poor planning often contributes to projects failing to meet expectations. Therefore, examiners must carefully assess the adequacy of an organization's project planning activities. Examiners should focus their assessments on management's ability to develop and employ project plans that are appropriately tailored to match a project's characteristics and risks.
The initiation phase is when a project request is submitted. Requests should justify the rationale for a project (present a business case), identify desired system features and, to the extent possible, define the overall project scope. The scope of a project includes ancillary items such as information requirements, network interfaces, and hardware components that support and interact with a requested product. Management should determine if the business case justifies the project scope (by considering issues such as tangible and intangible benefits, estimated costs, projected return-on-investment, etc.) and decide if the project is feasible. If management approves a request, the scope documentation serves as the basis for developing the project plan.
Project plans refine the scope documentation by further identifying the specific activities and resources required to complete a project. Plans should address project work activities and project management activities. Work activity planning involves organizing project teams, scheduling tasks, allocating resources, etc. Project management planning involves establishing project and risk management procedures, documenting project objectives and assumptions, defining documentation and reporting standards, etc.
Formal project plans should include: