Project Management Plan

Phase: Planning | Audience: Internal | Project: WEB-2026-01 Corporate Website Development

Understand it first

In simple words: The Project Management Plan is the umbrella plan. It explains how the project will be run and points to all the smaller plans (scope, schedule, cost, risk and so on) and the approved baselines.

Think of it like: The master file for building a house that says: the drawings are here, the budget is here, the safety plan is here, and this is how we will check progress each week.

When is it created?	Planning phase (9 Oct 2026)
Who prepares it?	Project Manager
Who approves or uses it?	Project Sponsor
What happens next?	Used to run and control the project until closure

How it connects to other documents

It lists every other planning document in this section (lessons 14–23).
Its variance thresholds decide when the EVM tracker turns Red.
Tailoring decisions explain why some plans were combined.

The sample document

Below is the actual document for project WEB-2026-01. Read the purpose first, then go through each numbered section.

Issued by: [Your Company] Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Purpose: The umbrella plan: how this project will be run, monitored and controlled, and where each subsidiary plan and baseline lives.

Item	Detail
Document no.	WEB-2026-01/PMP
Version	1.0
Date	9 Oct 2026
Owner	Project Manager
Audience	Internal
Phase	Planning
Status	Approved

1. Life cycle and approach

A predictive (waterfall) life cycle with five phases and a client sign-off gate at the end of design and of testing. Designs are reviewed in short iterations inside the design phase to catch feedback early.

2. Baselines

Baseline	Made up of	Documents
Scope baseline	Scope statement, WBS and WBS dictionary	WEB-2026-01/SS, /WBS
Schedule baseline	Approved schedule with milestone dates	WEB-2026-01/SCH
Cost baseline	₹5,03,800 (direct cost + contingency)	Project Budget v1.0

3. Subsidiary plans

Plan	Summary	Document
Scope management	Scope controlled through the WBS; any addition is a change request	SS, WBS
Schedule management	Updated weekly; critical path tracked; 2-day buffer before UAT	SCH
Cost management	Earned value measured weekly from timesheets and invoices	Project Budget, EVM tracker
Quality management	Defined targets, test types and exit criteria	QTP
Resource management	Roles, allocation and RACI	RAM
Communications management	Meetings, reports, escalation matrix	CMP
Risk management	Register reviewed every Monday; top risks in weekly report	RR
Procurement management	Hosting, domain and licences bought in client's name	PP
Change management	Written change requests with cost and time impact	CHP
Stakeholder engagement	Engagement strategies by stakeholder	SR

4. Variance thresholds

Measure	Green	Amber	Red (escalate to sponsor)
Cost performance (CPI)	0.95 or higher	0.90–0.94	Below 0.90, or forecast above cost baseline
Schedule performance (SPI)	0.95 or higher	0.90–0.94	Below 0.90, or a milestone at risk
Scope	No unapproved change	Change requested	Change implemented without approval

5. Tailoring decisions

No separate benefits plan: benefits are the client's and tracked by them.
Risk and issue reviews are combined into one weekly 30-minute meeting.
Quality and test plans are combined into one document because the project is small.

6. Approval

Signed for

Signature

Date

Project Sponsor (Delivery Head)

Name and signature: ____________

Date: ________

Project Manager

Name and signature: ____________

Date: ________

WEB-2026-01/PMP · v1.0 · Internal. Bracketed items such as [Client Name] are placeholders.

Key takeaways

Baselines = approved scope, schedule and cost that progress is measured against.
Set clear thresholds for Green, Amber and Red before problems happen.
Tailor the plan to the project size; small projects need lighter plans.

Common mistakes to avoid

Copying a huge template that nobody reads.
No thresholds, so nobody knows when to escalate.
Not updating baselines after approved changes.

Next lesson: 14. Scope Statement