Use Project Management Plan Lite

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Explain the key components of a project management plan lite.
• Build a basic project management plan lite.

Download and Deliver

By now, you know why a project management plan is important and what makes the Salesforce Adaptive Methodology unique. Now let’s dig into the main parts of the project management plan lite template so you’re comfortable filling it out with your customers.

First, download the project management plan lite template in the Resources section. The project management plan lite template helps you answer key questions about the project. Let’s explore each of these in more detail.

Why Are We Doing the Project?

You and your customer answer this question in the following four sections in the template.

Section	Definition	Resources
Project Overview	A project summary that highlights the main reasons for the project.	Statement of work (SOW) The knowledge transfer meeting during which the sales team shares insights with the project team Insights from preliminary customer meetings
Business Objectives	The results and strategies identified by the business to achieve its goals.
Critical Success Factors	The customer’s definition for the solution’s success.
Project Scope	A list of what is and isn’t included in the project.

Now let’s move on to consider the project’s constraints.

Project Constraints

Every project has constraints. What are this project’s constraints? The next four areas in the template help you answer this question.

Section	Definition	Resources
Scope Management	Document the processes to determine or define, manage or keep the customer focused on project goals, and control or manage changes in scope.	Use the processes in the project management plan lite to manage scope, schedule and budget SOW Project estimation documents Insights from preliminary customer meetings Notes from the knowledge transfer meeting
Schedule Management	Document how the schedule for delivery of the project is developed, monitored, and maintained.
Budget Management	Document the process to monitor the project budget and manage variations to the baseline cost—the cost in the SOW or the cost determined at the end of the architect stage.
Flexibility	Understand the customer’s priorities. If the customer had to prioritize between scope, cost, time, or quality, what would they prioritize to meet their business priorities?

Next, let’s identify who does what in the project.

Work Responsibilities

People from both teams get the work done, but it’s critical to be clear on who does what.

Section	Definition	Resources
Project Organization	Identify the roles and responsibilities related to key activities for the partner and customer project teams. Document the escalation path to address any issues.	Preliminary customer meetings SOW The partner’s change process

Finally, let’s figure out how everyone works together throughout the project?

Manage the Project

This phase identifies who is responsible for providing updates and how you will document project status, decisions, and changes.

Section	Activities	Use These Resources
Risks, Actions, Issues, and Dependencies	Document how elements in the Risk, Action, Issues, and Dependencies (RAID) log are categorized, monitored, and managed during the project lifecycle.	Risk budget Partner’s management status reporting Partner communication plan template
Change Control	Define what happens when a change to the scope, schedule, budget, or contractual terms of the project is proposed or required.
Reporting	Document the frequency and elements of status reporting.
Communication Plan	Document the planned project communications and meetings used to govern the project throughout its duration.

What Happens Next?

Congratulations! Now that the deal has closed, it’s time to get to work. After a deal closes, the project manager’s real work begins. Let’s put everything you’ve learned into practice. Once you have all the information, it takes between 1 to 2 hours to complete the project management plan lite template.

After the SOW is signed:

1. Conduct a knowledge transfer meeting. This is the time for the sales team to share the business objectives, scope, and other relevant information.
2. Validate that the SOW is realistic. Talk with your technical architect and other team members to ensure that the SOW makes sense. If the SOW isn’t realistic, discuss with the sales team and then with the customer. Use the scope management and change control processes to make any changes.
3. Identify risks and issues not included in the knowledge transfer. Work with your project team to identify these and document them.
4. Educate the customer on scope and risk management. Now is the time to be up-front about what might go wrong and what to do it if it does.
5. Agree on the project management plan with your customer. Discuss, revise, and repeat until everyone agrees that the project management plan identifies the path to provide the business results they’re looking for. Then, everyone can accept and sign off on the plan.

A project management plan is all about creating clear and concise communication to help make a complicated process easy to understand by all parties.

With the project management plan lite template, you’re on your way to completing the project scope on time and within budget, and creating happy, lifelong customers.

Resources

Template: Project Management Plan Lite