A Guide for Preparing Software Project
Management Plans
John M. Glabas
Richard E. Fairley
Overview
• Software Project Management Plan (SPMP)
• Outline of SPMP
• Detailed Description of SPMP
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Front Matter
Overview
References
Definitions
Project Organization
Managerial Process
Technical Process
Work Activity Plan
Additional Components
• Summary
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Software Project Management Plan (SPMP)
• The controlling document for a software project
• Specifies the technical and managerial approaches to
be used in developing a software product
• Related plans for the project must be incorporated
such as
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Configuration management
Quality assurance
Verification
Validation
• There must be sufficient detail to ensure that the
resulting software product will satisfy the needs,
software requirements, and contractual agreements for
the project
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Outline of SPMP
Title Page
Preface / Revision Information
Table of Contents / List of Figures / List of Tables
1. Overview
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1.1 Scope
1.2 Purpose
1.3 Project Deliverables
1.4 Evolution of the SPMP
2. References
3. Definitions / Glossary
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Outline of SPMP - 2
4. Project Organization
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4.1 Process Model
4.2 Organizational Structure
4.3 Organizational boundaries and Interfaces
4.4 Project Responsibilities
5. Managerial Process
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5.1 Management Objectives or Priorities
5.2 Assumptions, Dependencies, and Constraints
5.3 Integral Processes
5.4 Scope Management
5.5 Schedule Management Plan
5.6 Budget Management Plan
5.7 Resource Management Plan
5.8 Quality Assurance Management Plan
5.9 Risk Management Plan
5.10 Resource Procurement Plan
5.11 Communications Management Plan
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Outline of SPMP - 3.
• 6. Technical Process
– 6.1 Product Scope
– 6.2 Methods, Tools, and Techniques
– 6.3 Software Documentation
• 7. Work Activities Plan
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7.1 Activity Definitions and Scope
7.2 Activity Dependencies
7.3 Activity Scheduling
7.4 Activity Budget
7.5 Activity Resource Requirements
• 8. Additional Components
– 8.1 Annexes
– 8.2 Index
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Front Matter
• Title page
– Title
– Revision notice sufficient to uniquely identify the document
• Preface
– Scope of activities
– Purpose
– Intended audience
• Revision sheet
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Version number of the current document
Date of release
Approval signature
List of pages that have been changed in the current version
List of version numbers
Dates of release for all previous versions
• Table of contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables
– Titles and page numbers for clause headings, subclause headings, and
figures and tables
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Overview
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Scope
– Define the scope of both the project and the product to be delivered
– Identify the activities that shall be performed in order to deliver a product
– The identified products shall be described in a way that clarifies what the product
will and will not do
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Purpose
– State the business need to be satisfied by the project
– Describe the relationship of this project to other projects and how it will be
integrated with other projects or ongoing work processes
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Project Deliverables
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List the work products that will be delivered to the customer
Delivery dates
Delivery locations
Quantities required to satisfy the terms of the project agreement
Evolution of the SPMP
– Plans for producing both scheduled and unscheduled updates to the SPMP
– Methods of disseminating the updates
– Mechanisms used to place the initial version of the SPMP under change control
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Definitions
• Define, or provide references to the definition of all
terms
• Each Definition should be numbered as a subclause
• Define Acronyms required to properly interpret the
SPMP
• Acronyms shall be included within the definitions
clause
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Project Organization
• Process Model
– Define the relationships among major project functions and acivities by
specifying the timing of
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Major milestones
Baselines
Reviews
Work products
Project deliverables
Signoffs
– Describe using a combination of graphical and textual notations
– Include project initiation and project termination activities
• Organization Structure
– Describe the internal management structure of the project
– Use graphical devices such as organizational charts or matrix diagrams
to show the lines of authority, responsibility, and communication within
the project
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Project Organization - 2.
• Organization Boundaries and Interfaces
– Describe the administrative and managerial boundaries between
the project and each of the following entities
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Parent organization
Customer organization
Subcontracted organizations
Or any other organizational entities that interact with the project
• Project Responsibilities
– Identify and state the nature of each major project function and
activity
– Identify the individuals responsible for each major project
function and activity
– A matrix of functions and activities versus responsible
individuals may be used to show project responsibilities
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Managerial Process
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Management Objectives or Priorities
– Describe the philosophy, goals, and priorities for management activities during
the project
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Frequency and mechanisms of reporting
Relative priorities among requirements, schedule, and budget of the project
Risk management procedures
Statement of intent to acquire, modify, or use existing software
Assumptions, Dependencies, and Constraints
– State the assumptions on which the project is based
– State the external events on which the project depends
– State the constraints under which the project is to be conducted
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Integral Processes
– Plans for the integral processes necessary for the successful completion of the
software process
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Configuration management
Software quality assurance
Verification
Validation
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Managerial Process - 2
– The following shall be specified for each process
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Responsibilities
Resource requirements
Schedules
Budgets
Project Scope Management
– Include the plan for managing the scope of the project
– The project scope specifies the project work processes that shall be completed in
order to deliver a product
– Include procedures for integrating scope changes into the SPMP
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Schedule Management Plan
– Include the plan for ensuring that the project is completed on time
– Specify the documents that serve as inputs or that place constraints on the
schedule
– Specify the tools or methodology that will be used to manage the schedule
– Include a description of factors most likely to result in schedule changes and the
degree to which the schedule would be affected
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Managerial Process - 3
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Budget Management Plan
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Include the plan for ensuring that the project is completed within the established budget
Specify the documents that serve as inputs or that place constraints on the budget
Specify the tools or methodology that will be used to manage the budget
Include a description of factors most likely to result in budget changes and the degree to
which the budget would be affected
Describe the method to be used in responding to changes to the established budget and the
process for incorporating those changes into the SPMP
Resource Management Plan
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Include the plan for managing the resources required for successful completion of the
project
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Estimates of the numbers and required skill levels of personnel
Estimates of the numbers and required quality attributes of material resources
Nature of service contracts
Describe the point in the project when each resource will be required
The method for obtaining the resource
The duration of need for each resource
Training requirements of human resources
Specify the methods used to estimate material, service, and human resource requirements
Include a description of factors most likely to result in resource requirement changes and the
degree to which the resource requirements will be affected
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Managerial Process - 4
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Quality Assurance Management Plan
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Include the plan for managing the quality of both the process and the project
Specify the standards that are integral to the project and the methods and resources required
to implement and ensure compliance with those standards
Include a description of factors most likely to result in project quality changes and the degree
to which the project quality will be affected
Indicate how changes to project quality will be identified and the method by which identified
changes will be documented, communicated, and controlled
Risk Management Plan
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Include plans for managing the risk factors associated with the project
Describe the methods that will be used to identify risk factors, as well as evaluate the
potential impact of the identified risks
Include mechanisms for tracking the various risk factors, evaluating changes in the level of
associated risk, and responses to those changes
Risk factors that should be considered
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Contractual risks
Technological risks
Size and Complexity risks
Personnel Acquisition and Retention risks
Customer Acceptance risks
Include the degree to which identified risks will affect the project
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Managerial Process - 5.
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Resource Procurement Plan
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Include the plan for managing the project procurement process
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Equipment
Estimates of computer time
Computer hardware and software
Service contracts
Facilities
Transportation
Training
Include a description of the procurement process, including assignment of responsibility for
all aspects of the process
Include the process for obtaining tangible and intangible resources
Include a description of factors most likely to result in procurement changes and the degree
to which the project will be affected
Communications Management Plan
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Include the plan for managing communications related to the project
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Reporting mechanisms
Report formats
Information flows
Review and audit mechanisms
Tools and techniques to be used in monitoring and controlling adherence to the SPMP
Indicate how changes resulting from communications failures will be identified and the
method by which the changes will be documented, communicated, and controlled
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Technical Process
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Product Scope Management
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Include the plan for managing the scope of the product
Specify the methods by which the project scope will be measured against the product
requirements
Include the assessment of the probability of changes to requirements and the resulting
product scope
Methods, Tools, and Techniques
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Include the plan that describe
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Computing system
Development methodologies
Team structures
Programming language
The technical standards, policies, and procedures governing development and/or
modification of the work products and project deliverables shall be included
Software Documentation Plan
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Include the description of the documentation plan for the software project
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Style guide
Naming conventions
Documentation formats
Provide a summary of the schedule and resource requirements for the documentation effort
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Work Activity Plan
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Activity Definitions and Scope
– Specify the activities to be completed in order to satisfy the project requirements
– A diagram of the breakdown of activities into subactivities and tasks (a work
breakdown structure) may be used to depict hierarchical relationships among
activities
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Activity Dependencies
– Specify the ordering among project activities and associated tasks to account for
the dependency relationships among activities
– Techniques such as dependency lists and matrices, directed graphs, and critical
path methods could be used to indicate activity dependencies
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Activity Scheduling
– Specify the schedule for various activities taking into account the precedence
relationships and the required milestone dates
– Schedules may be expressed in absolute calendar time or in increments relative
to a key product or project milestone
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Activity Budget
– Specify the allocation of budget to the various activities and tasks
– An earned value scheme may be used to allocate budget and to track
expenditures
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Work Activity Plan - 2.
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Activity Resource Requirements
– Specify estimates of the total resources required to complete the activity as a
function of time
– Typical resources that should be specified
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Personnel
Computer time
Support software
Computer hardware
Office and laboratory facilities
Travel budget
Maintenance requirements for product activities and tasks
– An earned-value scheme may be used to allocate resources and to track resource
utilization
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Additional Components
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Annexes
– Include either directly or by reference
– Provide supporting details that could detract from the SPMP if included in the
body of the SPMP
– For example
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Detailed personnel lists
Details of cost estimates
Detailed work breakdown structures
Supplementary information that the audience may want to know
Glossary of terms
Index
– An index to the key terms and acronyms used throughout the SPMP is optional
but recommended if it will improve the usability of the SPMP
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