Project Schedule (WBS) with Baseline Review Checklist
Checklist Description: This checklist captures common elements that should be present in University
Services Project Plan. MS Project is the tool expected to be used within University Services to define and
track projects. The MS Project Plan Review is required by the PMO for Large projects during the project
Definition Phase, but recommended for all projects periodically to stimulate thought, guide brainstorming, and
to ensure the tasks, activities, and resources required for a successful project delivery per stated business
case objectives are defined.
Project Name:
Review Date:
Assessment and Recommendations:
Approved with revisions
Approved with recommendations
Not approved
Notes:
Reviewer:
Signature:
Artifacts Reviewed:
Combined Project Charter/Plan
Project Schedule (WBS) with baseline
Prioritized Requirements Matrix
Target Stakeholder List
Project Management Plan
Business Needs Assessment
MS Project Plan Review Project Team Pre-requisites
Comments
Prepare and provide the following print materials for each reviewer:
Summary MS Project Gantt diagram condensed to 1 page
Detailed Task List (Enterprise Gantt View) with % Complete column inserted
and Notes at the end of the MS Project Plan (Gantt diagram not printed).
Resource Usage Sheet Summary (no detailed tasks) with Timescale set to
Years (Middle Tier) and Months (Bottom Tier)
Project Issues/Action Item log
Provide the MS Project Plan on-line via laptop or overhead projector for additional
views or details as required.
Host a project team facilitated review using this checklist PRIOR to the scheduled
PMO MS Project Plan Review.
MS Project Plan (Enterprise Gantt View) Best Practices
Comments
Is the MS Project Plan based on the PMO Large/Enterprise or Fast Track project
template (i.e. broken out by SDLC and includes appropriate project administration
tasks?
Are major project deliverables identified in the WBS and appear complete given
the current knowledge and understanding of work required?
Are tasks/activities that do not have a qualified work effort estimate so indicated
with a ‘?’?
Are there tasks/activities define and resource any unqualified estimates or
unstaffed activities?
Do key summary tasks include a closing milestone or key deliverable?
Is the project team using MS Project productivity enhancements, such as the
Task Usage report found in Reports -> Custom and defined within a specific date
range of the current week plus 1-3 weeks out to provide a time-based detailed
work plan for each resource?
Is there adequate time for project administration activities, such as project team
© 2012 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Revised March 6, 2016
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Project Schedule (WBS) with Baseline Review Checklist
meetings, issues resolution, etc?
Have qualified work effort estimates been generated by staff expected to perform
the work?
Has a systematic approach been taken by the project team to develop the
summary tasks (Work Breakdown Structure – WBS) within the appropriate SDLC
phases?
Have summary tasks (WBS) been described as a Noun to signify a specific and
tangible deliverable (e.g., Communication Plan) while detail tasks have been
described with Action Verbs to describe activities required to deliver the WBS
component (e.g., Develop statement of work for contract developer)?
Are there any single tasks/activities estimated to be over 40 hours or under 8
hours in duration?
- Can it be explained?
Have the Estimate To Completion (ETC) amounts in the project plan been
converted to the project budget and funding established?
Does the MS Project Plan have a specific owner responsible for changes,
updates and management?
Are project team members engaged in ANY activities that are not described in the
MS Project Plan or that do not roll up to a WBS summary task?
Does the core project team understand the concepts of base lining and change
control management to manage the approved plan going forward?
Does the project manager understand the 3 Tasks Types (Fixed Work, Fixed
Duration and Fixed Units) and how each impacts the MS Project Plan?
Have all the MS Project Outline Codes been set and updated, such as Program
alignment, % Funded, SDLC and sponsorship information?
Are the final schedule and work effort estimates actionable and realistic? If not,
are the underlying risks and issues called out for resolution in the project
Issues/Action Items log?
MS Project Plan (Resource Usage) Best Practices
Comments
Are any resources scheduled to exceed 150 hours in any month during the
project schedule?
Are there generic resources on the MS Project Plan?
- What roles are not yet staffed?
- What tasks are not yet assigned?
- Why?
Are any resources assigned to the project less than 25%?
Is this identified as a project risk (significant numbers of core project resources
assigned thin across many projects indicates a factor of delivery risk – including
quality – and dependency on other projects that needs to be recognized)?
Are non University team members (consultants and contractors) costed at their
contract rate?
Is actual contract labor validated from actual invoices against MS Project Plan
estimates as part of contract invoice approval for payment?
Have materials and non-labor costs been calculated in included?
Does the core project team have a plan for recording extended team member
time into the plan – primarily business users or other SMEs not expected to
directly enter time using the MS Project web access timesheet?
© 2012 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Revised March 6, 2016
Page 2