HKSM

An approved, integrated plan that explains how the project will be planned, carried out, tracked, and closed. It consolidates subsidiary plans and baselines and defines governance, methods, and change control.

Key Points

• Integrates all subsidiary plans and baselines into one coherent, approved source of truth.
• Tailored to the delivery approach and context (predictive, agile, or hybrid).
• Defines governance, roles, decision rights, and how changes are evaluated and approved.
• Level of detail matches project complexity and evolves as understanding improves.
• Performance is measured against defined baselines and metrics in the plan.
• Updates to the plan or baselines follow formal change control procedures.

Purpose

• Align stakeholders on how the project will be managed and what success looks like.
• Set clear governance, decision-making processes, and escalation paths.
• Establish scope, schedule, and cost baselines for performance measurement.
• Document methods for quality, risk, communications, resources, and procurement.
• Provide a single reference to guide execution and control activities.

Typical Sections

• Introduction and tailoring decisions.
• Life cycle and delivery approach (predictive, agile, hybrid).
• Scope management approach, requirements approach, and scope baseline.
• Schedule management approach and schedule baseline.
• Cost management approach and cost baseline.
• Quality management plan.
• Resource (people and physical) management plan.
• Communications management plan.
• Risk management plan.
• Procurement management plan.
• Stakeholder engagement plan.
• Change control and configuration management approach.
• Governance model and decision rights.
• Performance measurement and reporting (metrics, thresholds, charts).
• Baseline management and control thresholds.
• Compliance, security, and regulatory considerations.
• Transition and closure approach.

How to Create

• Confirm tailoring and delivery approach based on context, constraints, and organizational standards.
• Identify stakeholders, roles, governance bodies, and decision rights.
• Gather inputs: project charter, business case, enterprise policies, and lessons learned.
• Define scope and requirements approach; outline WBS or product backlog strategy.
• Plan schedule method, estimating techniques, key milestones, and baseline strategy.
• Plan cost estimating, budgeting, funding, and cost baseline.
• Plan quality standards, assurance activities, and verification methods.
• Plan resource acquisition, team development, and responsibility assignments.
• Plan communications: audiences, messages, channels, and cadence.
• Plan risk: identification, analysis, response strategies, and reserves.
• Plan procurement: make-buy decisions, contract types, and vendor management.
• Plan stakeholder engagement strategies and feedback mechanisms.
• Define change control and configuration management procedures and tools.
• Set performance metrics, reporting formats, and define baselines.
• Integrate all subsidiary plans; resolve conflicts and document trade-offs.
• Review with team and key stakeholders; secure formal approval and version control.

How to Use

• Onboard the team and stakeholders by walking through governance, roles, and ways of working.
• Guide execution by referencing agreed methods, standards, and acceptance criteria.
• Support decisions using thresholds, escalation paths, and risk responses defined in the plan.
• Process change requests per the change control procedure; update the plan when approved.
• Track performance against scope, schedule, and cost baselines; report per the reporting plan.
• Coordinate with vendors and stakeholders using the communications and procurement plans.
• Audit compliance with processes and capture lessons to refine future updates.

Maintenance Cadence

• Treat as a living document; update as needed at control points and major events.
• Use formal change requests for significant changes to baselines or governance.
• Predictive projects: review at phase gates and at least monthly; agile/hybrid: inspect at release or iteration boundaries.
• Keep baselines stable; rebaseline only with sponsor and governance approval.
• Maintain version history, approvals, and effective dates in a controlled repository.

Example

• Delivery approach: Hybrid. Timeboxed iterations within stage-gate governance.
• Baselines: Schedule baseline v1.2; cost baseline USD 1.2M; scope baseline defined via WBS level 3.
• Governance: Change control board meets weekly; escalation to sponsor within 2 business days.
• Metrics: SPI/CPI tracked monthly; iteration burndown and velocity reviewed each sprint.
• Communications: Weekly status to sponsor; monthly steering committee; daily team standup.
• Risk: Top risks logged with owners and triggers; 10 percent management reserve held by sponsor.
• Closure: Acceptance criteria approved by product owner; operational handover checklist completed.

PMP Example Question

A stakeholder requests adding a new feature mid-project. To handle the request correctly, which part of the project management plan should the project manager consult first?

1. Scope baseline.
2. The change control procedure section.
3. Communications management plan.
4. Procurement management plan.

Correct Answer: B — The change control procedure section.

Explanation: The change control procedure defines how changes are submitted, analyzed, and approved. Baselines are updated only after the change is approved.