“Assumption is the mother of all f***-ups.” [Everett McGill when playing Marcus Penn]

Abstract

Project management is the discipline of organizing and managing resources so that a project is completed within defined cost, quality, scope & time constraints. A project is a temporary and one-time undertaking to create a product or service which provides beneficial change or added value.

The responsible person to organize and to control a project is called project manager. There are some organizations which train necessary and useful project management skills. See, for example (external link!):

https://www.prince2.com/usa

A good Prince2 © Training Manual you can find at (external link!):

http://pmstudent.com/wp-content/uploads/The-PRINCE2-Training-Manual.pdf

Product Process Matrix

The Prince2 Product Process Matrix: (C = Create, I = Input, U = Update)

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			Project Brief	Project Initiation Document	Project Plan	Stage Plan	Business Case	Issue Log	Quality Log	Communication Plan	Risk Log	Configuration Item Record
Starting a Project	SU4	Preparing a Project Brief	C				C				C
	SU5	Defining Project Approach	I								I
	SU6	Planing an Initiation Stage	I			C					U
Initiating a Project	IP1	Planning Quality	I						C
	IP2	Planning a Project	I		C						U
	IP3	Refining Business Case and Risks	I		U		U				U
	IP4	Setting up Project Control			U					C	U
	IP5	Setting Up Project Files			I			C
	IP6	Assembling a Project Initiation Document	I	C	I		I			I	I
Directing a Project	DP1	Authorising Initiation	I			I					I
	DP2	Authorising a Project		I		I
	DP3	Autorising Stage and Exception Plan		I	I	I	I				I
	DP4	Giving ad hoc Direction						U		I
	DP5	Confirming Project Closure		I						I
Controlling a Stage	CS1	Authorising Work Package				U		U	U		U	U
	CS2	Assessing Progress				U		U	I			U
	CS3	Capturing Project Issues						U
	CS4	Examining Project Issues			I	I	I	U			U
	CS5	Reviewing Stage Status			I	I	I	I	I		I	I
	CS6	Reporting Highlights				I		I	I	I	I
	CS7	Taking Corrective Action				I		U			U	U
	CS8	Escalating Project Issues		I	I	I	I	U			I	U
	CS9	Receiving Completed Work Packages							I			U
Managing Product Delivery	MP1	Accepting a Work Package							U		U
	MP2	Executing a Work Package							U
	MP3	Delivering a Work Package							I
Managing Stage Boundaries	SB1	Planning a Stage		I	I	C		I	U		U
	SB2	Updating a Project Plan			U	I		U			U
	SB3	Updating a Project Business Case			I		U	U			U
	SB4	Updating the Risk Log			U		I	U			U
	SB5	Reporting Stage End				I	I	I	I	U	I	U
	SB6	Producing an Exception Plan		I	I	I		I	U		I
Closing a Project	CP1	Decommissioning a Project		I				I		I		I
	CP2	Identifying follow-on Actions					I	I			I
	CP3	Project Evaluation Review		I	U		I	I	I		I	I
Planning	PL1	Designing a Plan	I	I
	PL2	Defining and Analysing Products										C
	PL3	Identifying Activities and Dependencies									I
	PL4	Estimating
	PL5	Scheduling
	PL6	Analysing Risks									U
	PL7	Completing a Plan			C	C

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Please read my Disclaimer.

Prince2_Product_Process_Matrix.xlsx [16 KB Excel file, open and use at your own risk]

Project Log Files

“The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.” [James Yorke]

Logfiles support a project manager at his day-to-day routine to coordinate and to control a project:

Daily Log - diary to record actions or significant events not stored elsewhere

Issue Log - record and track project issues

Lessons Learned Log - store good and bad experience with methods and products

Quality Log - record checks and sign-offs of quality evaluations

Risk Log - record and monitor identified project risks

Please read my Disclaimer.

Project_Log_Files.xlsx [28 KB Excel file, open and use at your own risk]