An understanding of project management is becoming increasingly important for professionals working within a project environment. A grasp of PM language,
structures, and processes will help you succeed as a member or leader of a project. This course is designed around the skills and abilities required for the CAPM®
certification and applicable to careers in PM related positions. Gaining the CAPM® certification can help make you more marketable to potential employers.
The final project for this course is a project management plan report. You will create several components of a project management plan, synthesizing the skills
learned in the course and required for the CAPM® into a well-organized deliverable. In addition to the Harvard case study, you will select one of two scenarios
and use the information to craft a project charter, work breakdown structure, stakeholder register, and RACI matrix and then gather the documents into a wellorganized project plan. You will demonstrate your knowledge of CAPM®, specifically the ten knowledge areas and five process groups critical for an
understanding of PMI®. Some of the parts of the plan will be provided, some will be only partially completed, and others will be created using the provided
templates. Use the materials to completely and accurately produce a project charter, stakeholder register, and project scope, in addition to schedule, cost,
procurement, human resource, communications, quality management, and project risk plans. Then, gather the documents into an organized project plan to
show your knowledge of PMI®.
The project is divided into six milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final
submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six. The final project will be submitted in Module Eight.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
Develop project management plan components necessary for effective project delivery
Differentiate between the knowledge areas of PMI® in terms of the associated activities, processes, and place in strategic project management
Analyze process groups of the project life cycle for application to real world project management
Integrate Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK®) methodology and terminology into project management activities
Prompt
You will first develop a short response paper that covers the following components, using appropriate terminology in your response:
Define the ten knowledge areas and five process groups of PMI®, differentiating between them and discussing the activities that occur, inputs, tools,
technologies, and outputs.
How are the knowledge areas and process groups related to each other?
Next, you will develop a project management plan report that covers a series of required components, using appropriate terminology in your response. Using
the Harvard case study, Waterloo Regional Police Services: Reassessing the CIMS Project, begin by selecting one of the two following scenarios to work on as you
complete your project management plan report:
Project Scenario 1 Summary: Technical Redesign
You are the project manager responsible for one of the projects in the overarching CIMS project program portfolio, and you will be managing the technical
redesign due to the new federal requirements. Chief Gravill, your project sponsor, needs the technical software designs to be reviewed and the new federal
requirements incorporated. Then the development, testing, validation, pilot, and deployment plans need a complete reworking. In addition to updates for the
internal platform, updates are needed for all websites to comply with inclusion and disability standards. This project must be completed first before the vendor
selection team can create the new requests for proposal (RFPs) and start vetting the new software vendors. Your development team has been given high-level
sizing of six months and $300,000. The rest of the project team and operational costs are estimated to be $150,000. Chief Gravill says the project cannot take
more than six months and has approved $200,000 more in the budget if the project can be done within four months. For complete project details, review the
Project Scenario One: Technical Redesign document.
Project Scenario 2 Summary: Procure a New Software Vendor
The technical redesign has been completed, and you are the new project manager taking over one of the critical projects in the overarching CIMS project
program portfolio; you need to select, contract, and onboard the new software vendor. Chief Gravill, your project sponsor, wants to get the project back on
track and would like you to lead the new software vendor project. Since the past project was unable to identify a vendor and there are new federal
requirements, this new project will be part of the critical path needed for CIMS program to get back on track. The project will involves creating new requests for
proposal (RFPs) with the new requirements, vetting the best vendors, negotiating the new contract within budget, and onboarding the new vendor for the
project. In addition to meeting the federal platform requirements, all of the regional offices need their websites updated to meet the new inclusion and disability
requirements identified by the project team. Chief Gravill wants this project completed within the next two months, but it should not take more than five
months. The operating budget for the project is $100,000, and the new vendor contract must be no more than $8.6 million for the internal software and $1
million for the website updates. For complete project details, review the Project Scenario Two: Procure a New Software Vendor document.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed in your project management plan report:
I. Knowledge Areas
A. Differentiate between each of the ten knowledge areas and support your response with activities and processes from each knowledge area.
B. Explain the activities and processes associated with each knowledge area in terms of their places in strategic project management, using
examples to illustrate your explanations.
C. Discuss the inputs, outputs, tools and techniques associated with each knowledge area. Use examples to help clarify if necessary.
D. Correctly apply discipline-specific terminology throughout your discussion of the knowledge areas to show your knowledge of PMBOK.
II. Process Groups
A. Differentiate between the five process groups of PMI® by listing the major activities that are associated with each group.
B. Discuss the flow of the project life cycle, including how the various process groups transition during a project.
C. Discuss the inputs, outputs, tools and techniques associated with each process group. Use examples to help clarify if necessary.
D. Correctly apply discipline-specific terminology throughout your discussion of the process groups to show your knowledge of PMBOK.
III. Project Charter: Your project charter is the first step in completing your project management plan report. The following artifacts, from sections III–XII,
will be compiled together for submission of your report.
A. Introduce your project, outlining the purpose of the plan, using discipline-specific terminology. Your introduction should describe the purpose of
the project plan for pertinent stakeholders in order to facilitate the management of the project throughout the various management activities.
B. Your charter should completely and accurately cover the components required by the charter template.
IV. Project Stakeholder Management Plan: Your stakeholder management plan should completely and accurately represent the necessary components
from the template, including:
A. Names and titles of stakeholders
B. Communication requirements
C. The interest each stakeholder has in the project
D. Project requirements for each stakeholder and expectations
E. Level of influence over the project ranking and level of power in the project ranking
F. Stakeholder project impact ranking
V. Project Scope Management Plan: Your project scope management plan should completely and accurately represent the necessary components of the
project, including:
A. Scope statement
B. Work breakdown structure (WBS)
C. Scope verification
D. Scope control
VI. Project Schedule Management Plan: Your project schedule management plan should completely and accurately represent the necessary components of
the project, including:
A. The schedule management approach
B. An activity list
C. A network diagram
D. Project sequencing and the critical path for your project
VII. Project Cost Management Plan: Your project cost management plan should completely and accurately represent the necessary components, including:
A. The cost management approach
B. Project costs
C. Reporting format
D. Cost variance response process
E. Cost change control
F. Project budget
VIII. Project Procurement Plan: Your procurement management plan should completely and accurately define the procurement requirements for the project
and how it will be managed, from developing procurement documentation through contract closure. Ensure you include the following necessary
components:
A. Definition of procurements
B. Contract type
C. Cost determination basis
D. Contract approval process
E. Performance metrics for procurement activities
IX. Project Resources Management Plan: Your project resources management plan should consist of:
A. The RACI Matrix
B. The staffing plan
X. Project Communications Management Plan: Your project communications plan should consist of a complete communication matrix that completely and
accurately represents the necessary components from the template.
XI. Project Quality Management Plan: Your project quality management plan should be concise and include the following components:
A. The quality requirements
B. Quality assurance
C. Quality control
XII. Project Risk Management Plan: Your project risk management plan should completely and accurately describe:
A. The risk management approach
B. Risk register
C. Control risk process