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Project Management Templates

There is no one approach for how much oversight and documentation is required or when templates should be used. If the project has a high level of risk, cost, or complexity, it is recommended that you work with a PMO project manager to determine the level of rigor required.

An asterisk (*) indicates a required document. These templates should be used for most projects. Non-asterisked templates or documents are available for use at the discretion of the project manager or project sponsor.

Discovery

The purpose of the Discovery phase is to develop the Project Charter to formalize project purpose, objectives, scope and deliverables. Key stakeholders are identified along with potential budget requirements. Project complexity should be classified to ensure the proper level of project management rigor is applied. It’s also a time to look at key resource availability. Project sponsors and stakeholders decide whether to commit to the project.

Templates & Resources	Key Activities	Notes
Project Charter*	Draft Project Charter, review with key stakeholders and seek final approval before continuing with the project.	Define a number of key project elements including a project description, scope definition, and roles/responsibilities. The documentation and review of these key project elements at the beginning of the project helps to avoid misunderstandings or confusion later on.
Complexity Matrix	Review project sizing criteria	Determine the level and type of project management most appropriate for your project.
Resource Allocation Matrix	Determine Resource Requirements	Estimate required resources by role and skill set. Discuss with the manager from each area involved to identify resource availability and gaps.
Business Case	Prepare Business Case	Provide detailed explanation of the scope, cost, and definition of the project. This information is normally required when it is necessary to provide an explanation of the benefits that will be realized as a result of the project. Larger or more complex projects usually require a Business Case.
Request for Information	Conduct Vendor Research	Conduct vendor research to see what technology is currently available in the market place. Contact the procurement office to identify vendors or to prepare a Request for Information (RFI). Consult with peers at other universities to determine potential solutions and their costs, benefits, and risks.

Planning

During this phase, the Project Manager works with the project team to document high level functional and technical requirements. The Project Manager defines high-level resource, cost and time estimates, and begins developing a project plan. This is also the time to develop a project management plan. The project management plan defines how the project is executed, managed, and closed. The project management plan’s content varies depending on the application area and complexity, but may include plans for: scope, requirements, schedule, cost, resources, communication, risk, procurement, and stakeholder engagement.

Templates & Resources	Key Activities	Notes
Requirements Document*	Hold requirements gathering sessions	Work with project team members to document high level functional and technical requirements
Project Schedule (WBS)*	Create high level project schedule	Document project tasks, deliverables, milestones, schedule, and resources. The project schedule will be modified as more is known
Communication Plan*	Create communication plan	Establish agreement on how team will communicate important information during the project
Kick-Off Presentation	Conduct project kick-off meeting	Familiarize the project team with the project, review key elements from the project charter, review project management processes (risk, issue, change management) and receive buy-in from all project participants.
Budget Tracking Spreadsheet	Create project budget and compare the planned budget against actual costs	Compare monthly actual costs against planned budget to determine whether spending is on track
Org Chart with Roles and Responsibilities	Provide view of project team	Show who is on the team and the role they play
System Architecture Document	Define high-level system architecture plan	Prepare high-level architecture diagram showing integration with other systems and internal technical structure
Stakeholder Analysis	Assess key stakeholder groups impacted by the project	Assess each stakeholder group that will be impacted and their level of support for the solution.
Traceability Matrix	Map requirements for testing	Ensure that all requirements defined for a system are tested in the test cases.
Deliverable Alignment Matrix	Outline the project management deliverables for the project	Determine appropriate deliverables to most effectively manage the project
Technical Architecture Committee Review (TAC)	Participate in TAC Review	Prepare Lens information in advance of the TAC review. Participate in review of major technology decisions as they relate to overall IT architecture and facilitate approaches to integration, process, and skills
Request for Proposal (RFP)	Solicit bids for the procurement of goods or services	Submit ticket in Shared Service/ServiceNow for an RFP. Depending upon iterations of the RFP, plan for a 6-8 week process before RFP approval.

Design

This phase is where the actual implementation or execution work begins. Project tasks and deliverables are completed and the project begins to realize the objectives and scoped defined in the Project Charter. Design activities focus on translating the business requirements into system specifications, essentially creating “blueprints” for developing the production system.

Templates & Resources	Key Activities	Notes
Functional Design Specification	Describe how the product will work entirely from the user's perspective	Detail what the finish product will do, how a user will interact with it, and what it looks like
Technical Design Specification	Provide a detailed description of each technical requirement to be implemented as part of the project.	Include a complete technical assessment of each customization object identified to be in scope. Define data structures, relational database models, choice of programming languages and tools, algorithms, etc.
Test Strategy	Develop strategy to be followed for testing	Include detail in strategy when a simple test plan doesn't cover all of the areas of testing that need to be performed to ensure solution is working as planned
Change Management Plan	Prepare and support individuals, teams and organizations in making organizational change	Document sequence of steps or activities in order to drive individual, team or organizational transitions and ensure the projects meets its intended outcomes
Training Strategy	Develop Training Strategy	Create a strategy document when the training required to enable the use of new features is not straightforward or requires training at various levels

Build

Build consists of developing or configuring project hardware, software, and business processes according to the agreed-upon specifications.

Templates & Resources	Key Activities	Notes
Test Plan*	Prepare for testing	Build a comprehensive list of unit, string and integration tests and their overall status and testing dates. The Traceability Matrix should be referenced
Production Cutover Plan	Prepare for Cutover	Describe the activities to bring the system live and transition the business. Include an approach for a dry-run of system cutover process and deployment team activities.
Test Case	Document testing steps	Include the steps to execute the test along with the expected outcome for each step
Training Plan	Outline training plan detail	Include the schedule of end user training courses, and specify the audience, when the training will take place and the location
System Retirement Strategy	Determine if current system will be retired	Outline steps to be followed if the current system or function will be retired as a result of the successful completion of the current project

Testing

The Testing phase ensures that all components of the solution are thoroughly tested, the production system is set up, mock system cut-overs are completed, and the training program is fully executed.

Templates & Resources	Key Activities	Notes
Production Support Plan*	Detail how functional and technical support will be provided	Develop a step-by-step plan to ensure functional and technical solution support is provided to new users/busines
Go/No Go Criteria	Develop Go/No Go Criteria	Provide a detailed assessment as to the feasibility of moving the project forward towards go-live. It must result in sign off from key stakeholders and/or Steering Committee
Test Plan	Conduct Testing and record results	Include documentation which tracks issues encountered during testing of the solution
Contingency Plan	Plan for system rollback	Outline detailed procedures for system rollback or the utilization of manual activities in the event the cutover has adverse issues that cannot be quickly resolved.

Deliver & Close

At Deliver & Close, the new system has been implemented and the project team will monitor it for a pre-defined period to ensure it is stable. All components of the solution are fully installed in a production environment and become operational to business users. The practice of project closeout ensures that all project activities are complete and transferred as appropriate. The project should be assessed, and lessons learned and best practices applied to future projects.

Templates & Resources	Key Activities	Notes
Project Closeout Checklist*	Review project and assess schedule, budget, and resources.	Meet with project team to discuss pluses and deltas during the project. Identify product or services to be transitioned and agree on process and acceptance criteria. Conduct final project closing meeting to ensure no outstanding issues remain. Review lessons learned.
Lessons Learned	Document lessons learned	Bring together any insights gained during a project that can be usefully applied on future projects

Manage

Manage is not a project phase. It occurs through all phases of the project. The document templates provided assist the Project Manager to ensure that the project stays on track and is delivered on time and within budget. It also provides documentation that identifies issues, risks, and decisions that occurred during the project for future reference.

Templates & Resources	Key Activities	Notes
Status Report*	Highlight key project management updates	Ensure that key activities, change requests, risks, issues, action items and decisions are documented on weekly or monthly basis to provide stakeholder update
RAID Log (Risks, Actions, Issues, Decisions)*	Manage and control risks, action items, issues and key decisions	Create at the start of each project so anything impacting the project now or in the future is tracked. Keep log up-to-date through weekly reviews and team meetings
Team Presentation	Present material in professional manner	Use when creating any sort of project presentation to ensure consistency and professionalism across IT Services
Change Request Form	Use to capture an alteration to original scope	Create a change request to formally document and track a requested change to project/td>
Change Request Log	Track Change Requests	Use to record all change requests that are received during the life of a project. As each Change Request is received, it should be logged before it is sent for approval, deferment, or rejection
Monthly Forecast and Actuals	Track/Manage Budget	Track capital and expense spending on a monthly basis against approved budget and WBS. Additionally, track forecast adjustments for subsequent months/periods.