Pre-Project and Start-Up (SU)

A project is defined as a temporary organisation created for the purpose of delivering business products with a degree of uniqueness according to an agreed Business Case.

A project mandate must come from those managers and those authorised to allocate duties and funds, subject to delegated authority ("corporate /programme management").

Authorised individuals must raise a Project Mandate. This should state the basic objectives, scope, quality, and constraints and identify the customer, user, and other interested parties.

The responsible manager must appoint the Project Executive, to represent the interests of the sponsoring organisation. They may, and should, appoint themselves in this role.

The Project Executive must appoint a Project Board and a Project Manager. The Board must consist of the (a) Project Executive, representing the business interests, (b) a Senior User, representing customer interests (internal or external), and (c) a Senior Supplier, representing the producer's interests. These interests constitute the Project Assurance. Project Assurance also ensures that the project is adhering to the Quality Management System (QMS).

No person should have multiple roles on the Project Board. The Project Manager should not be a member of the Project Board.

The Project Manager must produce a Project Brief. The Project Brief must include an outline Business Case and Project Product descriptions, based on the Project Mandate. The Project Brief should include project approach, role descriptions for the Executive, the Project Manager, and other members of the project team. The Project Brief must also include a stage plan for initiating a project (IP).

The Project Product Description must have the approval of all members of the Project Board. The Business Case must be approved by the Project Executive.

The Project Manager will review previous lesson reports relevant to the Project, initiate a Lessons Log, and incorporate appropriate material. The Project Manager will initiate a Daily Log summarising all activity associated with the Project and update the log on a daily basis whilst the project is running.

Directing a Project (DP)

The Project Board has the role of providing ad-hoc direction with the Executive responsible for decisions. The Project Board reviews reports provided by the Project Manager and controls through a small number of decision points and when exceptions are raised.

The Project Manager must provide the Project Board the Project Brief as part of Start-Up. The Project Board must review the Brief and may authorise initiation of a project.

The Project Manager must provide the Project Board the Project Initiation Document (PID) and part of Initiating a Project (IP). The Project Board must review the Project Initiation Document and may authorise a project.

The Project Board must provide authorisation to the Project Manager to continue a project according to the planned stages in the Project Initiation Document.

A Project Manager must inform the Project Board when an exception occurs, where tolerances are exceeded from the Plan. The Project Board may direct the Project Manager to provide an Exception Report.

The Exception Report must include an updated Project Plan, Business Case, and Risk Log, an explanation on why exception occurred. The Project Board may accept the report. If approved the Exception Plan replaces the previous Stage or Project Plan.

The Project Board must authorise the closure of a project. It may instruct the Project Manager to initiate closure of a project prematurely or according to the Project Plan.

Project Management Initiation

The Project Manager, in consultation with the Project Board, will create a Project Initiation Document. The Document should include a Risk Management Strategy, a Configuration Management Strategy, a Quality Management Strategy, a Communications Management Strategy, Project Controls, Project Plan, and Product Product Descriptions. It should also include an updated Business Case, Project Team Structure, and role descriptions. The Project Plan may also include a Benefits Review Plan. The Project Plan outlines what procedures and Project Controls will be followed to achieve the customer's quality expectations.

The Project Manager will produce a project management team, including staff, roles, time, and equipment. The project manager will be responsible for confirming the availability of these resources from operational managers. This team is subject to approval by the Project Executive. The Project Manager, in consultation with team managers or members, will identify activities and dependencies for both management and specialist activities as a means to develope accuracy in the Project Plan and tolerances.

A Project may include a Project Support role who is responsible for ensuring a central point of contact for documentation, registers, logs, configuration records, calenders, etc. If a Project Support role is not adopted, the Project Manager must take up this role.

In initiating a project, the Project Manager will create registers to record activities and incidents as the project develops. These include a Risk Register, Issues Register, a Quality Register, and a Configuration Item Records.

The Project Manager will submit the Project Initiation Document to the Project Board and announce this as stage boundary approaching. The Project Board may approve the Project Initiation Document and therefore authorise the project (c.f., V1000-0002 Directing a Project (DP)). When approved it invokes the process for managing Stage Boundaries and closes the initiation stage.

Controlling a Stage (CS)

The Project Manager may authorise a work package subsequent to the authorisation of a stage or project. The Work Package needs to be approved and accepted by the relevant Team Manager. A Work Package may include the terms of reference for the work, the time and cost, reporting requirements, interfaces with products. The Project Manager should also include information on Risks, Configuration Management processes and the resources that are expected to be available and used.

Checkpoint Reports will be created by the Team Manager and filed using to the Project Management Portal. The Project Manager assesses progress by reviewing Checkpoint Reports, Work Packages, and the Quality Log. The Project Manager will assess time and resources and update the Stage Plan and Configuration Item Records as necessary.

Project Issues can be raised by anyone involved in the Project. They include various queries, Requests for Change and Off-Specifications. Each Project Issue will be recorded in the Issue Log with a unique identifier, author, date, issue type, and an acknowledgement of receipt. Responsibility for checking the issue log resides with the Project Manager.

The Project Manager is responsible for categorising issues in terms of urgency and importance and update the Risk Log and inform the risk owner if required. If the issue effects the organisation's Programme then it will be brought to the attention of Project Executive.

The Project Manager must check that progress during a stage is adhering to the Stage Plan and is within Tolerances. This checking process may include: a) Checking the Quality Log, b) Checking the Configuration Item Record to ensure all products have been listed, c) Checking the use of project resources, d) Reviewing the status of Project Issues and escalating them to the Board if an Exception Report is required.

The Project Manager will provide a Highlight Report to the Project Board on a regular basis as established in the Plan. The Highlight Report should contain dated achievements since the last report, expected achievements in the next period, budget and schedule, actual and potential problems and resolution suggestions. The Project Manager will present any updates to the Stage Plan, Product Description, Configuration Item Record etc., as required in the Highlight Report. The Project Manager will report to the Project Board when a stage boundary is approaching.

A review of a Stage may result in the need for corrective action, for example an actual or possible effect outside Tolerance margins or in meeting Quality targets. The Project Board shall be informed be the Project Manager if the process goes beyond these Tolerance margins and the Project Plan is no longer in an approved state; c.f., V1000-0006 Managing Stage Boundaries (SB)

Managing Product Delivery (MP)

Team Managers and the Project Manager will work closely together in order to create an agreed Work Package. The Work Package will be discrete within a single Stage. The Work Package should include constraints, delivery times, and communication channels.

Team Managers will determine the status and development of a Work Package, control and evaluate risks and effort, answer team member's queries, capture and record resources in a work log, determine product status and compliance with quality requirements, provide regular Checkpoint Reports to the Project Manager as well as notifications if Tolerance levels are at risk.

When a Work Package is complete the Team Manager will (a) obtain the recipients acceptance of the product, as defined in the Work Package, give the completed products to the Configuration Librarian for inclusion in Configuration Management, and inform the Project Manager of completion.

Managing Stage Boundaries (SB)

The Project Plan includes stage outlines. The Project Manager may develop this further to create the Stage Plan which is then reported the Project Board. The Project Board will approve both the current stage end and the next Stage Plan together. The Project Manager is responsible for this process, Project Assurance should check the plan to ensure it is continuing to meet customer and user expectations.

When updating stages the Project Manager must include insertions, deletion and other relevant changes to the Project Plan, the Project Approach or the Project Quality Plan and have these changes associated with an item in the Issue Log. If this update is preceded by an Exception Plan, the Exception Plan replaces the Project Plan. In either case the Business Case and Risk Log must also be updated.

Changes in the Project Plan may effect and require the Project Manager conduct an update and revision to the Business Case. The Risk Log and Issue Log should be examined in this assessment. If the Business Case is revised the revision must be approved by the Project Board. The Project Board may determine that Programme Management should approve the revision instead.

The Project Manager shall ensure that the Risk Log is reviewed at least once per Stage or Exception; new risks may arise in the process of creating a new Stage plan or Exception Plan. Individual owners of risks are responsible for notifying the Project Manager of changes to risk status.

The Project Manager shall compose an End Stage Report for the Project Board as a precursor to providing the next Stage Plan. The End Stage Report should include (a) comparing results with agreed Tolerances, (b) An assessment of overall risk, (c) ability to meet objectives of the Business Case, (d) a review of quality control activities, (e) a review of the Configuration Item Record, (f) an update of the Lessons Learned Log, (g) a review of the Communications Plan.

When forecast or actual Tolerances are exceeded, a Project Plan no longer have approval of the Project Board, and the Project Manager must notify the Board. In these circumstances an Exception Report must be composed by the Project Manager outlining the cause of the Exception. The Project Board may direct the Project Manager to produce an Exception Plan should result which can replace either a Stage Plan or an entire Project Plan.

Closing a Project

The Project Manager shall begin to decommission a project when the final Stage is completed. The Project Manager will give notice to the Project Board is about to complete. The Project Plan will be updated with actuals from the final stage, and products will be checked to ensure they have been approved and meet quality requirements.

The Project Board may instruct the Project Manager to end a project prematurely (cf., V1000-0002 Directing a Project (DP)). The Project Manager will derive information from product status, project plan, and project initiation documentation and update the Issues Register, the Project Initiation Documentation and Plan, and create a notification of additional work estimates which are then are then reported to the Board.

A projects product's are handed over for operational and maintenance as a project closes; acceptance must be obtained. Follow-on recommendations are included in a End Project Report. Configuration Item Records, and Benefits Review is updated according to the information from registers and the Project Initiation Document.

The Project Manager shall conduct a Project Evaluation Review which evaluates the success of the Project, excluding the products. The Project Manager should compose a Lessons Learned Report from the Lessons Learned Log and upate the Project Plan to create an End Project Report.

The Project Manager will close registers and logs, and recommend to the Board that the Project be closed.