Project Budget and Schedule In this assignment, you use Microsoft Project to create a Project Budget and a Project Schedule. You first develop your Project Schedule. Then, you include the budget for a

[Overview of Executive Summary

Executive Summaries are exactly what they imply, a brief description of the project a busy executive may read to understand the purpose, main points, and deliverables of a project. They are tailored so upper management understands how the project fits into the mission and goals of the organization.

Unlike the aforementioned templates in this document, the Executive Summary is known for its brevity. However, the importance of this template is to be able to recognize and report the most important things the executives need to know so there are no “surprises” during the project run.

[NOTE: THIS WILL BE THE LAST THING YOU WILL FINISH IN THIS DOCUMENT, BUT IT USUALLY APPEARS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT PLAN.]

Insert Executive Summary narrative here.

Executive Summary 1

Version Control 3

Project Charter 4

Stakeholder Register 5

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) 7

Budget 9

10

Communications Matrix 11

Risk Matrix 12

Project Schedule 15

References 16

Appendices 17

[OVERVIEW OF VERSION CONTROL: Document any changes here. For example if I (the instructor) send this document back to you for revisions, the revision should be numbered and dated. So, if I send it back to a learner after the learner submits this template the first time, it should have a second row of 1.1, u01a1, date of submission.]

[OVERVIEW OF PROJECT CHARTER:

Charters establish the project within the organization and recognize the project manager as the person in charge of resources (Human Resources, Money, Procurement, et cetera) and the ability to utilize those resources. It defines what is known at the beginning of the project such as the Title, Timeframe, Starting Budget, Project Manager, Approach, and roles and responsibilities of the team members. Many projects experience “progressive elaboration,” or in other words, more is known about the project as it moves along.]

Project Title: [Enter the Project Plan Title here.]

Project Start Date: Project Finish Date:

Budget: [This is an overall amount that was set at the beginning of the project. However, any known specifics should be put in as well.]

Project Manager: [Your name]

Project Objectives: [Put in what are the deliverables to the project. This may include the end product or service. There may be training of employees involved or other follow-ups at the end of the project. The documents and documentation of the project are deliverables as well.]

Approach: [A description on HOW the Project Objectives (from above) will be accomplished.]

• [Individual items and how they are to be implemented.]

• [Individual items and how they are to be implemented.]

• [Individual items and how they are to be implemented.]

• [Individual items and how they are to be implemented.]

• [Individual items and how they are to be implemented.]

Stakeholder Identification

Stakeholder Assessment

Stakeholder Classification

[GUIDANCE: Moving Towards Distinguished Performance on the Project Charter

Add this additional information in the appropriate places in the body of the section above. Here are some additional things you may add to the template to customize it or elaborate on information that is known about the project:

• Project Overview (General background of the project).

• Key Milestones (Examples: Key deliverables such as the design of a website or the coding behind the website).

• Describes a changing marketplace that justifies the project. (If we don’t do it, our competition will!).

• Expansion on the roles and responsibilities of team members. (Name, role, responsibilities, delegation of authority et cetera).

• Assigning authority to the project manager so they may expend organizational assets (human resources, money, equipment, software, et cetera).]

[OVERVIEW OF WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is included in the Scope Statement Documentation. Usually, there are TWO views.

The first view is a hierarchical one that is usually worked upon by the project manager and team to discover exactly what tasks need to be done and in what order. (You will have to show more detail or levels than these examples.)

WBS Hierarchy Example (Created in Microsoft Visio, saved as a .jpeg picture, and inserted into this Word document)]

The second view is a list view or outline of the WBS.

Project: Building a Garage

1. Initiate

   1. Need a Garage?

   2. Et cetera.

2. Plan

   1. What Type of Garage?

   2. Et cetera.

3. Execute

   1. Pour the Foundation.

   2. Et cetera.

4. Monitor & Control

   1. Observe the Cement Workers.

   2. Et cetera.

5. Close

   1. Inspect Garage.

   2. Et cetera.

Note that the hierarchy view and the list view have the same tasks and are numbered the same.

The graphic view may be achieved by using Microsoft Visio, Word (Draw Feature), or PowerPoint Organization Template.

[GUIDANCE: Moving Towards Distinguished Performance on the Project Scope

Add this additional information in the appropriate places in the body of the section above. Here are some additional things that may be added to the template to customize it or elaborate on information that is known about the project:

• Adding color to the WBS to further clarify a phase or layer.

• Making sure the numbers match the tasks between the Hierarchy WBS and the List WBS.

• Including documentation in the Project Deliverables, such as Team Contract, Project Charter, Scope Document, et cetera.]

[OVERVIEW OF PROJECT BUDGET

Budgets need to be complete and detailed enough so there is no question on how the money is being spent. Organizations are different on what they include on their project budgets because many of the human resources are already on the payroll being paid for operational work.

However, some organizations want a full accounting of the project and will include the costs of the personnel even though they are already on the payroll. It is expected that you will include personnel in this assignment budget or offer an explanation on why these monies are not tracked. ]

[GUIDANCE: Moving towards distinguished performance on the Project Budget

Please add this additional information in the appropriate places in the body of the section above. Here are some additional things that may be added to the template to customize it or elaborate on information that is known about the project:

• Business Segment Justification – Add Column.

• Notes – Clarify the Line Items – Add Column.

• Insert a Graph Showing Allocation of Funds.

• Author Comments – Add Column.

• Use Excel Note Feature to Clarify Line Items.

• Tie Into WBS Task Items for Estimation.

• By Process (Initiate, Plan, Execute, Monitor/Control, Close).

• Embed Excel Spreadsheet in Word Document to Expand Upon the Explanation of the Budget Items.

• Use Formatting Features in the Tool. Example, highlighting a Line Item that may be Critical to the Budget.

• Change the Title of the Budget Template Document to Reflect the Name of the Project.]

[OVERVIEW OF COMMUNICATIONS MATRIX

Communications Matrices assist the project manager in making sure all information is distributed to the correct personnel, whether it is the project team, sponsor, upper management, customer, or stakeholders. Usually, this section has a glossary of terms and definitions of TLAs (“three letter acronyms”) so that everyone understands the project’s terminology. For example, a NIC stands for “network interface card,” which is a common piece of hardware used on personal computers.]

Glossary

[GUIDANCE: Moving towards Distinguished Performance on the Communications Matrix

Add this additional information in the appropriate places in the body of the section above. Here are some additional things that may be added to the template to customize it or elaborate on information that is known about the project:

• Perform a stakeholder communication analysis.

• Determine best communication medium for project (Media Choice Table).

• Include an Expectations Management Matrix.

[OVERVIEW OF RISK MATRIX

Risk Matrices are at the core of solving problems before they impact project scope, cost, schedule, and product quality. Clearly, one may categorize risks on what they are going to impact or the type of risk. For example, there may be risks because of the personnel on the team (They may need training on a new technology, or if one team member is sick, their contributions and expertise will be lost.), or there may have been problems in the past with a certain vendor and so forth.

However, another way of looking at it is whether the risks may fit into three different scenarios:

• Known, knowns (It is known when the risk may occur and what it is).

• Unknown, knowns (It is unknown when the risk may occur but it is a known entity).

• Unknown, Unknowns (Neither the timing nor the risk is known, a surprise).

There are many ways to categorize and order risks so that the project manager and the team will stay on top of the situation and able to mitigate or control the risks when they occur. The important part of the Risk Matrix is to make sure that most of the risks are identified and that there are defined actions to deal with them.]

[GUIDANCE: Moving towards Distinguished Performance on the Risk Matrix

Add this additional information in the appropriate places in the body of the section above. Here are some additional things that may be added to the template to customize it or elaborate on information that is known about the project:

• General Overview of the Risk Matrix Table and the Main Purpose for the Project.

• New Column – Category (Personnel, Budget, Equipment, Software, Logistics, Time, Technical,
  PMBOK® Guide Knowledge Areas, et cetera)

• Color Code (Show Intensity of Risk: Yellow = “Low,” Orange = “Medium,” Red= “High”)

  • Present a Key stating what the colors mean.

• Color Code (Show Status of Risk: Green = “OK,” Yellow = “Look At,” Red = “In Trouble”)

• New Column – Risk Owner (Who has to watch out for and report the certain risk occurring.)

• Add general information outside of the risk matrix table, such as who to contact in case of a severe risk occurring. What is the chain of command?

• New Column – Rank the risk.

• New Column – Number the risk.

• New Column – Description of Loss (or Gain) from the risk occurring.

• Categorize Risks that will need attention and those on a “watch list.”]

[OVERVIEW OF PROJECT SCHEDULE

Schedules are used throughout the project. Usually, a project manager is told how much time is available to complete a project. Many times, a project manager has to make the project “fit” into the time allotted. However, when a detailed schedule is created, the project manager may have to go back to the sponsor to discuss a more realistic schedule to achieve the product of the project.

A detailed schedule is not put in place until the Scope Statement and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is discussed and created by the project team. The schedule emanates from the Scope Statement and Work Breakdown Structure.

Part of the reason for introducing learners to Microsoft Project software is to enable them to use this tool to effectively create a project schedule for their assignment. Do not be afraid to use features introduced in the Microsoft Project Labs such as hyperlinks to relevant websites or using notes or comments to clarify the milestones or tasks.

Embedded below is a blank Microsoft Project document:]

[GUIDANCE: Moving towards Distinguished Performance on the Project Schedule

Add this additional information in the appropriate places in the body of the section above. Here are some additional things that may be added to the template to customize it or elaborate on information that is known about the project:

• Separate Word Document explaining and clarifying the schedule.

• If the task is greater than 8–10 working days, it may need to be broken into smaller tasks.

• Schedule shows predecessors to tasks.

• Use of the Note feature in Project.

• Use of the Comment feature in Project.

• Use of the Hyperlink feature in Project.

• Add Resources to the Tasks.

• Customize the look of the Gantt chart.

• Create a callout on a specific task that will need attention.]