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The EPO project management checklists are intended to assist the project manager in planning, executing and controlling projects. The checklists consist of Yes/No questions based on the knowledge areas in the PMBOK 2004 edition. If the answer to a question is No, review the explanation provided and consider what needs to be done in your organization or on your project to move to a Yes answer. Suggested EPO e-Books and Templates are identified to facilitate the change from No to Yes answers. The content list below can be used to jump to a selected topic. PMBOK Knowledge Area Integration Project Management Topic Obtaining Project Approval Initiating the Project Tracking Project Progress Managing Issues & Changes Closing the Project Planning the Scope Planning the Work Planning Activities Estimating Activities Developing the Schedule Monitoring the Schedule Estimating Project Costs Establishing the Budget Monitoring Project Costs Quality Management Inspections Testing Human Resource Planning Managing the Team Stakeholder Identification Communications Planning Reporting Project Status Risk Identification Risk Assessment Risk Response Planning Procurement Planning Evaluating Bids & Proposals Contract Administration
Scope Time
Cost
Quality
Risk
Procurement
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Integration
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Potential Project Identification Potential Project Identification
EPO e-book
Project Prioritization & Approval Project Prioritization & Approval
Potential Project Project Prioritization Identification, Project & Approval Priority & Approval Project Priority & Approval Project Prioritization & Approval
Are potential projects prioritized by business management prior to approval? Does a Project Approval Committee exist to review and approve projects?
Project Business Project Prioritization Case, Project Priority & Approval & Approval Project Business Case Project Business Case Cost Benefit Analysis Cost Benefit Project Prioritization & Approval Project Prioritization & Approval Project Prioritization & Approval Project Prioritization & Approval
Is a business case prepared for each project approval? Is a business need assessment conducted for each potential project?
Is a cost/benefit analysis completed for each project? Are objective criteria such as Return on Investment (ROI) or payback period used to prioritize and approve projects? Are project approvals based on business, financial and technical criteria?
Return on Investment (ROI) is a percentage based on the Analysis net income from a project divided by the costs of the project. The payback period for a project is the time it takes for the benefits of a project to repay its costs. The Project Approval Committee (or a similar group of senior management) needs to balance the business, financial and technical criteria from a corporate perspective when granting approvals to proposed projects The Project Charter is the document that formally acknowledges the existence of the project. It may be prepared by the Project Sponsor, the Project Manager, or as a collaborative effort. Assumptions are conditions upon which the project is based. They often involve a degree of risk and express situations that the project may encounter. These assumptions must be communicated to project stakeholders and confirmed where required. Constraints are restrictions that will impact project management options. Because these constraints will limit the project management approaches or alternatives available, it is imperative that both Project Sponsor and Project Manager share an understanding of these limitations The Project Manager should be assigned prior to project initiation and his/her authority should be defined and agreed to by the project sponsor.
Project Charter
Project Initiation & Scope Planning Project Initiation & Scope Planning
Has the Project Manager been assigned and his/her authority defined?
Project Charter
Team Tracking Meeting Time Report, Tracking View Project Issue, Change Management Log
Project Tracking
Project Tracking
Does a Project Steering Committee exist to help manage issues and changes? Is there a process in place to escalate important project decisions?
Stakeholder Management
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Integration
Have lessons learned from the project been documented for future projects
Project lessons describe what worked well on the project. This will provide an opportunity to carry these successes over to future projects. Challenges and opportunities encountered on the project provide recommendations for improvement on future projects. The purpose of the project review is to: Assess the project management techniques used on the project and recommend changes where applicable, Review the application of the organizations project management framework and identify improvements to the framework based on lessons learned on projects, Assess the feasibility of continuing with the project (or program) and provide validation to terminate the project if necessary. The purpose of the business case review is to compare the achievement of business objectives and project benefits with what was originally forecast The Project Team Review section should be completed by the team and submitted to the project reviewers for inclusion in the Project Closure Report The technical review focuses on the technology and lifecycle processes used on the project.
Has a review of the project business case been conducted? Has the project team provided an assessment of challenges and successes from their perspective? Has a review of the technology and lifecycle processes been conducted?
Project Review & Closure Project Review & Closure Project Review & Closure
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Scope
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
EPO e-book
Project Initiation & Scope Planning Project Initiation & Scope Planning
Has the project strategy been defined and agreed to by the project sponsor? Has a scope management matrix been prepared and agreed to by the project sponsor? Has a scope stability assessment been prepared? Has a scope change management approach been prepared?
Project Initiation & Scope Planning Project Initiation & Scope Planning Project Initiation & Scope Planning Project Initiation & Scope Planning
Work Package, WBS Planning View Work Package, WBS Assignment View
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Time
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
EPO e-book
The activity name should consist of an action verb (produce, Activity Plan, Activity Activity Planning & prepare, develop, install, etc) and an object of that verb that Planning View Estimating names the activity deliverable The activity sequencing is shown using a Project Network Diagram which illustrates how the project activities will flow from beginning to end. It is created by establishing the dependencies among project deliverables
Dependencies can be mandatory (based on required completion of deliverables) or discretionary (based on preferred sequence of activities). Activity estimates have two components: Duration estimates (in days) provide an indication of how long a task will take and are used for critical path scheduling. Effort estimates (in hours) are used to determine the amount of work (by each resource) required to produce a deliverable. Effort estimates are variable by resource and will be used when resource leveling the project schedule. Both duration and effort estimates need to be done for each activity. Using PERT estimating, three duration estimates are prepared for each activity: optimistic (O), pessimistic (P) and most likely (M). The effort required to perform an activity is dependent on the resources assigned. Because effort is variable by resource, it should be estimated for each resource assigned to an activity. The critical path is defined as the sequence of activities with the longest duration. The critical path activities should be associated with production of important project deliverables and not support tasks. Resource leveling is necessary when: One resource is assigned to multiple activities and their over allocation must be leveled out by extending the duration of some activities. Too many activities are assigned to one resource and some activities must be transferred to other resources. Multiple resources (with varying availability) are assigned to one activity. There are times in the schedule when resources are not fully occupied and will need work. Activity dependencies can be shifted to level off peaks and fill in valleys of resource usage To meet fixed end dates, the duration of the project critical path may need to be shortened. This duration compression can be accomplished through fast tracking or crashing the schedule. Schedule milestones (evenly distributed throughout the schedule) are established for status tracking and reporting A project baseline provides a foundation for tracking & reporting and managing the effects of change. The Schedule Management Plan describes how the PMBOK time management processes will be carried out on the project Updating the schedule on a regular basis enables forecasting: Finish dates of activities started or already in progress, Estimated start dates of activities not yet started Schedule variance reporting procedures should include: Frequency of reporting schedule variances Responsibility for explaining schedule variances, Variance thresholds that will trigger explanation. Approved change requests can be incorporated into the project baselines. A new baseline schedule and/or project budget (depending on the nature of the change) is established
Estimating Activities
Have activity duration and effort estimates been prepared?
Have PERT duration estimating techniques been used? Have resource effort estimates been prepared for each activity?
Activity Plan, Activity Activity Planning & Estimating View Estimating Activity Plan, Activity Activity Planning & Estimating View Estimating
Activity Scheduling
Activity Scheduling
Have duration compression techniques been applied to the project schedule? Have schedule milestones been established? Has a baseline project schedule been established?
Activity Scheduling View Activity Scheduling View Activity Scheduling View Schedule Management Plan Schedule Update View
Activity Scheduling
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Cost
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
EPO e-book
Project Estimating & Budgeting
Have estimates been prepared for labor, equipment, supplies, expenses and financing costs to be incurred by the project? Have estimating assumptions been recorded?
Project estimates and budgets are both based on the project Project Cost accounts which, in turn, must be tied to the corporate financial Estimate, Project Chart of Accounts. The structure of the financial chart of Budget accounts will vary from one organization to another Estimating assumptions should be documented for reference during cost control and to help support the management of risks, issues and changes.
Project Estimating & Budgeting Project Cost Management Project Cost Management
Has a project cost management plan been prepared? Have funding release amounts been defined for the project?
Are earned value performance indices used to forecast project completion costs and variances?
Earned value calculations provide a means of estimating project completion costs based on actual cost and schedule performance.
Performance Report View, Project Performance Earned ValueReport Earned Value Performance Performance Calculator, Reporting Performance Report View, Project Performance Report
Are actual costs being recorded on the project? Are procedures in place to re-establish the cost baseline?
Actual cost expenditures incurred by the project can be captured using timesheets or the organizations cost accounting process Approved change requests can be incorporated into the project baselines. A new baseline schedule and/or project budget (depending on the nature of the change) is established
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Quality
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Quality Management Plan Control Chart, Pareto Diagram
EPO e-book
Quality Management Quality Management
Inspections
Are project deliverables subjected to formal inspections?
Inspection Report
Inspections provide a mechanism to detect defects early and improve the overall quality of project products. This will, in turn, improve productivity and motivate team members to produce better quality deliverables The primary objective of a deliverable review is to gain acceptance of a product so that work can proceed on to the next phase or step. This acceptance should be based on predefined acceptance criteria. Acceptance criteria describe the conditions required for the project deliverables to be accepted by the project sponsor. The acceptance criteria should be prepared early in the project; initial acceptance criteria should be included in the Project Charter to ensure that the project sponsor and the project team are in agreement throughout the project.
Software Inspections & Deliverable Reviews Software Inspections & Deliverable Reviews
Does a formal review and acceptance process exist for project deliverables?
Deliverable Acceptance
Are acceptance criteria defined for review and testing of project deliverables?
Acceptance Criteria, Software Test Acceptance Test Planning & Tracking Execution
Testing
On software development projects, are test scripts and test cases defined for software testing? Test scripts identify the business functions to be tested. Test Test Case cases should be defined for each business function identified in the test script. They are designed to exercise the applications response to both good and bad test data
During software testing, are defects recorded and prioritized for resolution?
Tests can be executed either manually or through the use of Defect report, an automated testing tool that pumps test cases through the Defect Tracking Log application. In both cases it is important to record test results, track defects and assign priorities to deal with defects
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Human Resources
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
EPO e-book
Human Resource Planning Human Resource Planning Human Resource Planning Human Resource Planning
Some of the resources assigned to the project will require training to perform their roles and produce their deliverables. This may occur when: New technology is being adopted on a project, A software package has been purchased, Employees are provided with career development opportunities on projects.
Team Management
Do project team members understand their roles on the project and how they will work together?
Team Development
Have open communication channels been established within the project team?
The groundwork for open communications within the project team is laid with the Team Communications Plan
Team Management
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Communications
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Stakeholder Identification
EPO e-book
Stakeholder Identification & Analysis
Has the stake in the project and the required commitment from each stakeholder been identified?
Have the priorities, support and influence of key stakeholders been identified?
Communications Planning
Has a project stakeholder communications plan been prepared? Has a project meeting plan been prepared? The Project Stakeholder Communications Plan describes how communication will be accomplished with each stakeholder. The Project Meeting Plan identifies (for each type of project meeting) the: Meeting attendees, Objectives of the meeting, Agenda items, Logistics such as timeframe, frequency and location, Technology medium The Project Presentation Plan identifies (for each type of project presentation) the: Presentation audience (individuals or groups), Objectives of the presentation (what will be accomplished), Logistics such as timeframe, frequency, and location, Equipment required for the presentation (projectors, screens, flipcharts, laptops, etc), The presentation type (speech, presentation, video) The Project Document Distribution Plan describes: Original source of the information (previous project or deliverable of current project), Project repository location of the deliverable (hyperlink to Web URL or directory folder name), Distribution schedule (completion date or distribution frequency) Distribution list (based on stakeholder communication plan) The Project Stakeholders Communications plan should describe procedures for: Accessing information between scheduled communications, Updating and refining the communications plan as the project progresses. The project progress report is used to report on deliverables completed and accomplishments during the reporting period. It is also used to predict deliverables that will be completed during the next reporting period. Based on project milestones, status reports provide a comparison of actual/forecasted completion dates with schedule and cost baselines.
Communications Planning
Communications Planning
Communications Planning
Project Status Progress & Status Report, Status View, Reporting Status Presentation Project Progress Report, Project Status Report Progress & Status Reporting
Is the status of project issues and changes reported to stakeholders on a regular basis?
The status of outstanding (or recently resolved) changes and issues should be reported to stakeholders regularly. The description of the issue should include the impact on schedule, cost and deliverable (where known) and a resolution required by date. The description of the change should include a business justification for the change and the impact on cost and schedule. A description of the specific risk and triggering event should be provided along with the risk priority (high, medium, or low). The consequences that arise from the risk occurrence should be described and the approved risk decision (prevent, mitigate, monitor, or accept) should be indicated
Is the status of high priority project risks reported to stakeholders on a regular basis?
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Risk
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
EPO e-book
Risk Management
Risk Identification
The first step in risk assessment is the identification of risk Risk Identification events (discreet occurrences of potential problems). The risk Checklist, SWOT description must be complete enough to support risk response Analysis decisions and preparation of risk response plans.
Risk Identification
Risk Assessment
Has an assessment of each potential risk event been prepared?
Risk Assessment,
For each identified risk, an assessment of its urgency, growth, Risk Event probability, and impact should be conducted. Each risk should Scenarios be described in sufficient detail to be understood by project team members, sponsors and management. The priority of the risk is assigned based on the probability and Risk Register impact assessment. Attention should be focused on high probability and high impact risks. Decision trees provide a graphical representation of decisions Decision Tree and quantify the risks and rewards of these decisions. Readiness Assessment footprints are a means to evaluate risks associated with one or more alternatives. These risks are assessed using eight categories of organizational readiness and the corresponding attributes of alternatives under consideration.
Risk Assessment,
Are decision tree techniques used to quantify project risks and opportunities? Has a readiness assessment been done to evaluate risks associated with one or more alternatives?
Risk Assessment & Response Planning Risk Assessment & Response Planning
Has a risk monitoring plan been implemented for high priority risks?
Risk response plans often affect more that one risk event. Risk responses should be evaluated to determine the affect of risk responses on the high priority risk events. The risk response evaluation will also help uncover secondary and residual risks. The Risk Monitoring plan describes: The tracking and control of risks (a continuous process involving both the project team and management). The preventative action plans to be implemented How the status of existing risks and the potential for new risks are to be assessed. Triggers that alert the project team of a risk occurrence and the corrective action to be taken.
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Procurement
Y/N
Explanation
EPO Template
Procurement Management Plan
EPO e-book
Procurement Planning
The Statement of Work (SOW) describes the procurement Statement of Work item so that prospective sellers can decide if they are capable of providing the item and how the work can be undertaken. Analysis of buy vs. build options is undertaken to determine Procurement whether the project team can produce the product/service or if Management Plan it should be purchased.
Has the project team performed a buy vs. build analysis on project deliverables?
Is a rational process used to select from alternatives and minimize risks from selection decisions?
Contract Administration
Has a Contract Management Plan been prepared for each contract on the project? Contract administration is the process of managing the Contract contract and the relationship between the buyer and the seller. Management Plan The Contract Management Plan describes how a specific contract will be administrated during the project Contract closure is the process of completing and settling the Contract Closure contract, resolving open items and completing contract closure Report documentation.
Contract Administration
Upon completion of the contract, has a contract closure report been prepared?
Contract Administration
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