Different Types of Project Management Documents

Project Management Documents

The project manager has a larger responsibility, not just managing the people but also the papers and documents. Yes, documenting all things done in every phase of the project is critical for various purposes like tracking the work in progress, understanding, and addressing the gaps. Further, in this blog let us understand what are the different types of project management documents used in various project management phases. Also, know why there is a need for such documents to excel as a project manager successfully from this blog and create your documents by attending a PMP Training Online.

Phases of Project Documentation 

Every project has a beginning, execution, and closing phase. To be precise it has planning and monitoring phases as well. Therefore it is evident that the documentation also falls in these categories. The below image shows precisely what are the documents prepared in each phase of the project. 

Apart from this, technical documents are a must for the execution of every project, which includes User Requirements document (URS), User Acceptance testing document (UAT), training manual, technical manual, etc.  

Initiation Phase - A plan document, business case, requirements gathering, budgeting, project schedule are all the documents that are made in this phase to begin at the right place. 

Execution Phase – Work breakdown structure, change request, risk log are the documents to be made in the execution phase. These documents are subject to change based on the progression of the project. 

Closing Phase - User manual, Handover document, lessons learned document are prepared during this last phase of the project development lifecycle. 

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Different types of Project Management Documents

Irrespective of the type of document used in a project it is a must to keep them concise, relevant, and updated. The habit of making such project documents will make the entire team and all stakeholders work together and stay aligned. 

1. Business Case 

“Why” is the important question before starting with any work. Therefore these business case documents will emphasize the need for the project. What is the purpose of a project and what outcome is expected? 

Depending on the size of the project a business case project document can be a document filed with several pages or just a simple one page write up explaining the project details. The project manager must ensure that the project sponsor provides this document along with an economic feasibility study. 

2. Charter 

Next comes the project charter which is the formal authorization permit making the PM own the project by making a plan, to execute and manage the same. A typical project charter must contain the project scope, timelines, requirement details, DoD, cost, project success factor along with people and other resources. 

Also Read: RFP in Project Management

3. Accountability Document 

Once the scope is identified the PM must now identify people among the team to hold accountability for each work to be executed. Basically, this can be a matrix representation detailing who is in charge of what. This will provide role clarity among all the team members. This helps in setting expectations and there is no communication gap. 

Also Read: Why PMP Certification is Crucial for Tech Projects in New York?

4. WBS 

Breaking down the work is called a work breakdown structure. Once the team is aware of their roles they need to know when to start a task, and what is the timeline. The WBS will contain the project deliverables which will be broken down into chunks of work based on the objective. Allocating resources becomes simple with this document. Referring to this document provides a clear idea of how the work is getting distributed among the team. 

5. Risk Logbook 

However a system is foolproof, there are possibilities for accidental and unavoidable risks. But that cannot be an excuse for the delay in the project or missing out an important deliverables. Thus it is good to create an issue tracker and enter details like what is the issue, how did it happen, who can resolve it and when can it be rectified. 

Also Read: Project Management Tips

6. Change request document 

When the risk is identified it becomes easy to make corrections. But there are areas where one cannot resolve it and need expert support. Therefore a change request is placed either to alter the deliverables or add/delete any particular task during the project execution phase. This document must be clear with all details that will bring the team on one page to avoid wastage of time on altered or deleted deliverables. 

7. Technical Document 

As the name implies it is typically a document that will contain the project specifications, feature description, design details, development stages, functions, and all liabilities related to the system/product. 

8. Project Schedule 

This contains the plan and schedule of the project. What work is to be done, what is already completed, and what is in the queue. This will decide the timeframe to complete the entire project. 

Related Article: Project Planning

9. Handover Document 

An outline of all deliverables is listed in this document. This can be referred for future projects as it will provide guidelines of when it is started, how it went etc. 

10. Lessons Learned Document 

This document will contain all the mistakes done, what went wrong, how it got rectified, who was responsible for the error and who helped to correct it. Such details noted down will certainly provide a clear route for the upcoming projects. 

Each document needs expertise to write them correctly and an Online PMP Training will walk you through the process.

Also Read: Standard Deviation in Project Management

Significance of Project Management Documents 

1. Memory 

Documents surpass the human brain as it is not possible to remember all details over a long time. Therefore documenting them will help to store, review, and change details. Project managers in multiple projects can easily refer to documents for the project goals, objectives, and plan schedules accordingly. 

2. Improves Efficiency 

Apart from recollecting data, documentation helps in improving the efficiency of all the team members. When there is a document to track progress, correction becomes easy and thus efficiency can be increased. 

Read More: Resources in Project Management

3. Focus on Important Things to Deliver the Best 

The document will allow each stakeholder to highlight what is important and thus will give them a focus to prioritize the task and they can complete them. 

4. Be Prepared for the Worst 

How much ever one is prepared and planned there will be some slips. Thus documenting that as well will avoid last-minute surprises and referring to the document will let the entire team stay prepared for the worst. This will help take some corrective actions to prevent major failures in project delivery. 

PMP Course Online outlines the importance of project documentation and also provides you with examples to write each document without missing any details. 

Also Read: Types of Project Management Certification to Pursue

Conclusion 

Preparing a project management document is very important and the project manager plays a key role in making most of the documents. Thus you must undergo a professional PMP Certification Course to understand what is documentation, how to make the right one take your project to success in a professional institute like StarAgile, Delivered by PMI® Authorized Training Partner