Starting Your Project Plan

In Unit I, you were required to develop and submit a project idea. Your instructor should have provided you with either the okay to proceed with your idea or some feedback so that you can make changes. Once you have this feedback, you will be able to make any needed modifications to your project idea, and then you may start putting together your project plan. 

Also in Unit I, you were provided with an outline for your final project plan. For the assignment in this unit, refer to your unit lesson and required unit resources to begin to draft your project plan, which should include the components listed below.

1. Project Overview: This section should include a brief background description of the project, including motivation, goals and objectives, success criteria, major project deliverables, and identified constraints.

   1.1 Purpose, Scope and Objectives, and Business Case (In these sections, be sure to include how you will measure project success.)

   1.1.1 Scope: The project scope may be described in general terms. Include a problem statement, detailed steps in requirements gathering, information gathering, project constraints, alternatives analysis, and business case documentation. Be sure to describe the techniques used to derive the requirements for this project.
   1.1.2 Statement of Work (SOW): Include key milestones, resource requirements, risks and concerns, and acceptance criteria.
   1.1.3 Business Case: Include the business needs to be satisfied, the feasibility of the project, a description of internal and external forces likely to affect the project, a comparative analysis of the costs and benefits of this project over alternative solutions, and time estimates to return on investment. Identify how the satisfaction of business needs will be determined.

   1.2 Project Deliverables: List the major items or project features to be delivered to the client.
   1.3 Project Organization: List all project team members, their specific roles, and the project organization hierarchy. Where appropriate, indicate joint responsibilities between the project manager and functional manager. Develop a project team reporting structure.

This assignment should be a minimum of two pages in length, not counting the title page and reference page. Be sure to use proper APA formatting. Citations are not required; however, if outside sources are used, make certain to provide in-text citations and references in APA format. For more elaboration on what you should include in your project plan, refer to pp. 539–542 in your textbook.