Plans vs. Documents

4th Edition, Appendix A.1.2, page 350 contains a table distinguishing between plans (or elements of the plan) and project documents. We are reminded that the various process outputs usually include plan updates and document updates.

We can expect questions to be added to the exam regarding this issue. The list of plans is not very long, and I suggest that it is worthwhile to memorize the list, and understand that everything else is a document. To assist with this effort, I have categorized the plans into three groups:

8 Knowledge Area Subsidiary Plans
#=footnote
1. Scope footnote #1
2. Schedule #1
3. Cost #1
4. Quality
5. Human Resources
6. Communications
7. Risk
8. Procurement

3 Baselines
#=footnote

1. Scope, consisting of Scope Statement, WBS & WBS Dictionary
2. Schedule
3. Cost Performance #2

4 Others
#=footnote
1. Change management plan #3
2. Configuration management plan #4
3. Process improvement plan #5
4. Requirements management plan #6

Footnotes:

#1. PMBOK has no process to produce these three, but says in the chapter intros that they must be done.

#2. The process to produce this is 'Determine Budget', and while the output has historically been called a budget, 4th editon calls it the Cost Performance Baseline.

#3. The Develop Project Management Plan procedure (PMBOK 4.2) lists a standard Change Management Plan from among corporate assets as an input, and includes it, or a new one, or a customization, in the project management plan.

#4. The Develop Project Management Plan process (PMBOK 4.2) includes a configuration management plan 'that documents how configuration management will be performed.'

#5. The process improvement plan is produced by the Plan Quality process (PMBOK 8.1) and implemented by the Perform Quality Assurance process (8.2).

#6. The Collect Requirements process (PMBOK 5.1) produces both the requirements documentation and the requirements management plan. The former is an input to the numerous processes and is also included several times among documents to be updated, but is missing completely from the A.1.2 table.