Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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 Project Management Topic
Integration Obtaining Project Approval
Initiating the Project
Tracking Project Progress
Managing Issues & Changes
Closing the Project
Scope Planning the Scope
Planning the Work
Time Planning Activities
Estimating Activities
Developing the Schedule
Monitoring the Schedule
Cost Estimating Project Costs
Establishing the Budget
Monitoring Project Costs
Quality Quality Management
Inspections
Testing
Human Resources Human Resource Planning
Managing the Team
Communications Stakeholder Identification
Communications Planning
Reporting Project Status
Risk Risk Identification
Risk Assessment
Risk Response Planning
Procurement Procurement Planning
Evaluating Bids & Proposals
Contract Administration
Does a screening & prioritization The needs of potential projects will often surpass the Potential Project Project Prioritization
process exist for potential projects? available resources and finances. Prioritization will Identification, Project & Approval
establish the relative importance of competing projects and Priority & Approval
screen out projects will low importance or poor benefits.
Are potential projects prioritized by Prioritization is not an approval process; rather it is a Project Priority & Project Prioritization
business management prior to screening and ranking process. The output from Approval & Approval
approval? prioritization is a list of projects that have been ranked
according to their relative importance.
Does a Project Approval Committee Project prioritization should be done by department Project Business Project Prioritization
exist to review and approve projects? managers and division Vice Presidents. Project approvals Case, Project & Approval
are obtained from executives who belong to a Project
Approval Committee.
Priority & Approval
Is a business case prepared for each Project Business Project Prioritization
project approval? The Project Business Case describes the project costs and
benefits to enable a business decision whether or not to Case & Approval
proceed with the project.
Is a business need assessment The Business Need Assessment provides an analysis of Project Business Project Prioritization
conducted for each potential project? the high level business requirement being addressed by the Case & Approval
project and an opportunity to comment on the relative
importance of the project.
Is a cost/benefit analysis completed Cost Benefit Project Prioritization
for each project? The cost benefit analysis is performed to determine if the
benefits of completing the project outweigh the costs of Analysis & Approval
performing the work
Are objective criteria such as Return Return on Investment (ROI) is a percentage based on the Cost Benefit Project Prioritization
on Investment (ROI) or payback net income from a project divided by the costs of the Analysis & Approval
period used to prioritize and approve project. The payback period for a project is the time it takes
projects? for the benefits of a project to repay its costs.
Are project approvals based on The Project Approval Committee (or a similar group of Project Business Project Prioritization
business, financial and technical senior management) needs to balance the business, Case & Approval
criteria? financial and technical criteria from a corporate perspective
when granting approvals to proposed projects
Initiating the Project
Has a Project Charter been The Project Charter is the document that formally Project Charter Project Initiation &
prepared? acknowledges the existence of the project. It may be
prepared by the Project Sponsor, the Project Manager, or
Scope Planning
as a collaborative effort.
Are project assumptions Assumptions are conditions upon which the project is Constraints & Project Initiation &
documented? based. They often involve a degree of risk and express
situations that the project may encounter. These
Assumptions Scope Planning
assumptions must be communicated to project Checklist
stakeholders and confirmed where required.
Have project constraints been Constraints are restrictions that will impact project Constraints & Project Initiation &
documented? management options. Because these constraints will limit
the project management approaches or alternatives
Assumptions Scope Planning
available, it is imperative that both Project Sponsor and Checklist
Project Manager share an understanding of these
Has the Project Manager been The Project Manager should be assigned prior to project Project Charter Project Initiation &
assigned and his/her authority initiation and his/her authority should be defined and
defined? agreed to by the project sponsor.
Scope Planning
Tracking Project Progress
Are project team tracking meetings Project team tracking meetings should be held on a regular Team Tracking Project Tracking
held to monitor progress and discuss basis to discuss progress on activities and status of high
issues? priority risks and open issues, changes and decisions.
Meeting
Do project team members report time Time reports should be completed on a regular basis (daily Time Report, Project Tracking
spent on project activities? or weekly) by team members and reviewed by team leads
or the project manager.
Tracking View
Managing Issues & Changes
Is there a process in place to manage An issue is a situation that occurs outside the control of the Project Issue, Issue & Change
project issues? project team that must be resolved in order for progress to
continue. In most cases, the issue must be resolved by a
Change Management
certain date or there will be an adverse affect on the project Management Log
deliverables, target dates or costs. The resolution to the
issue needs to be documented and understood by all
parties affected.
Is a formal change management Change is a constant on projects; it is a reality of project Change Request, Issue & Change
process used on the project? management. Changes require deviations from project
plan and can impact project scope, cost or schedule. The
Change Management
changes must be handled through five Change Management Log
Management processes: identification, evaluation,
recommendation, approval, and incorporation.
Does a Project Steering Committee The Project Steering Committee consists of various project Project Steering Stakeholder
exist to help manage issues and stakeholders. The specific make up of the Project Steering
changes? Committee will vary from project to project and will depend
Committee Management
on a number of factors
Is there a process in place to The Project Manager, in conjunction with the project team Decision Request, Issue & Change
escalate important project decisions? and/or Project Steering Committee will have to make
important decisions during the project that will affect its
Change Management
outcome. In some cases the decision will be made by the Management Log
project team and communicated to those affected. In other
cases, the decision will be escalated to the Project Steering
Committee for approval.
Is there a process in place to In response to decisions or issue resolutions, actions may Action Item, Issue & Change
escalate project action items? be required. Actions are not to be confused with planned
tasks or activities in the project schedule. Actions are
Change Management
unforeseen tasks undertaken to bring the project back into Management Log
alignment with baseline project plan.
Closing the Project
Have lessons learned from the Project lessons describe what worked well on the project. Project Closure Project Review &
project been documented for future This will provide an opportunity to carry these successes
projects over to future projects. Challenges and opportunities
Report Closure
encountered on the project provide recommendations for
improvement on future projects.
Has an assessment of the overall The purpose of the project review is to: Project Review Project Review &
project been conducted? • Assess the project management techniques used on the
project and recommend changes where applicable,
Report, Project Closure
• Review the application of the organization’s project Closure Report
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.
Has a review of the project business The purpose of the business case review is to compare the Project Closure Project Review &
case been conducted? achievement of business objectives and project benefits
with what was originally forecast
Report Closure
Has the project team provided an The Project Team Review section should be completed by Project Closure Project Review &
assessment of challenges and the team and submitted to the project reviewers for
successes from their perspective? inclusion in the Project Closure Report
Report Closure
Has a review of the technology and The technical review focuses on the technology and Project Closure Project Review &
lifecycle processes been conducted? lifecycle processes used on the project.
Report Closure
Does each project activity have a The activity name should consist of an action verb Activity Plan, Activity Activity Planning &
tangible deliverable? (produce, prepare, develop, install, etc) and an object of Planning View Estimating
that verb that names the activity deliverable
Has a project network diagram been The activity sequencing is shown using a Project Network Activity Plan, Activity Activity Scheduling
created? Diagram which illustrates how the project activities will flow Sequencing View
from beginning to end. It is created by establishing the
dependencies among project deliverables
Have activity dependencies been Activity Plan, Activity Activity Scheduling
established? Dependencies can be mandatory (based on required
completion of deliverables) or discretionary (based on Sequencing View
preferred sequence of activities).
Estimating Activities
Have activity duration and effort Activity estimates have two components: Activity Plan, Activity Activity Planning &
estimates been prepared? • Duration estimates (in days) provide an indication of how Estimating View Estimating
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.
Have PERT duration estimating Using PERT estimating, three duration estimates are Activity Plan, Activity Activity Planning &
techniques been used? prepared for each activity: optimistic (O), pessimistic (P) Estimating View Estimating
and most likely (M).
Have resource effort estimates been The effort required to perform an activity is dependent on Activity Plan, Activity Activity Planning &
prepared for each activity? the resources assigned. Because effort is variable by Estimating View Estimating
resource, it should be estimated for each resource
assigned to an activity.
Developing the Schedule
Has the project critical path been The critical path is defined as the sequence of activities Activity Scheduling Activity Scheduling
identified? with the longest duration. The critical path activities should View
be associated with production of important project
deliverables and not support tasks.
Have resource leveling techniques Resource leveling is necessary when: Activity Plan, Activity Scheduling
been applied to the project schedule? One resource is assigned to multiple activities and their Resource Leveling
over allocation must be leveled out by extending the View
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
Have duration compression To meet fixed end dates, the duration of the project critical Activity Scheduling Activity Scheduling
techniques been applied to the path may need to be shortened. This duration compression View
project schedule? can be accomplished through ‘fast tracking’ or ‘crashing’
the schedule.
Have schedule milestones been Schedule milestones (evenly distributed throughout the Activity Scheduling Activity Scheduling
established? schedule) are established for status tracking and reporting View
Has a baseline project schedule been A project baseline provides a foundation for tracking & Activity Scheduling Activity Scheduling
established? reporting and managing the effects of change. View
Monitoring the Schedule
Has a schedule management plan The Schedule Management Plan describes how the Schedule Project Schedule
been prepared? PMBOK time management processes will be carried out on Management Plan Management
the project
Is progress tracked and the schedule Updating the schedule on a regular basis enables Schedule Update Project Schedule
updated on a regular basis? forecasting: View Management
• Finish dates of activities started or already in progress,
• Estimated start dates of activities not yet started
Have schedule variance thresholds Schedule variance reporting procedures should include: Schedule Project Schedule
been established? • Frequency of reporting schedule variances Management Plan Management
• Responsibility for explaining schedule variances,
• Variance thresholds that will trigger explanation.
Are procedures in place to re- Approved change requests can be incorporated into the Schedule Project Schedule
establish the schedule baseline? project baselines. A new baseline schedule and/or project Management Plan Management
budget (depending on the nature of the change) is
established
Are actual costs being recorded on Actual cost expenditures incurred by the project can be Project Cost Project Cost
the project? captured using timesheets or the organization’s cost Tracking Management
accounting process
Are procedures in place to re- Approved change requests can be incorporated into the Cost Management Project Cost
establish the cost baseline? project baselines. A new baseline schedule and/or project Plan Management
budget (depending on the nature of the change) is
established
Are acceptance criteria defined for Acceptance criteria describe the conditions required for the Acceptance Criteria, Software Test
review and testing of project project deliverables to be accepted by the project sponsor. Acceptance Test Planning &
deliverables? The acceptance criteria should be prepared early in the Tracking Execution
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.
Testing
On software development projects, Test scripts identify the business functions to be tested. Test Case Software Test
are test scripts and test cases Test cases should be defined for each business function Planning &
defined for software testing? identified in the test script. They are designed to exercise Execution
the application’s response to both good and bad test data
During software testing, are defects Tests can be executed either manually or through the use Defect report, Defect Software Test
recorded and prioritized for of an automated testing tool that pumps test cases through Tracking Log Planning &
resolution? the application. In both cases it is important to record test Execution
results, track defects and assign priorities to deal with
defects
Has a project resource training plan Some of the resources assigned to the project will require Resource Skills Human Resource
been prepared? training to perform their roles and produce their Assessment, Planning
deliverables. This may occur when: Resource Training
• New technology is being adopted on a project,
Plan
• A software package has been purchased,
• Employees are provided with career development
opportunities on projects.
Managing the Team
Is a project kick-off event planned? The project team kick-off meeting is the first team meeting Team Kick-off Team Management
to be held on a project. The primary purpose of the team Meeting
kick-off meeting is to obtain commitment from team
members and key stakeholders.
Do project team members To encourage constructive behaviors, curtail subversive Team Charter Team Development
understand their roles on the project behaviors and guide the team through the development
and how they will work together? stages, a Team Charter should be prepared. The Team
Charter is an agreement that states:
• What the team wants to accomplish,
• Why the team is important,
• How the team will work together to accomplish its goals
Have open communication channels The groundwork for open communications within the project Team Team Management
been established within the project team is laid with the Team Communications Plan Communications
team? Plan
Have required project presentations The Project Presentation Plan identifies (for each type of Meeting & Communications
been planned? project presentation) the: Presentation Plan Planning
• 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)
Has a project document distribution The Project Document Distribution Plan describes: Document Communications
plan been prepared? • Original source of the information (previous project or Distribution Plan Planning
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
Is access to project documentation The Project Stakeholders Communications plan should Stakeholder Communications
provided for key stakeholders? describe procedures for: Communications Planning
• Accessing information between scheduled Plan
communications,
• Updating and refining the communications plan as the
project progresses.
Reporting Project Status
Are project accomplishments The project progress report is used to report on Project Progress Progress & Status
reported to stakeholders on a regular deliverables completed and accomplishments during the Report Reporting
basis? reporting period. It is also used to predict deliverables that
will be completed during the next reporting period.
Is project schedule and cost status Based on project milestones, status reports provide a Project Status Progress & Status
reported to stakeholders on a regular comparison of actual/forecasted completion dates with Report, Status View, Reporting
basis? schedule and cost baselines. Status Presentation
Is the status of project issues and The status of outstanding (or recently resolved) changes Project Progress Progress & Status
changes reported to stakeholders on and issues should be reported to stakeholders regularly. Report, Project Reporting
a regular basis? The description of the issue should include the impact on Status Report
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.
Is the status of high priority project A description of the specific risk and triggering event should Project Progress Progress & Status
risks reported to stakeholders on a be provided along with the risk priority (high, medium, or Report, Project Reporting
regular basis? low). The consequences that arise from the risk Status Report
occurrence should be described and the approved risk
decision (prevent, mitigate, monitor, or accept) should be
indicated
Have risk response plans evaluated Risk response plans often affect more that one risk event. Risk Response Plan, Risk Assessment &
to determine their effectiveness? Risk responses should be evaluated to determine the affect Risk Register Response Planning
of risk responses on the high priority risk events. The risk
response evaluation will also help uncover secondary and
residual risks.
Has a risk monitoring plan been The Risk Monitoring plan describes: Risk Response Plan, Risk Assessment &
implemented for high priority risks? • The tracking and control of risks (a continuous process Risk Register Response Planning,
involving both the project team and management). Risk 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.