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Software Development Project Plan

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gantthead.com Software Development Project Plan

Revision Chart
This chart contains a history of this documents revisions. The entries below are
provided solely for purposes of illustration. Yours will differ. Entries should be deleted
until the revision they refer to has actually been created.

Version Primary DescriptionofVersion Date

Author(s) Completed
Draft TBD Initialdraftcreatedfordistributionand TBD
reviewcomments
Preliminary TBD Seconddraftincorporatinginitial TBD
reviewcomments,distributedforfinal
review
Final TBD Firstcompletedraft,whichisplaced TBD
underchangecontrol
Revision1 TBD Reviseddraft,revisedaccordingtothe TBD
changecontrolprocessandmaintained
underchangecontrol
Revision2 TBD Reviseddraft,revisedaccordingtothe TBD
changecontrolprocessandmaintained
underchangecontrol
Yougetthe TBD TBD TBD
idea

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Preface
The preface contains an introduction to the document. It is optional and can be
deleted.

Contents
New paragraphs formatted as Heading 1, Heading 2 and Heading 3 will be added to
the table automatically. To update this table of contents, put the cursor anywhere in the
table and press F9.

1. Introduction...............................................................................................................4
1.1. Project Overview.........................................................................................4
1.2. Project Deliverables....................................................................................4
1.3. Evolution of the Software Development Project Plan................................4
1.4. Reference Materials...................................................................................4
1.5. Definitions and Acronyms...........................................................................4
2. Project Organization.................................................................................................5
2.1. Process Model............................................................................................5
2.2. Organizational Structure.............................................................................6
2.3. Organizational Boundaries and Interfaces.................................................6
2.4. Project Responsibilities..............................................................................6
3. Managerial Process..................................................................................................7
3.1. Management Objectives and Priorities......................................................7
3.2. Assumptions, Dependencies and Constraints............................................7
3.3. Risk Management.......................................................................................7
3.4. Monitoring and Controlling Mechanisms....................................................7
3.5. Staffing Plan................................................................................................7
4. Technical Process.....................................................................................................8
4.1. Methods, Tools and Techniques.................................................................8
4.2. Software Documentation............................................................................8
4.3. Development Project Support Functions....................................................8
5. Plan Details...............................................................................................................8
5.1. WBS............................................................................................................8
5.2. Resource Requirements.............................................................................8
5.3. Budget and Resource Allocation................................................................8
5.4. Schedule.....................................................................................................9
6. Additional Components.............................................................................................9
7. Index.........................................................................................................................9
8. Appendices...............................................................................................................9

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List of Figures

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the table automatically. To update this table of contents, put the cursor anywhere in the
table and press F9.

This section can be deleted if the document contains no figures.

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1. Introduction
1.1. Project Overview

Give a short summary of the project objectives, software product to be delivered, key
activities, major deliverables, crucial milestones, required resources, and top-level
schedule and budget. Describe the relationship of this project to other projects, if
appropriate.

1.2. Project Deliverables

List all of the major items to be delivered to the customer, both external customers and
in-house users.

List the deliverables, delivery dates, delivery locations, delivery method (email, FTP,
CD, etc.), and quantities necessary to satisfy the projects requirements.

1.3. Evolution of the Software Development Project Plan

Describe how you expect this document to evolve over time. This section should
resemble the Revision Chart in the beginning of the document. The Revision Chart
should list what has already been done to this document. This section should list what
you expect to do to this document.

This chart contains a plan for the documents revisions. The entries below are provided
for purposes of illustration. The progression from Draft to Preliminary to Final and
then through a section of Revisions is one typical approach. Yours might vary.

Version Primary DescriptionofVersion DateExpected

Author(s)
Draft TBD Initialdraftcreatedfordistributionand TBD
reviewcomments
Preliminary TBD Seconddraftincorporatinginitial TBD
reviewcomments,distributedforfinal
review
Final TBD Firstcompletedraft,whichisplaced TBD
underchangecontrol
Revision1 TBD Reviseddraft,revisedaccordingtothe TBD
changecontrolprocessandmaintained
underchangecontrol

1.4. Reference Materials

List all documents and other materials referenced in this Plan. Use bibliography style.

1.5. Definitions and Acronyms

Provide definitions or references for special terms and acronyms used within this
document. Your readers will thank you.

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2. Project Organization
2.1. Process Model

Describe:

The projects lifecycle model (e.g., waterfall model, spiral model, evolutionary
prototyping model, etc.)
The projects major milestones (content and completion schedule). Include a text
description of the meaning of each milestone plus a Gantt chart or other high-level
description of the projects schedule.
Major work products, tabularized as follows:

WorkProductName Planned Placed Deliverable WhoMustSign

Completion Under to OffonWork
Date Change Customer? Product
Control?
SoftwareProject TBD Yes No ProjectManager,
ManagementPlan Engineering
Controllingdocumentfor Lead,QALead,
managingasoftware Documentation
developmentproject. Lead
Definestechnicaland
managerialprocesses
necessarytodeliverthe
projectrequirements.
Nameofworkproduct TBD TBD TBD TBD

Consider including all of the following:

Change Control Plan

Change Proposals
Vision Statement
Top 10 Risks List
Software Development Project Plan, including project cost and schedule
estimates
User Interface Style Guide
User Manual/Requirements Specification
Quality Assurance Plan
Software Architecture
Software Integration Procedure
Staged Delivery Plan
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Individual Stage Plans, including miniature milestone schedules

Coding Standards
Detailed Design Documents
Software Construction Plans
Deployment Plan
Release Checklist
Release Sign-Off Form
Software Project Log
Software Project History Document
The items in this section (and, in general, in this document) can be fully described here,
if not described in sufficient detail elsewhere.

2.2. Organizational Structure

Describe the internal management structure of the project. Use organizational charts,
matrix diagrams, or other appropriate notations to describe the lines of authority,
responsibility and communication within the project.

2.3. Organizational Boundaries and Interfaces

Describe the relationships between the project and each of the following organizations
and the role(s) responsible for each relationship:

Parent organization (upper management)

Customer organization (internal or external)
Subcontracting organization(s) (if any)
QA organization, if separate
Documentation organization, if separate
End-user support organization, if separate
Any other organizations with which the project interacts
2.4. Project Responsibilities

Identify and describe each major project function and activity, and identify the person(s)
responsible for each. You can use a table like the one below:

Responsibility Individual(s)Responsible
OverallProjectManagement TBD
EngineeringManagement TBD
QualityAssuranceManagement TBD
EndUserDocumentationManagement TBD
RequirementsDevelopment TBD
SoftwareArchitecture TBD
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Responsibility Individual(s)Responsible
TechnicalSelfReviews TBD
Yougottheidea! TBD

3. Managerial Process
3.1. Management Objectives and Priorities

Describe the philosophy, goals and priorities for management during the project.
Consider including the following items:

type of status reporting

relative priorities among functionality, schedule and budget
risk management procedures
approach to acquiring third party software
approach to modifying or using existing software
3.2. Assumptions, Dependencies and Constraints

Describe the assumptions upon which the project plans are based, the dependencies
of the project plans, and the constraints upon the project plans (e.g., schedule, budget,
quality, functionality, etc.).

3.3. Risk Management

Describe the major risks to the project, which the project plan has been designed to
address. Describe how risks will be tracked and monitored (can include Top 10 Risks
list).

3.4. Monitoring and Controlling Mechanisms

Describe how project cost, schedule, quality and functionality will be tracked throughout
the project. Consider describing the following:

Report content/formats
Reporting structure and frequency
Audit mechanisms
Project web site
Time accounting
3.5. Staffing Plan

Describe the numbers and types of personnel needed to conduct the project. Describe
the required skill levels, start times, duration on the project, method of obtaining the
personnel, training required and phasing out of project personnel.

4. Technical Process
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4.1. Methods, Tools and Techniques

Describe the following:

The computing system environment, including hardware and operating system

environment
Software tools, including design tools, source code control, time accounting,
compiler or IDE, debugging aids, defect tracking, etc.
Development methodologies, including requirements development practices, design
methodologies and notations, programming language, coding standards,
documentation standards, system integration procedures, etc. (These will not all be
defined when the first draft of the project plan is created; the section should be
updated as the plans become more detailed.)
Quality assurance practices, including methods of technical peer review, unit
testing, code debugging, system testing, automated regression testing, etc.
4.2. Software Documentation

List the supporting documents that will be developed for the project, including
milestones, reviews and signoffs for each document. The documentation list will
include some of the major work products identified in Section 2.

4.3. Development Project Support Functions

Reference or describe plans for functions that support the software development effort,
including configuration management, quality assurance and end-user documentation.
Whether included in this document or described elsewhere, the plans for these
supporting functions should be developed in as much detail as the plans for the
software itself are. (This includes responsibilities, resource requirements, schedule,
budget, etc.)

5. Plan Details
5.1. WBS

Outline the work breakdown structure (WBS) of tasks that must be followed to develop
the software, including dependencies between tasks.

5.2. Resource Requirements

List the resources required for each activity in the WBS. Include human, computer and
physical facility resources needed.

5.3. Budget and Resource Allocation

Detail how the projects budget and resources will be allocated to all development and
support functions for the project.

5.4. Schedule

Describe the schedule of project activities, taking into account the dependencies and
required milestone dates and deliverable dates. Express schedules either as absolute

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calendar dates or as time relative to key project milestones (e.g., requirements signed
off + 60 days).

6. Additional Components
Include additional components needed to manage your specific project. Possibilities
include subcontractor management plans, security plans, training plans, hardware
procurement plans, facilities plans, installation plans, legacy system transition plans,
and software maintenance plans.

7. Index
The index is optional according to the IEEE standard. If the document is made
available in electronic form, readers can search for terms electronically.

8. Appendices
Include supporting detail that would be too distracting or lengthy to include in the main
body of the document.

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