Process · Topic 1 of 12
Project Plan and Delivery Approach
Choose between predictive, iterative, incremental, agile and hybrid approaches, tailor them to your project, and build an integrated project plan.
- 6 min
- The business case justifies the investment, and the charter authorizes the project and the project manager.
- The integrated plan consists of subsidiary plans and the scope, schedule and cost baselines.
- Predictive, iterative, incremental, agile and hybrid are the main approaches.
What it is
An integrated project management plan pulls together everything needed to run the project: how the work is done, how it is controlled and how it is delivered. Planning delivery means choosing the right way to deliver the product, then shaping the plan around that choice.
The plan is not a single document that nobody reads. It is a set of linked parts that describes the approach and, in predictive work, the baselines against which progress is measured.
How it works
Development approaches
The project lifecycle describes the phases the project passes through. The development approach describes how the product is built. The main choices are:
| Approach | Idea | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Predictive | Plan scope, schedule and cost up front, then execute to the plan | Requirements are stable and well understood, change is costly |
| Iterative | Build and refine the product in repeated cycles | Requirements need exploration |
| Incremental | Deliver usable pieces one after another | Early value matters |
| Agile | Iterative and incremental with fast feedback and change | Requirements are uncertain and change is expected |
| Hybrid | Combine elements, such as predictive planning with agile delivery | Different parts of the work have different needs |
Choosing and tailoring
Tailoring means adapting the approach to the project. Factors to weigh include how stable the requirements are, how often they will change, regulatory demands, the cost of rework, team experience, how available customers are, and the level of risk.
A construction project with fixed regulations and expensive rework usually leans predictive. A new mobile app with unclear user needs leans agile. Many real projects land in between, which is why hybrid is common.
The charter and the business case
The business case explains why the organization should invest. The project charter authorizes the project and gives the project manager authority to use resources. Both feed the plan, so check them first if a question asks where to begin.
Critical information and sustainability
Before detailed planning, decide what information the project needs for decisions and planning, who owns it and how it will be collected. Examples are requirements, constraints, regulations, stakeholder needs and performance measures.
Sustainability belongs on that list. It covers the environmental, social and governance effects of the project and its product, such as energy use, waste, community impact and ethical sourcing. Treat it as a planning input, set targets where they matter, and track them as metrics alongside schedule and cost.
What the integrated plan contains
In a predictive project, the plan includes subsidiary plans and baselines.
- Subsidiary plans: scope, requirements, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communication, risk, procurement and stakeholder engagement.
- Baselines: the approved scope, schedule and cost that progress is measured against.
- Other parts: the development approach, the lifecycle, change management and configuration management approaches, and how performance will be measured.
Plans are progressively elaborated. Rolling wave planning plans near term work in detail and later work at a higher level, then adds detail as the time approaches.
Assessing the consolidated plan
Once the subsidiary plans are combined, review them together before baselining. Look for these problems.
- Conflicts between plans, such as a schedule that needs more people than the resource plan provides, or a budget too small for the schedule.
- Dependencies that cross plans, such as a procurement lead time that holds up a schedule milestone.
- Gaps, such as a deliverable with no owner, no quality check or no cost.
- Continued value: re-check the plan against the business case and the benefits it promised.
Resolve the findings, then seek approval for the integrated plan.
Planning in agile and hybrid projects
Agile planning is lighter and more frequent. The team keeps a product vision and a roadmap, a release plan with a rough sequence of releases, and a sprint plan for the next short cycle. Detailed planning happens just in time.
In a hybrid project, a high level plan may set the budget, milestones and governance, while teams plan their sprints within it. The project manager makes sure the two layers connect.
Planning the delivery
Delivery planning decides what is delivered when. Consider how the work will be split into releases or phases, which deliverables are needed first, dependencies, availability of people and the way the customer will accept work. Delivery cadence should match how quickly the organization can absorb change.
A kickoff meeting then brings the team and key stakeholders together. It confirms the approach, roles, objectives and the next steps.
Keeping the plan current
The plan is a living tool. As the project learns more, the project manager updates the plan through the agreed change process, and communicates the changes.
If a question describes unclear requirements and a customer who can give regular feedback, the best answer usually leans agile or hybrid, not a detailed up front plan.
What to remember for the exam
- The business case justifies the investment, and the charter authorizes the project and the project manager.
- The integrated plan consists of subsidiary plans and the scope, schedule and cost baselines.
- Predictive, iterative, incremental, agile and hybrid are the main approaches.
- Pick the approach by requirement stability, change frequency, regulation, rework cost, team experience and risk.
- Tailoring adapts the approach, tools and processes to the project.
- Rolling wave planning details near term work and keeps future work high level.
- Agile planning layers are the vision, roadmap, release plan and sprint plan.
- A kickoff meeting launches the plan and aligns the team.
Common mistakes
Choosing an approach because of habit. The decision should come from the project's characteristics, not the project manager's preference.
Treating hybrid as a mix with no structure. A hybrid approach still needs a clear rationale for which parts are predictive and which are adaptive.
Believing agile means no planning. Agile planning is frequent and light, not absent.
Confusing the plan with the baselines. Baselines are approved versions of scope, schedule and cost. The plan includes more.
Planning everything in detail too early. Far future work is uncertain, so plan it at a high level first.
Do not change a baseline without going through change control, because the baselines are the reference for measuring performance.
Check yourself
Which approach fits stable requirements and expensive rework?
A predictive approach with detailed up front planning.
What is rolling wave planning?
Planning near term work in detail while leaving later work at a high level, then adding detail as it approaches.
Which document authorizes the project manager to use resources?
The project charter.
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