Project Support Planning

Welcome to “Project support planning.” After watching this video, you will be able
to: Explain project support planning, and
Discuss key objectives of project support planning. Project support planning is identifying and
managing the resources and support needed to successfully execute a project. This involves including personnel, equipment,
technology, training and financial resources. It begins after the scope, schedule, and cost
baselines are approved and accepted. The key objectives of support planning include:
Quality management planning, Resource Breakdown Structure,
Communications management plan, Risk planning,
Procurement planning, and Stakeholder engagement planning. Quality management planning involves the development
of a plan to ensure that the project deliverables meet the required quality standards. A quality management plan documents the methods
and guidelines applied in quality management. This plan also describes Quality Assurance
planning and Quality Control planning. The Resource Breakdown Structure visually
represents the project's resource requirements. It divides those resources into smaller, easier-to-manage
components. Here is an example of an RBS that specifies
the planning and managing of resources. Create a column that lists people responsible
for each Work Package. You may also enlarge the RBS to include start
and finish dates for every WBS work package. A communications management plan outlines
the communication requirements and expectations for a project. It is developed by the project manager during
support planning and approved by the sponsor. This plan identifies key communication items,
Assigns team leads to each item, Provides audience and media information,
Outlines timing issues, And tells the purpose of the communication. Here is an illustration with a sample entry. Risk planning is the process of identifying,
evaluating, and managing risks to reduce their influence on a project or organization. It includes the following three elements:
Plan Risk Management, Identify Risks and
Monitor Risk. The first step is to develop a risk management
plan that outlines shared methods, roles and responsibilities, and risk-scoring standards. The second step is to identify risks. To accomplish this step, evaluate the project
and record the risks. This helps to create solutions to lessen threats
and increase opportunities. The last step is to monitor risks. Perform periodic reassessment of risks to
monitor them. This will help to determine any new risks
and implement risk responses whenever needed. Procurement planning is the process of identifying
and procuring the products and services required to complete a project. It is essential to ensure that organizations
are able to acquire the goods and services they need in a timely and cost-effective manner. This process involves developing a procurement
management plan which includes all information and guidance necessary to manage the end-to-end
procurement process. The last plan is stakeholder engagement planning. It involves identifying and evaluating the
stakeholders engaged in a project or initiative and successfully interacting with them throughout
the project’s life cycle. Involvement of stakeholders is essential to
success. Therefore, the project manager and team assess
each stakeholder's current and desired levels of commitment and develop strategies to sustain
or achieve desired levels of commitment. In this video, you learned that:
Project support planning is the identification and management of the resources and support
a project requires for successful execution. And the key objectives of project support
include: Quality management planning,
Resource Breakdown Structure, Communications management plan,
Risk planning, Procurement planning, and
Stakeholder engagement planning.

Project Manager’s Role in Procurement Planning
Project Procurement Management
Project Procurement Management includes processes necessary to purchase or acquire products, services, or results needed from outside the Project Team. This includes management and control processes to develop and administer agreements such as contracts, purchase orders, Memorandums of Agreement (MOA), or Service Level Agreements.

The project manager oversees the creation of a Procurement Management Plan. This plan drives all procurement activities required to support the project. The project manager also manages and controls the end-to-end procurement process and ensures all seller deliverables meet the needs of the buyer organization. The Project Manager is not required to be an expert in procurement management but must identify experts who are.

Procurement Management Plan Contents
The Procurement Management Plan should include the following:

How the team will integrate procurement into the project scope, schedule, and cost baselines

Procurement schedules

Procurement metrics or key performance indicators goals

Procurement roles and responsibilities

Any assumptions or constraints that may impact procurement

Legal considerations that affect the procurement

Determination of independent estimates to validate seller proposal feasibility is needed

Source selection criteria that the team will use to select sellers

Risk factors that affect procurement

Prequalified Sellers—those sellers authorized to submit proposals

Types of Contracts
The project manager must determine the type of contract that will support the procurement. There are three common contract types to consider:

A Fixed Price contract enables the seller to provide a bid to provide services. The costs are known up-front, which reduces risk to the buyer.

With a Cost Reimbursement contract, the seller describes what they need. The costs are unknown up-front; the team receives invoices throughout the project. This contract type places risk on the buyer.

The manager usually uses a Time and Material contract for quick and easy procurements. The benefit of this type of contract is a fast procurement cycle with minimal negotiations needed.

The Procurement Management Plan becomes part of the finalized Project Management Plan approved by a Sponsor and accepted by stakeholders.

Conclusion
Project Procurement Management involves acquiring projects, services, or results from external sources through contracts and purchase orders. The Project Manager creates a Procurement Management Plan, which guides procurement activities and identifies experts. The manager uses different contract types, such as Fixed Price, Cost Reimbursement, and Time and Material.