Schedule Management Plan: How To Make & Maintain One

Schedule Management Plan: How To Make & Maintain One

A schedule management plan is a document that explains how a project schedule will be created, tracked and managed. It sets the rules that will be followed to create and manage the schedule, assigns roles and responsibilities, and decides how often to update the schedule. It is not an essential part of every project, but it is an important foundation to know in your project management practice. The most important details in a schedule management plan are the tools used to build and manage the schedule, feedback, changes, reporting, and schedule integration. Schedules are flexible and the frequency with which they are updated is determined by the project, stakeholders, organization and more.

Feedback is delivered through status reports, team meetings or other communications, and changes need to be reviewed and approved by the project manager and/or project stakeholders. Reporting is essential for communicating progress to stakeholders, obtaining data to make better decisions and keeping the project on track. Schedule Integration is for those managing a schedule that's part of a larger schedule, or one project's schedule in a program or portfolio of projects.