Copyright (c) 2025 MindMesh Academy. All rights reserved. This content is proprietary and may not be reproduced or distributed without permission.

3.2.7. Key Project Artifacts: Part 3

💡 First Principle: Detailed plans and baselines serve as critical artifacts for guiding execution and measuring performance, providing a foundation against which progress and deviation can be objectively assessed.

Scenario: In a predictive project, the team creates a comprehensive 'Project Management Plan' with 'Baselines' for scope, schedule, and cost. In an adaptive project, the team creates a 'Release Plan' for the next few months and a more detailed 'Iteration Plan' for the next two weeks, using a 'Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD)' to monitor their workflow.

The final set of key artifacts, often including more detailed plans and baselines.

  • Iteration Plan / Release Plan: Plans outlining the work and goals for a specific iteration or release.
  • Requirements Management Plan / Test Plan: Plans describing how requirements or testing will be managed.
  • Project Management Plan (PMP): Comprehensive document integrating subsidiary plans (common in predictive/hybrid).
  • Product Breakdown Structure / WBS: Hierarchical decomposition of the product or project scope into smaller components.
  • Baselines (Scope, Schedule, Cost): Approved versions of plans used for performance measurement.
  • CFD (Cumulative Flow Diagram): Chart showing work accumulation in different workflow stages over time.
  • Business Model Canvas: Strategic template for developing or documenting business models.

⚠️ Common Pitfall: Treating baselines as rigid and unchangeable. Baselines are meant for performance measurement; if significant, approved changes occur, the baselines must be updated through a formal process to remain a useful measurement tool.

Key Trade-Offs:
  • Comprehensive Plan (PMP) vs. Lean Plan (Agile): A comprehensive PMP is necessary for projects requiring high degrees of control and predictability. Leaner plans (e.g., Release/Iteration plans) are better suited for adaptive environments where change is expected.

Reflection Question: How does a 'WBS' in a predictive project serve a similar purpose to a 'Product Backlog' in an adaptive project, and what are the key differences?