Description
The Planning Phase begins when the project has been formally approved and funded, and the Project Charter is approved.  This Phase requires study and analysis culminating in the full Project Management Plan and that may lead to system development activities.

Acquisition activities are performed, if necessary, to obtain contractor support. The project work is broken down into specific tasks and sub-tasks, including the identification of project deliverables and assignment of allocated resources to each task.  Control documents relating to that effort are produced.  The degree of project management rigor that is to be applied to the project is determined and milestones are established. Specific plans for management and governance of the project are established and documented to guide ongoing project execution and control.  The Planning Phase ends with a formal review during which the adequacy of the Project Management Plan is determined.

In the planning phase, sufficient requirements detail is required to support the development of the project's Project Management Plan and permit outside validation of this deliverable.

Responsibilities
Business Owner:  The Business Owner is responsible for authorizing and ensuring that the funding and resources are in place to support the project.

Project Manager:  The Project Manager is responsible and accountable for the successful execution of the Planning Phase.  The Project Manager is responsible for leading the Integrated Project Team that accomplishes the Phase activities and deliverables.

Integrated Project Team:  The Integrated Project Team members (regardless of the organization of permanent assignment) are responsible for accomplishing assigned tasks as directed by the Project Manager.

Critical Partners:  Critical Partners assess completeness of Planning Phase activities, robustness of the plans for the next life cycle phase, availability of resources to execute the next phase, and acceptability of the acquisition risk of entering the next phase. For applicable projects, this assessment also includes the readiness to award any major contracting efforts needed to execute the next phase. 

• Enterprise Architecture: Conclude that compliance with Enterprise Architecture has been maintained.
• Security: Review the PMP Risk Management Plan accurately establishes that the security and privacy requirements have been identified and planned for.
• Acquisition: Make certain that acquisition activities to obtain contractor support have been completed in compliance with the Project Management Plan. Confirm that detailed activities and timelines for preparing acquisition documents, selecting vendors, and awarding contracts are developed.
• Budget: Determine if there is a realistic budget to accomplish all planned work and that the Total Cost of Ownership has been evaluated.
• Finance: Ensure that planning for financial management issues has been properly addressed and that interactions with financial systems are planned in compliance with financial standards and regulations.
• HR: Find out if required staff development has been documented and planned.
• Section 508: Verify that Applicable Section 508 standards are identified and planned for and that the vulnerability and impact of being non compliant with Section 508 has been included in the overall risk management planning.
• CPIC: Determine if the project has been tailored and approvals for any alteration of deliverables and reviews have been obtained and the Project Management Plan Sub-Plans (including the Risk Management Plan) are fully developed.
• Performance: Ensure that expected performance benefits are fully defined, that business product deliverables are well-planned, and that funding and resources are allocated.

IT governance organization:  During the Project Baseline Review, the IT governance organization examines whether scope, cost and schedule that have been established for the project are adequately documented and that the project management strategy is appropriate for moving the project forward in the life cycle.

Activities
The following activities are performed as part of the Planning Phase.  The results of these activities are captured in the Project Management Plan.
The Project Management Plan (PMP) is the primary managerial document in the life cycle of a project.  The components of this document can be tailored to the particular project's circumstances and typically include new or updated plans for:

• Risk Management
  
• Acquisition
  
• Change Management
  
• Configuration Management
  
• Project Categorization
  
• Requirements Management
  
• Communications
  
• Work Breakdown Structure/Project Schedule
  
• Independent Verification & Validation
  
• Quality Assurance
  
• Records Management
  
• Staff Development
  
• Security Approach

The Project Manager works with the CIO and Business Owner to verify the scope of the proposed program, participation of the key organizations, and potential individuals who can participate in the formal reviews of the project.  This decision addresses both programmatic and information management-oriented participation as well as technical interests in the project that are known at this time.

The PM plans the subsequent phases to allow development of the project schedule and budget requirements, and to define the expected performance benefits.  The PM also prepares a Project Process Agreement that specifies project deliverables and their expected levels of detail, and documents the justification for tailoring EPLC elements, if any.  Detailed activities and timelines for preparing acquisition documents, selecting vendors, and awarding contracts are developed.

The Integrated Project Team identifies all alternatives that may address the need and any programmatic or technical risks.  The risks associated with further development are also studied.  The results of these assessments are summarized in the Business Case and the Project Management Plan. To ensure that Privacy Act considerations are addressed early in the project lifecycle, the PM also prepares a Privacy Impact Assessment.

Exit Criteria
Objective: To determine if the project has finalized project planning and defined initial baselines and requirements to permit outside validation. 
Phase Specific Exit Criteria:

• The full scope of the project has been adequately described in the Business Case and the high level requirements meet the business need.
  
• The Project Management Plan is fully scaled and details all the appropriate components that address the needs of the project. This includes the definition of appropriately scaled reviews and deliverables.
  
• All Deliverables have been defined.
  
• The Acquisition Plan has been approved by the Contracting Officer and there is obligated money for contract awards. All applicable contract clauses have been considered.
  
• The risk limits of the Business Owner have been defined and risks of highest impact have been sufficiently addressed with either mitigation or contingency plans.

Generic Exit Criteria:

• Variances from baselines have been identified and mitigated.  [Cost and schedule variances and scope changes are identified, significant variances are explained, and Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) or rebaseline requests are in place as appropriate.]
• Investment baselines have been reviewed and revised as appropriate.  [Should this investment continue as-is, be modified, or be terminated based on current knowledge?]
• The Project Management Plan and component plans have been reviewed and appropriately updated. [This includes Risk Management, Acquisition Strategy, Change Management, Configuration Management, Project Categorization, Requirements Management, Communication Plan, WBS/Schedule, IV&V Planning, Quality Assurance, Records Management, Staff Development Plan and Security Approach.]

Project Review
The Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) is an internal inspection led by the Integrated Project Team to verify that the project baseline is in place, together with a realistic budget to accomplish all planned work. The IBR includes an evaluation of the Performance Measurement Baseline for realism and inherent risks. When contractor resources are involved, the IBR provides a forum through which the government's team gains a sense of ownership and understanding of the contractor's management process and assurance that earned value management has been appropriately established for the project.

Stage Gate Review
The Project Baseline Review (PBR) is a formal inspection of the entire project and performance measurement baseline initially developed for the IT project. This review is one of the four Stage Gate Reviews that cannot be delegated by the IT governance organization. The PBR is conducted to obtain management approval that the scope, cost and schedule that have been established for the project are adequately documented and that the project management strategy is appropriate for moving the project forward in the life cycle. Upon successful completion of this review, the Project Management Plan is officially baselined.

The PBR includes review of the budget, risk, and user requirements for the investment.  Emphasis should be on the total cost of ownership and not just development or acquisition costs.  Support and training issues may become very important from this perspective.