Feeling overwhelmed by project documentation? Find out why it's important as well as the most important elements to include in our actionable guide and free template.
Project documentation is exactly what it sounds like. At its most basic, it consists of a collection of the essential documents that make up a project. Sounds pretty straightforward, right?
At face value, project documentation is straightforward. However, the sheer volume of paperwork involved in most projects is often daunting to project managers and team members alike. Combine this with poor organization, and you’ve created the perfect storm. Such a project will be difficult to execute and almost impossible to make successful.
That’s where templates come in. A project documentation template reminds you what key project management documents need to be collected, keeps them organized and facilitates easy collaboration. This is why project management teams are increasingly making use of project documentation templates as of the project initiation process.
Project documentation is best developed collaboratively. Having said that, project managers have the final say in terms of signing off on it. They are in charge of the project’s management system, process (and process documentation), deliverables, and results, after all.
Owing to this, effective project documentation is normally put together by project managers or other PMPs (project management professionals) and their project teams. This is sometimes done in collaboration with human resources, important stakeholders and other interested parties in relevant project documentation phases as well.
The importance of project documentation incorporated into project management tools can’t be underestimated. Don’t make the rookie mistake of shying away from the initial time investment project documentation requires only to end up with more (poorly organized) work on your plate down the road. Veteran project managers sing the praises of project documentation from the rooftops. This is because there are several key ways that using it will help you and your team:
Project documentation looks a little bit different depending on the industry, company and specific project. However, you can find some variation of the following key elements in the vast majority of project documentation.
We’ll outline each of the key documents below, but they can also be categorized into 5 phases: Initiation, Planning, Execution, Control and Conclusion.
The initiation phase is the first phase in a project’s life cycle. This is when a given project is formally approved and brought to life.
Key milestones within Phase 1 include establishing the project manager and project team members, addressing issues of feasibility and justification, determining key project objectives and outlining a project scope statement. These topics are often fleshed out further in Phase 2 as well.
The project proposal, also known as a business case, is usually the document that kicks off your project development. Keep your project proposal short and sweet. All you need to explain is what your project concept is and what problem it will ultimately address.
Project proposals templates are usually written by the project manager and/or the project sponsor.
The project charter is sometimes referred to as the anchor or blueprint of a project. It’s the first document that’s compiled after your project proposal receives formal approval. Most importantly, it establishes your project team as well as the key actions needed to bring your project to life. It also often covers initial funding allocation and authorization.
Basically, your project charter tells you where you’re starting from. View our Project Charter template here. Alternatively, for bigger projects, you can create a Statement of Work (SoW), which is more detailed than a project charter.
You’ve secured formal approval for your new project… now what? Well, you’ve entered the second phase of your project’s life cycle. The planning phase! This phase is absolutely critical to a successful project. The more details you collect, the easier the eventual execution of your project will be.
Here, all the different project requirements and actions needed to bring your project to life are outlined as comprehensively as possible, while still keeping things succinct. How’s that for a challenge?
With your project management plan, you’re really getting down to the nitty gritty of how your project will come to life. A project management plan can be as short or as long as you want it to be, but it will likely be one of your longest documents.
Basically, you’re asking yourself and your team: “What are all the steps we’ll have to take to successfully complete this project, from beginning to end?”
There are also several documents that are sometimes included within project plans, but can also exist by themselves. These include documents like work breakdown structures (WBS), human resources management plans and quality assurance plans.
All in all, you can usually count on project management plans to address topics like deliverables, time frame, budget, quality and version control, stakeholders and personnel, communication policies and risk management.
This document is pretty self-explanatory, but it outlines an initial schedule for the deliverables, milestones and phases of your project. Your timeline will likely change throughout your project’s life cycle, but think of this schedule as your starting point.
Pro Tip: Make sure the schedule you establish is realistic. Don’t commit to deadlines that you know your team won’t be able to meet!
This is another fairly self explanatory document, but it essentially consists of an anticipated budget for your project. It often covers topics like fund procurement and allocation, contracts, financial processes and even projected return on investment (ROI).
Since this document is in the planning phase, it’s usually the initial or projected budget. There’s sometimes another financial document in the execution or control phase in the form of a budget tracker.
Sometimes referred to as the implementation phase, Phase 3 is when all your planning finally gets put into action. Your team will move from preparation mode to actually putting concrete actions into force.
The execution phase is often the longest phase as it comes with the loftiest goals. Your finished product, whatever that may be, will be formed throughout this phase. How exciting!
A risk and issues log is a key risk management tool. It consists of a log that helps you keep track of project issues that come up as well as potential future risks on the horizon. The following information is usually included:
Some risk registers are made with Excel, while others are simple lists.
RAID logs are also sometimes used in place of Risk & Issues Logs. RAID stands for: Risks, Assumptions, Issues & Dependencies.
Depending on your communication plan, you’ll need to provide regular status reports to various people working on your project. These might consist of stakeholder updates, weekly reviews or department updates.
Whatever the purpose, this section consists of a collection of documents that report on your project’s progress. This is particularly important because it keeps everyone involved on the same page throughout the project’s life cycle. Project status reports can even be used to allocate tasks and next steps.
Similar to project status reports, your project communication plan establishes policies regarding how you and your project team will communicate while working together. Effective communication is vital in project management.
This section differs from project status reports, because instead of establishing project progress, your communication plan lays out exactly how communication will happen. This encompasses specific communication methods, communication frequency and contact information details.
This section often focuses on communication with stakeholders, but it’s important for your project team as well. If your project has an established workflow on Slite, for example, it should be indicated here.
The control phase is sometimes considered to be part of the execution phase, but the two can be separated as well.
The key difference between them is that the execution phase focuses more on putting project processes into action, whereas the control phase focuses on observing those processes and making changes as they come up.
Both phases benefit from good documentation, naturally.
This is the most important section in the control phase of any project and often takes the form of a log. Whenever a change needs to be made to the original project plan, it should be requested and recorded in the change management section.
The following information is usually provided:
At last! We’ve reached the final phase of your project’s life cycle and we’re sure that the result will be a roaring success.
This phase focuses on the closure of your current project, but it also looks towards future projects. Most importantly, you present all deliverables and your finished product. However, this is also a great opportunity to conduct final meetings with your project team and stakeholders, as well as reflect upon what went well during the project and what could be improved upon in the future.
Effective reflection will further streamline your project documentation and management processes and lead to increased success in your future endeavors.
Also known as a project closure document, a project review document formally concludes your project. Hooray! Just like the project proposal, this document will need review and approval by the project manager, sponsor and relevant stakeholders.
This type of technical documentation normally summarizes what the project accomplished and/or produced, any notable big wins or difficulties and post-project issues or tasks that need to be addressed.
As previously mentioned, all project documentation looks a little bit different depending on the industry, company and project context.
The aforementioned elements make up general project documentation essentials, but our list isn’t exhaustive. There are many other kinds of documents that you can integrate depending on your needs, such as a:
Brieuc Sebillotte is our Sales & Customer Success lead. Working closely with customer facing teams, his role is to make sure every prospect and customers enjoy the async life. Brieuc lives in Marseille, France. He often rides his Renault Kangoo to discover the best spots on weekends and holidays in Europe! Find him @Brieuc1 on Twitter.
