Managing a Stage Boundary Outputs

The main outputs of Managing a Stage Boundary are the End Stage Report, the Next Stage Plan and the update to the Project Plan and Business Case. And as you now know, the Exception Plan will be created instead of the Next Stage Plan.

I will now briefly explain these:

• The End Stage Report provides a detailed report on the results of the current stage by comparing the performance of the stage to the original stage plan used at the beginning of the stage.

• The Next Stage Plan is a detailed day-to-day plan for the next stage and needs to be approved by the Project Board.

• The stage plan for next stage is created near the end of the current stage, so this means that the Managing a Stage Boundary process starts before the end of the Controlling a Stage process.

• The Project Plan is updated to incorporate the actual progress from the current stage, and it should also include the forecast planning for the next stage and should update time and cost data.

• The Business Case: The end of each stage is a good time to update the Business Case and check if the project is still viable and worth doing. The Project Board is also interested to know that the benefits of the project can still be realized within the agreed parameters, which are time, cost, quality, risk and scope.

• The Exception Plan: This plan is created only when the current stage goes beyond its tolerance level (e.g.: taking 15% longer than planned), and the Project Manager must therefore get authorization to complete the current stage.