Subsidiary Plans
Subsidiary plans are the individual management plans that are components of the overall project management plan, each addressing a specific Knowledge Area or management function.
Explanation
The project management plan is composed of multiple subsidiary plans, each focused on a specific aspect of project management. The standard subsidiary plans include the scope management plan, requirements management plan, schedule management plan, cost management plan, quality management plan, resource management plan, communications management plan, risk management plan, procurement management plan, and stakeholder engagement plan.
Each subsidiary plan defines the approach, processes, and procedures for managing its respective area. For example, the risk management plan describes how risks will be identified, analyzed, prioritized, and responded to. The communications management plan defines who needs what information, when, in what format, and through what channels. The cost management plan establishes the units of measure, level of precision, control thresholds, and earned value rules.
Subsidiary plans are developed during the Planning Process Group and become components of the integrated project management plan. They do not exist in isolation — they work together and must be consistent with each other. Changes to one subsidiary plan often have implications for others, which is why integrated change control is so important.
Key Points
- •Individual management plans for each Knowledge Area or function
- •Components of the overall project management plan
- •Include scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholder plans
- •Must be consistent with each other and integrated through the master plan
Exam Tip
Know what each subsidiary plan defines. The exam may present a scenario and ask which plan governs the described activity. For example, "how will stakeholder information needs be addressed?" points to the communications management plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Topics
Project Management Plan
The project management plan is the document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled, and closed.
Baselines (Scope, Schedule, Cost)
A baseline is the approved version of a work product that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results.
Planning Process Group
The Planning Process Group consists of processes performed to establish the total scope of the effort, define objectives, and develop the course of action required to attain those objectives.
Knowledge Areas
Knowledge Areas are the ten identified areas of project management expertise defined in the PMBOK Guide, each encompassing a set of related processes.
Test your knowledge
Practice scenario-based questions on this topic with detailed explanations.