University of Illinois System

Recommended Project Artifacts by Phase

The following artifacts are recommended or required for each project management phase.

Project phase Required Highly recommended
Originating  Project proposal: A project proposal includes a description of the work, business case, alternatives considered, the impact of not doing the work, an initial estimate of resources and schedule, and strategic match.  A project proposal starter template is available on this site.  
Initiating Project charter: The project charter acts to define a number of key project elements including a project description, scope definition, and role/responsibility definition. A project charter starter template is available on this site. Kickoff presentation: A PowerPoint presentation that can be used to review the main sections of the project charter and communication plan during the kickoff meeting.  A starter kickoff presentation template is available.

Team roles description: A description of typical roles on a project team that can be customized for a specific project.  A sample role description document is available.
Planning Communication plan: The Project Communication plan is created by the project team early in a project to indicate their agreement on how the team will communicate important information during the project - status, meetings, issues, deliverables access, and design/ document reviews. It is recommended that this plan is completed early enough to be included for review at the Project Kick-off Meeting. A starter communication plan is available on this site.

WBS and project schedule: A Work Breakdown Structure, or WBS, is a hierarchical organization of high-level activities that must be done to complete the work of the project.  The project schedule documents the project tasks, deliverables, milestones, schedule, participants and budget and should facilitate communication among project stakeholders.  The project schedule is a living document that will be consulted and modified throughout the life of the project as factors within and outside the project.  A starter WBS and schedule is available on this site.
Project stakeholder analysis worksheet: A worksheet to be used by the project manager to ensure all important stakeholders as assessed prior to completing the communication plan.  This document should not be distributed. A worksheet is available on this site.

High-level requirements: Please consult with your PM Lead or PMO for your organization’s requirements document template.
Executing, Monitoring, and Controlling Action items tracking workbook:  An MS Excel workbook, SharePoint list, or other spreadsheet-like tools with some battle-tested fields for tracking project action items. An MS Excel workbook for this is available here.

Project status:  This is a project status that can be used to communicate status to stakeholders and executives. While this status may take different forms, a high-level project status sheet is provided.

Decision log: An MS Excel workbook, SharePoint list, or other spreadsheet-like tools that help with the tracking and record keeping of decisions for a project. An MS Excel workbook for this is available on this site.

Status meeting agenda: A standard agenda with sections for supporting materials that can be used for project status meetings. An MS Word template for this agenda is available on this site.

Project change request form: An MS Excel workbook or another form for recording change request information. A project change request form is available on this site.

Project change request log: A simple MS Excel workbook for tracking the status of submitted change requests.

Risk log: Use an MS Excel workbook, SharePoint list, Clarity or other spreadsheet-like tools to track and manage the project risks. Here is a template of an MS Excel workbook to track project risks.

Issue log:  An MS Excel workbook, SharePoint list, or other spreadsheet-like tools that help with the tracking and resolution of project issues. An MS Excel workbook for issue tracking is available on this site.

Closing   Transition plan: A document to help transition open tasks and the project product to the appropriate service managers, owners, or support team.  An MS Word transition plan template is available on this site.