The PPMM’s 10 steps cover the full arc of project implementation — from defining the project to delivering results. This unit maps the terrain.
Each of the PPMM’s 10 steps has a clear question it answers, a defined set of inputs and techniques, and a specific output that becomes an input to the next step. Understanding the structure helps you know which step applies to your current situation — and what you need to have in place before you start.
In this unit
Overview of the 10-step structure · Steps 1–4: Initiation and planning foundations · Steps 5–7: Contracting, leadership, and risk · Steps 8–10: Integration, kick-off, and delivery · Navigation tips for practice
This unit takes about 10 minutes.
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The 10-step structure at a glance
Each step builds on the one before. The outputs of early steps become the essential inputs for later ones.
Tap any step to see what it covers and what it produces.
Initiation & Planning
1
High-Level Project Definition
What is your project?
Output: Project Charter
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The starting point for any project. The team uses project design documents to build a shared understanding of the project’s purpose, objectives, scope, and governance. The Project Charter — the step’s key output — gives the project manager formal authority and provides all team members a shared reference. It should be in place early in the execution preparation period.
2
Project Scope Management
What is the work involved?
Output: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
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The project’s work is decomposed into manageable components — from the highest-level component down to individual work packages at the lowest level. The WBS is a hierarchical diagram that ensures every piece of work is visible, connected to a deliverable, and understood by the team. All subsequent planning steps depend on it.
3
Project Time Management
When are you going to do it?
Output: Network Diagram
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Work packages from the WBS are sequenced, durations estimated, and dependencies mapped. The Network Diagram shows the logical flow of work and identifies the critical path — the sequence of tasks that determines the earliest possible completion date. This step makes schedule constraints visible before they become problems.
4
Project Cost Management
How much is it going to cost?
Output: S-Curve
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With scope and schedule defined, the team estimates costs for each work package and plots cumulative expenditure against time. The S-Curve is a graphical representation that shows the expected spending pattern across the project life — an essential tool for tracking progress, identifying variances, and maintaining financial transparency with MCC.
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Steps 5–7: Contracting, people, and risk
With scope, schedule, and cost in place, the PPMM turns to the organizational questions: who delivers, who is involved, and what could go wrong.
Contracting, Leadership & Risk
5
Project Contract Management
Who needs to be contracted?
Output: Contract Matrix
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The Contract Matrix maps which work packages require contracted services, what procurement method applies, and what the expected timeline is. It aligns procurement planning with the WBS and Network Diagram so that contracting decisions are grounded in project reality — not managed in isolation. This step connects the project team’s delivery planning to the Procurement function.
6
Project Leadership & Stakeholder Management
Who needs to be involved?
Outputs: Stakeholder Coordination Plan · RACI Matrix
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People are the most important asset in project management. This step identifies every person involved in the project, maps their communication needs, and clarifies who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed (RACI) for each work package and key decision. The Stakeholder Coordination Plan structures communication throughout the project lifecycle to prevent misunderstanding and unpleasant surprises.
7
Project Risk Management
How do you manage uncertainty?
Output: Risk Matrix
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Risks are identified, assessed for probability and impact, prioritized, and assigned response strategies. The Risk Matrix is a living document — it tracks identified risks, the response approach for each (mitigate, accept, escalate, exploit), the person responsible, and the deadline for the next action. High-scoring risks must be addressed first.
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Steps 8–10: Integration, kick-off, and delivery
The final three steps pull the planning together, launch execution, and drive delivery through structured quarterly cycles.
Integration & Execution
8
Project Integration Management
How do you manage alignment and change control?
Outputs: Planning Matrix · Change Control Matrix
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All planning elements from Steps 1–7 are brought together into an integrated Planning Matrix, creating a single coherent view of the project. The Change Control Matrix establishes how changes to scope, schedule, or budget are requested, reviewed, approved, and recorded — ensuring that adjustments are managed systematically rather than informally. This step strengthens governance and ensures that all parts of the plan stay aligned as the project evolves.
9
Project Kick-off
How are you going to deliver it?
Outputs: Quarterly Implementation Plan (QIP) · Self-Assignment of Roles
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Planning transitions to execution with a formal kick-off meeting. The team produces the first Quarterly Implementation Plan (QIP) — a 3-month plan divided into six two-week sprints, with prioritized work packages for each sprint and roles self-assigned by team members. This step bridges long-term planning with short-term, manageable action cycles.
10
Project Delivery
What are the results?
Outputs: Priority Work Packages Delivered · Lessons Learned
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The team works through sprint cycles to deliver priority work packages, using a Kanban board to track progress and manage workflow. Alongside delivery, the team reflects on lessons learned — capturing insights that inform future planning and execution. Delivery is not just about completing tasks; it is about building institutional knowledge that improves the project as it progresses.
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How the steps connect
The PPMM’s power comes from the chain of dependencies between steps. Outputs feed forward — and skipping a step breaks the chain.
Every PPMM step produces an output that becomes an input to one or more subsequent steps. This is not bureaucratic formality — it is structural integrity. A project that skips scope management (Step 2) cannot produce a reliable schedule (Step 3), which means cost estimates (Step 4) will be wrong, and the Contract Matrix (Step 5) will not reflect actual procurement needs.
Each arrow represents a step where the output of the left becomes a required input on the right.
When teams skip steps
The most common failure pattern is moving to contracting (Step 5) before scope (Step 2) and schedule (Step 3) are complete. The result: procurement timelines are disconnected from delivery reality, variation orders arrive before the contract baseline is stable, and the team spends Year 3 resolving problems that should have been visible in Year 1.
The PPMM allows experienced teams to enter at a specific step if they already have the required inputs from prior steps. But that exception requires those inputs to actually exist — not to be assumed.
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Navigation tips for practice
The PPMM is a working document — not a one-time compliance exercise. Here is how experienced teams use it effectively.
1
Use the outputs as living documents. The Project Charter, Risk Matrix, and QIP should be updated as the project evolves — not filed after initial creation. A Risk Matrix last reviewed in Month 3 is not a risk management tool.
2
Check your inputs before starting a step. Before you begin any PPMM step, confirm that the required inputs from earlier steps exist and are current. Starting Step 7 (Risk) without a complete WBS and Network Diagram means your risk register will miss sequencing-related risks.
3
Use the QIP sprint rhythm. The 6-sprint quarterly cycle is designed to maintain momentum and accountability. Teams that abandon the sprint structure in favor of informal to-do lists lose the visibility that makes the QIP valuable.
4
Record lessons learned continuously. Lessons learned captured at Step 10 are most useful when they have been accumulating throughout the project — not assembled in a rush during closeout.
5
Store outputs accessibly. All PPMM documents — especially the Project Charter — should be stored in a location accessible to both MCC and MCA throughout the project lifecycle. Documents managed from personal files cannot serve as institutional memory.
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Unit 2 summary
The PPMM’s 10 steps give compact implementation a logical, accountable structure from project definition through final delivery.
Steps 1–4Initiation and planning: define the project, break down scope, sequence work, estimate costs
Steps 8–10Integration, kick-off, delivery: pull planning together, launch with a QIP, deliver and learn
Key principleSteps are dependent — outputs feed forward. Skipping steps breaks the chain and creates gaps that compound over time
In practicePPMM documents are living tools — update them, store them accessibly, use the QIP sprint rhythm, and capture lessons throughout
In Unit 3, you will see how the PPMM’s procedures and checklists apply to your specific role — whether you work in procurement, finance, project management, or social and environmental compliance.