The Ultimate Guide To Project Documentation (With Free Template)

11/12/22, 9:08 AM The Ultimate Guide to Project Documentation (with Free Template)
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What is Project Documentation - A guide &

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7 min • September 1, 2020
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Table of contents
Feeling overwhelmed by project documentation? Find out why
it's important as well as the most important elements to
What is project documentation?
include when putting it together. Our actionable guide and free
Who puts together project template will have you ready to go.
documentation?
What makes project documentation

so important?
What are the key elements of

project documentation?
What is project
documentation?
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
By browsing this website, you members alike. Combine this with poor organization, and
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https://slite.com/learn/project-documentation-guide 1/11
you’ve created the perfect storm. Such a project will be difficult

to execute and almost impossible to make successful.
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templateSign in Request a demo Start for free
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.
Who puts together

project documentation?
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
By browsing this website, you
accept our cookie policy. sometimes done in collaboration with human resources,
important stakeholders and other interested parties in relevant

project documentation phases as well.
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What makes project

documentation so
important?
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:
Keeping Everyone Informed: Project documentation increases

transparency and makes sure that all the key people working on a
project stay in the loop. This is particularly important in relation
to stakeholders who’ll want regular updates in relation to
timelines, budget, deliverables and milestones, but it also helps
teams work together more effectively. Try out our project budget
template here.
Breaking It Down: When considered in their entirety, projects are
incredibly complex. Project documentation allows you and your
team to break your project down into key project planning phases
represented by key documents and chew them off in bite-sized
pieces, so to speak.
Staying Organized: Effective project documentation helps you
keep track of the paperwork you need, and sift through what you
don't. Forget about losing track of important documents,
especially if you use a well-put-together template.
Making Collaboration Easy: When your whole project team has
access to the same software documentation resources for
example, it’s easy to work collaboratively in terms of assigning
tasks, working efficiently, tracking process and staying on top of
challenges as they come up.
What are the key

elements of project
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documentation?
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.
Phase 1: Initiation
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.
Project Proposal
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

By browsing this website, you manager and/or the project sponsor.
Project Charter
Product Templates
The project charter
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is sometimes
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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.
Planning
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?
Project Management Plan

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
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and version control, stakeholders and personnel,
communication policies and risk management.
Project Schedule
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!
Financial Plan
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.
Phase 3: Execution
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
By browsing this website, you 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,
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will be formed throughout this phase. How exciting!
Risk & Issues Log

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:
ID number
Event type (risk or issue, for example)
Event date
Description
Action required
Owner
Status
Priority (optional)
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.
Project Status Report

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.

accept our cookie policy. Project Communication Plan
Similar to project status reports, your project communication

plan establishes policies regarding how you and your project
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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.
Phase 4: Control
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.
Change Requests & Management

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:
ID number
Proposed change
Reason for proposed change
Timeline
Owner
Phase 5: Conclusion
Product  Templates AtPricing
last! your Blog
Get We’ve Signthe
reached
template in finalRequest
phase aofdemo Start life
your project’s for free
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.
Project Review Document

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.
Is there anything else I should include?

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:
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Human Resources Management Plan: This document is

sometimes included as part of a project’s management plan. An
HR management plan outlines guidelines related to staffing,
contracts, training and other HR matters.
Quality Assurance Plan: Also often included under the scope of a
project’s management plan, a quality assurance or QA plan
outlines the protocols and processes that will be put in place to
ensure the quality of the finished product.
Test Plan: A master test plan document is normally part of a
project’s control phase and determines protocols and processes
for how your product will be tested. It’s essentially a blueprint for
all product testing that will take place throughout your project’s
life cycle and is particularly important in the software and IT
industries.
Lessons Learned Register: A lessons learned register of part of a
project’s concluding phase. It serves as an additional project
closure document that prompts project managers and their teams
to reflect on the successes and drawbacks of their completed
project. The purpose of this document is to strive for improved
project management in the future!
WRIT TEN BY
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.
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11/12/22, 9:08 AM The Ultimate Guide to Project Documentation (with Free Template)

What is Project Documentation - A guide &

7 min • September 1, 2020

Get your template

What makes project documentation

What are the key elements of

At face value, project documentation is straightforward.

you’ve created the perfect storm. Such a project will be difficult

That’s where templates come in. A project documentation

Who puts together

Owing to this, effective project documentation is normally put

important stakeholders and other interested parties in relevant

What makes project

Keeping Everyone Informed: Project documentation increases

What are the key

Key milestones within Phase 1 include establishing the project

Project proposals templates are usually written by the project

Basically, your project charter tells you where you’re starting

Here, all the different project requirements and actions needed

Project Management Plan

There are also several documents that are sometimes included

All in all, you can usually count on project management plans

Pro Tip: Make sure the schedule you establish is realistic.

Since this document is in the planning phase, it’s usually the

The execution phase is often the longest phase as it comes with

Risk & Issues Log

Project Status Report

Whatever the purpose, this section consists of a collection of

By browsing this website, you

Similar to project status reports, your project communication

This section differs from project status reports, because instead

This section often focuses on communication with

The key difference between them is that the execution phase

Both phases benefit from good documentation, naturally.

Change Requests & Management

The following information is usually provided:

This phase focuses on the closure of your current project, but it

Effective reflection will further streamline your project

Project Review Document

This type of technical documentation normally summarizes

Is there anything else I should include?

The aforementioned elements make up general project

By browsing this website, you

are many other kinds of documents that you can integrate

Human Resources Management Plan: This document is

Brieuc Sebillotte is our Sales & Customer Success lead. Working

2016. Slite may Discover our

Give Slite a try Browse the list

What it's for How it works Resources Slite Compare Remote

Onboarding remotely What's new Startup Bibles Customers Dropbox Paper →

By browsing this website, you

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