| Course | PM 490 Project Management Capstone (PM/490) |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Capstone project plan |
| Length | about 1,028 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Business |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PM 490 Week 2
From Signed Charter to Working Plan: Scope, Schedule, Budget and Risk for a Cidery's Barn Conversion
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
PM/490: Project Management Capstone
Week 2 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Stone Lantern Cider Works, its plan, baselines and figures are composites written for a model paper.
In Week 1, the owners of Stone Lantern Cider Works, the invented Hudson Valley cidery used in this capstone, signed a charter to convert their 1880s dairy barn into a tasting room and event space, opening by September 1 within a budget of $1.18 million. The project manager, Erin Delgado, now has eight weeks before the planning board hearing to finish the plan. This paper presents its main components and the decisions behind them.
Breaking Down the Work
The work breaks into six deliverables. Approvals: site plan and special use permit, building permit, health department septic approval and state liquor authority premises approval. Site work: septic expansion, gravel parking, drainage and exterior lighting. Barn structure: sill and post repairs, roof framing reinforcement, a new floor system and restoration of siding and doors. Interior: tasting bar, prep area, restrooms, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling and finishes. Opening readiness: furniture, point of sale, staff hiring and training, opening marketing. Project management: planning, reporting, procurement and closeout. Each is decomposed into work packages small enough to estimate and assign; for example, restrooms are one package covering fixtures, ventilation and accessibility features.
The Schedule and Its Critical Path
The current standard describes schedule planning as identifying the activities and their dependencies so the team understands what drives the finish date (Project Management Institute [PMI], 2021). For the barn, one chain drives the September 1 opening: the planning board's special use permit (hearing in January), then the building permit (about four weeks), then structural repairs (about ten weeks from mid-February, slowed by winter), then interior fit-out (about eleven weeks), then final inspections and the certificate of occupancy (about two weeks), then the liquor authority's final premises inspection. Working forward, that chain ends in mid-August, leaving about two weeks of float before opening. Site work, hiring and marketing run in parallel with float of four to six weeks.
Odeh and Battaineh (2002) surveyed contractors and consultants on construction delays and found that owner interference, inadequate contractor experience, financing and payments and labor productivity were among the most important causes. Two of those, contractor capacity and payment timing, are addressed below; the owners' habit of changing their minds is addressed by change control.
The Cost Baseline
The baseline keeps the charter's eight budget lines and its $1.18 million total; what the plan adds is timing and control. The structural line, the largest at a little over a third of the total, is split into a fixed portion and the two per-foot allowances, so any growth from hidden damage shows up as its own line in the monthly report. Design and permit costs fall mostly before March, while interior and furnishing costs cluster in June and July. Costs are phased by month, with about 60 percent falling between March and July. The farm loan draws match that phasing, so the contractor is paid within 15 days of each approved invoice.
Contracting and Resources
Delgado considered three contract types. A cost-plus contract would protect the contractor against hidden barn damage but leave the owners exposed to overruns. A design-build contract would speed the work but reduce the architect's role in preservation. Turner and Simister (2001) tied the choice between fixed-price and cost-reimbursable terms to how much of the work is known when the contract is signed and to how costly it is for the owner to watch the contractor. She chose a stipulated-sum contract with a general contractor experienced in historic timber buildings, with allowances for two uncertain items, sill replacement and roof framing, priced per linear foot so hidden damage is paid at known rates. The architect continues through construction to review shop drawings and preservation details. Bids went to four contractors in October, before the spring rush, and the selected firm committed a crew lead for the full job.
Pricing hidden damage per foot before the boards come off turns an unknown into a rate.
Risk Register
The five charter risks were scored for probability and cost impact:
Planning board conditions or delay (probability 40 percent, impact $30,000 and four weeks): meet neighbors before the hearing, offer traffic and noise limits voluntarily; owner, Delgado; trigger, objections filed before the hearing.
Hidden structural damage (50 percent, $45,000): structural engineer's probes in December, per-foot allowances; owner, engineer; trigger, probe results.
Contractor availability (25 percent, $20,000 and three weeks): early bidding, crew lead named in contract; owner, Delgado.
Neighbor opposition at the hearing (30 percent, conditions on events): the same outreach as the first risk, plus an events noise plan; owner, Clara Vandermeer.
Material price increases (35 percent, $25,000): order timber and windows when the contract is signed; owner, contractor.
Probability times cost gives an expected value of about $48,000 for the four risks with a dollar impact, within the $70,000 contingency, and the neighbor risk is handled through outreach rather than money. Delays are protected by the two weeks of float on the critical path.
Quality, Communication and Change
Quality checks include the engineer's sign-off on structural work before interior work covers it, a preservation review of exterior details by the architect and a pre-inspection walk-through two weeks before each formal inspection. Communication runs weekly: a site meeting with the contractor every Tuesday and a one-page update to the owners on Fridays covering progress, spending, risks and decisions needed. Changes follow the charter's limits: Delgado approves changes up to $10,000 each and up to half the contingency; larger changes, any change to the opening date and any change to the barn's exterior require both owners' signatures. Every change is logged with its cost, its effect on the critical path and who approved it, and the log is attached to the Friday update so the owners see the running total of approved changes against the contingency.
Conclusion
The plan converts Stone Lantern's charter into baselines for scope, schedule and cost, a contract suited to an old timber building, a risk register backed by contingency and float and routines for quality, communication and change. Its critical path runs through approvals and structural repairs, which is where the project manager's attention will go first.
References
Odeh, A. M., & Battaineh, H. T. (2002). Causes of construction delay: Traditional contracts. International Journal of Project Management, 20(1), 67-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(00)00037-5
Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.
Turner, J. R., & Simister, S. J. (2001). Project contract management and a theory of organization. International Journal of Project Management, 19(8), 457-464. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(01)00051-5
What the PM 490 Week 2 instructions ask
For the second PM 490 assignment, students usually develop the project management plan for the capstone project chartered in Week 1. Expected components often include a work breakdown structure, a schedule with dependencies and milestones, a cost baseline and budget, resource and procurement plans, a risk register with analysis and responses, a communication plan, quality measures and change control. Some instructors provide a template; others ask for a narrative with supporting lists or charts. Keep every figure consistent with the charter, explain the key planning decisions rather than only presenting outputs and cite the standard and relevant research in APA format to support choices such as estimates, contracting or risk responses.
How this PM 490 Week 2 example is built
The plan starts from the charter's scope and breaks it into six deliverables: approvals, site work, barn structure, interior, opening readiness and project management. A schedule traces the chain that sets the opening date, from the planning board's approval through structural repairs and fit-out, and shows the float elsewhere. The cost baseline itemizes the $1.18 million and ties the $70,000 contingency to specific risks. A stipulated-sum contract with allowances is chosen for construction, and the reasons are given. The five charter risks are scored and assigned responses and owners. Short sections cover quality checks, a weekly communication rhythm with the owners and change thresholds matching the charter's authority limits.
PM 490 Week 2 grading rubric: where the points go
For this assignment the grade turns on integration and realism. Graders look for a breakdown of the work that covers the whole scope, a schedule with real dependencies and an identified critical path, a cost baseline that matches the charter and a reasoned contingency. They credit procurement and resource choices explained by the project's conditions, a risk register with scored risks, responses, owners and triggers, and communication, quality and change sections specific to the project. Consistency across all components matters as much as any single part. Research support, clear organization and correct APA citations complete a top submission.
PM 490 Week 2 help: mistakes to avoid
Capstone plans most often lose points for inconsistency: the schedule shows an opening date different from the charter, or the budget lines do not add up. Reconcile them. Another frequent weakness is a breakdown of the work organized by phases or departments with deliverables missing; organize it by what the project produces and check that it covers everything in scope. Many schedules list durations without dependencies, which hides the critical path. Students also copy generic risks; use the ones your charter named and analyze them. Change control sections are often vague, naming a process but no thresholds; match approval thresholds to the authority in your charter. Finally, explain your main choices, such as contract type. A tutor can audit your plan for consistency before you submit.
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PM 490 Week 2 questions, answered
What does PM 490 Week 2 usually cover?
It usually covers the project management plan for the capstone project: work breakdown structure, schedule and critical path, cost baseline, resource and procurement plans, risk register, communication, quality and change control.
Where can I find a free PM 490 Week 2 sample paper?
The capstone plan above, for a cidery's barn conversion with a critical path, cost baseline and risk register, is a Week 2 example open to every reader.
How is a project management plan different from a charter?
The charter authorizes the project and sets its high-level purpose, scope and authority. The plan details how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled, with baselines and subsidiary plans.
What is a stipulated-sum contract?
A construction contract in which the contractor agrees to deliver defined work for a fixed price, often with allowances for items not yet fully specified.
How should contingency be set in a project budget?
By linking it to identified risks and their likely costs, often using expected values, rather than adding a round percentage without analysis.
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