4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work
Actually do the work the plan describes, and keep records as you go.
Executing / Integration · ← PMBOK reference · See it on the map
Why it matters
A plan nobody executes is just a wish. This is where the deliverables get built and the paper trail that later proves the work happened gets created.
What done looks like
Deliverables are being produced and the work log reflects what has actually happened.
First time tip
Log decisions and issues as they happen, not from memory at the end of the week. A same-day note is worth more than a tidy summary written later.
What you need (Inputs)
- Project Management Plan
- Change Log
- Lessons Learned Register
How Scrum/Kanban projects satisfy this — counted from: sprint retrospective evidence (driftless/models/delivery.py:Sprint) — a sprint closed with retrospective notes is a lesson captured, the way a predictive project files one as prose - Milestone List
- Project Communications
- Approved Change Requests
- Enterprise Environmental Factors
- Organizational Process Assets
How you do it (Tools & Techniques)
What you get (Outputs)
- Deliverables
- Work Performance Data
- Issue Log
How Scrum/Kanban projects satisfy this — counted from: impediments (driftless/models/agile.py:Impediment) — an impediment IS an issue raised against the team's progress; healthy once none are open or in progress - Change Requests
Worked example
The contractor starts demolition and framing on the library's reading room, the project manager logs the delivery dates for the new shelving, and a daily site note records that the water damage behind one wall was worse than expected.
Common pitfalls
- Treating the plan as final and never recording what actually happened.
- Letting issues pile up unlogged until the weekly status meeting.
- Producing deliverables nobody checks against the plan's acceptance criteria.