Project deliverable is any output created as the result of work done during a project. Defining, tracking, and managing project deliverables is one of the most important responsibilities of a project manager. This guide will help you understand project deliverables in more detail.

What is a Project Deliverable?

You might use the term “deliverable” casually at work every day.

In project management, however, it means something more definite: a specific output created as the result of work performed during the course of a project.

For any output to be classified as a “deliverable” within a project, it has to meet a few criteria:

It must be within the scope of the project Stakeholders - external or internal - must agree to it It must be the result of deliberate work It must have a definite role in accomplishing the project’s objective.

Some of these - such as a designer’s casual sketches - are neither critical for the project’s objective, nor the result of deliberate work. Hence, you wouldn’t classify these as deliverables.

On the other hand, your developers can’t really proceed if they don’t have a website wireframe. Since the wireframe is a result of deliberate, objective-focused work, you would classify it as a deliverable.

Anything can be a deliverable in a project. A bicycle can be a deliverable, as well as the document outlining the plan to create it.

The deliverable can be massive and tangible, such as a stadium or a factory. It can also be tiny and intangible, such as a one-page marketing document.

Project deliverables can be created for both external and internal stakeholders. An example of the former would be the website you make for a client. A design requirements document would be an example of the latter.

Deliverables can also be “stacked”, i.e. one deliverable might have several of its own deliverables. A “website” might be your primary objective. To create it, you might have two additional deliverables - “website wireframe” and “website mockup”.

This also means that deliverables can depend on one another. You can’t create a website mockup unless you have a wireframe. And you can’t create the actual website until you’ve finalized the mockup.

Deliverables by themselves aren’t the project’s objective. Rather, they chart the path to reach it. The more deliverables you complete on time, the better your chances of meeting the project’s goals on schedule as well.

This is why project managers often focus obsessively on the deliverables - in defining, managing, and tracking them.

Internal vs External Deliverables

A common way to categorize deliverables is to divide them into “external” and “internal” deliverables. There’s an easy method for defining them:

Any work done that is not a part of doing business with clients or customers is an internal deliverable Any work done to fulfill a client’s demands or to win more business is an external deliverable

You can think of internal deliverables as anything you create as a part of running the business. Doing taxes, keeping accounts, creating corporate documents - these are all internal deliverables. You need them to run the business, but they don’t really generate revenue.

Most of the time you would know whether a deliverable is internal or external based on who it is created for. But if you’re unsure, just ask yourself: “is this deliverable going to leave the organization?”

If the answer is “yes”, then it would be an external deliverable.

Deliverables vs Milestones

Another source of confusion for new project managers is the difference between deliverables and milestones.

Milestones are checkpoints in the course of a project. You can insert them at any point to mark the completion of an important activity. They don’t have deadlines, nor do they have an impact on the project’s objectives. They are simply a way to keep track of the project’s progress.

You’ll create milestones to break down a complex deliverable into its constituent parts. For example, if your deliverable is to create a set of “high-level requirements”, one of your milestones might be “document current processes”.

Projects create deliverables, which are simply the results of the project or the processes in the project. That means a deliverable can be something as big as the objective of the project itself or the reporting that is part of the larger project.

Another way to put that is that there are inputs and outputs in any type of project. That being what you put into the project, such as data, resources, etc., and then what comes out, which are the deliverables. Again, those deliverables can be a product or service and it can also be the documentation that is part of the project closure to show that the project is complete and everything has been signed off.

There is a distinction between project and product deliverables. Project deliverables are such outputs as the project plans, project reports and even meeting minutes. Product deliverables, on the other hand, could be hardware, software, mobile applications, contracts, or even test assessment results.

The deliverables that clients and stakeholders expect at the end of the project are the product or service, of course, but there is also paperwork, as noted. These documents, when completed, are deliverables that clients and stakeholders need in order to evaluate the progress or completion of the project.

This paperwork can include:

Signed contracts

Finalized expense reports

Other types of project reports which show how work is proceeding versus project plan estimations

Deliverables can vary according to the project’s specifications and the stakeholders’ requirements. But all clients and stakeholders want deliverables that thoroughly wrap up the project at its closure and measure performance against expectations throughout the project.

Project managers’ reports are the means by which these types of deliverables are presented to clients and stakeholders. Different stakeholders have different needs, so flexibility and customization is import for effective reporting. In order to meet their needs, a project management software must be able to filter the many data inputs to deliver the proper output.

ProjectManager.com has the flexibility and customization to create the deliverable that is appropriate for the project and its clients and stakeholders. Our project management software provides this and more, no matter where you are in the project life cycle.

ProjectManager.com Helps You to Build Project Deliverables

Creating deliverables for stakeholders is easy using these reports:

Project status report

Variance report

Timesheet report

Compiling project status reports is a great way to:

Illustrate for stakeholders how work is proceeding

Show which team members are carrying the heaviest loads, and if adjustments need to be made

Outline room for improvement as the project moves ahead or at closure

Our project status reports are highly-customizable, with options to select a wide variety of columns and data sets to pull back exactly the information you’re seeking on the project’s status:

Variance reports can be customized to include only summary tasks, completion percentage, and a comparison of the actual progress of the project versus the forecasted progress:

The resulting report shows a side-by-side comparison of predicted start and finish dates, predicted hours versus actual hours spent and that difference, and the difference in predicted project duration and how long it has actually taken to date:

Timesheet reports provide a bird’s-eye view of each individual’s hours worked on a project.

They also show:

Assignment of tasks to team members and the importance of those tasks

Each individual’s hourly rate, and

Many other factors related to resources, time and cost

Lessons Learned Libraries

Creating a lessons learned library is a great way to compile takeaways from projects. It’s a central place to view work that exceeded expectations, and also work that could have been better. As a new project kicks off, project managers use this resource to plan for known roadblocks.

Development of deliverables doesn’t just happen during project closure. Project sponsors also expect deliverables during the initiation, planning and execution phases of a project. Let’s take a look at the types of deliverables created in these phases in greater detail.

Project Deliverables Expected Prior to Closure

Final deliverables outline a project’s entire scope of work, while deliverables created during earlier phases of a project are based on short-term snapshots of project activity.

Initiation phase deliverables can include a project charter or a business case. The lessons learned library is accessed at the outset of the planning phase, so information can be used from previous projects to better inform planning of the next project. The communications plan, risk and issue management plan, change management plan, procurement plans and overall project schedule are also created during the planning phase. There are documents surrounding each of these plans which inform stakeholders and clients as the plan is being developed.

Referencing the project plan is the most common activity during project execution. All project activity is managed against the project plan.

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