Project Management

How to Write a Project Execution Plan for UK SMEs

A Project Execution Plan is one of the most important documents a project team can produce — and one of the most frequently skipped by SMEs who feel they do not have time for it. This guide explains what a PEP is, what it must contain, and how to write one that works for your project from day one.

What is a Project Execution Plan?

A Project Execution Plan (PEP) — sometimes referred to as a Project Management Plan or Project Implementation Plan — is the master document that defines how a project will be delivered. It sets out the project objectives, governance structure, roles and responsibilities, key milestones, communication protocols, risk management approach, and the procedures the project team will follow throughout delivery.

Think of the PEP as the project’s constitution. Everything else — the design programme, the risk register, the information management plan — flows from it. It is the document that allows any new team member to pick it up and understand how the project works within a few hours of reading.

Why SMEs Often Skip the PEP — and Why That Is a Mistake

Smaller organisations frequently deprioritise the PEP because it feels like overhead — documentation for documentation’s sake. The project team is small, everyone knows each other, and the temptation is to get on with delivery rather than spend time writing plans.

This approach tends to work reasonably well until something changes. A key person leaves. The client replaces their representative. A subcontractor is novated. A programme delay forces a reassessment of priorities. In each of these situations, the absence of a PEP means the new parties have no single source of truth about how the project is supposed to work. Decisions get made inconsistently, and the cost is measured not just in time but in contractual exposure.

A PEP does not slow your project down. It is the document that allows your project to survive the unexpected without losing direction.

The Eight Core Sections of a PEP

1. Project Overview and Objectives

The PEP should open with a clear statement of what the project is and what success looks like. This includes the project description, scope summary, location, client brief and the key performance indicators by which delivery will be measured. Keep it concise — this section should allow anyone who picks up the document to understand the project in under five minutes.

2. Governance and Organisational Structure

This section defines who makes decisions on the project and how. It should include an organogram showing the project team structure, clearly identifying the client representative, Project Manager, Design Manager, lead designer, and any other key roles. It should also define the decision-making hierarchy: who can approve variations, who signs off stage completions, and who has authority over programme or budget adjustments.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

A roles and responsibilities matrix — distinct from the Design Responsibility Matrix — records who is accountable for each project management function. This includes programme management, cost management, risk management, change control, stakeholder engagement, health and safety, and information management. Every function should have a named owner.

4. Programme and Key Milestones

The PEP should include a summary of the project programme, covering the major milestones from inception to handover. This is not the detailed design programme — it is the high-level timeline that the client and project board will use to monitor progress. Key milestones typically include planning submission, planning approval, start on site, structural completion, practical completion, and handover.

5. Communication and Reporting Protocols

One of the most valuable sections of any PEP is the communications framework. This defines the frequency and format of project meetings, who attends them, what is minuted, how decisions are recorded, and how progress is reported to the client. It should also define the escalation path: what happens when an issue cannot be resolved at project level and needs to be escalated to senior management.

6. Risk and Opportunity Management

The PEP should describe the approach to risk management on the project: how risks are identified, assessed, owned and reported. It should reference the risk register and confirm the review cycle. Many SME projects operate with a risk register that is updated once at the start of the project and then forgotten — the PEP is the place to commit to a different standard.

7. Change Control Procedure

Every project experiences change. The question is whether that change is managed or whether it accumulates informally until it becomes a dispute. The PEP should define the process for identifying, assessing, approving and recording changes to scope, programme or cost. This includes the threshold at which changes require client approval, the format of change requests, and the authority levels for approving different categories of change.

8. Information Management and Document Control

The PEP should confirm the document control procedures that will apply to the project: the CDE platform being used, the document naming convention, the approval and transmittal process, and the revision control system. On projects where ISO 19650 applies, this section should reference the BIM Execution Plan and the Master Information Delivery Plan.

When to Write the PEP

The PEP should be drafted during RIBA Stage 1 and finalised before the project advances to Stage 2. An initial version — covering governance, roles, communications and programme — should be produced as soon as the core project team is assembled. The detailed sections covering risk, change control and information management should be developed and agreed before any significant design activity begins.

The PEP is a live document. It should be reviewed and updated at each RIBA stage gate, and whenever there is a significant change to the project team, scope or programme.

Keep It Proportionate

A PEP for a £500,000 residential project does not need to be a 60-page document. The level of detail should be proportionate to the scale and complexity of the project. For smaller commissions, a concise 10 to 15-page PEP that covers the eight sections above is far more useful than an elaborate document that nobody reads. The goal is a working reference, not a filing cabinet piece.