Using an Integrated Master Plan (IMP) and Integrated Master Schedule (IMS)

The U.S. Department of Defense, who were the first to use Earned Value and other project management techniques that are now standard everywhere, uses the IMP/IMS approach to project planning (this stands for Integrated Master Plan / Integrated Master Schedule). An Integrated Master Plan is events-based (typically in the form of a milestones list), while the Integrated Master Schedule contains the tasks that lead to the the events.

The presentation below offers the best outline I've seen yet on the use of IMP/IMS. Once you click on the link below, make sure to then click on the link at the top of that page to access the PDF version - it's much more readable and makes more sense when you see the diagrams. I linked to the HTML version for those who can't read PDFs (although it's free to get an Adobe Reader).

Microsoft PowerPoint - Integrated Master Plan (IMP)