Initiation is the first level of the project and every project manager should do it in the
life cycle of the project.
initiation is The first phase within
the project life cycle, followed by planning, executing, and closing.
What are the responsibilities of the project managers during the initiation phase? In the project initiation phase, we try to identify, determine and predict the future of our project.
1. Identify project goals
2. Identify project resources
3. Determine the criteria for project success with stakeholders
Cost-Benefit Analysis: The process of adding up the expected value of project - the benefits - and comparing them to the dollar costs.
Benefits: Expected gains of a project
Ask some questions to understand the benefits of the initiation phase:
. What values will this project create?
. How much money could this project save our organization?
. How much money will it bring in from existing customers?
. How much time will be saved?
. How will the user experience be improved?
Key components of initiation
1. Goals: What you've been asked to do and what you are trying to achieve.
Project goal: The desired outcome of a project
2. Scope: This is the process to define the work that needs to happen to complete
the project. The
boundaries of a project; an agreed-upon understanding as to what is included or
excluded from a project.
Scope creep Changes, growth, and
uncontrolled factors that affect a project’s scope at any point after the
project begins.
Out-of-scope: Tasks that are not included in the project plan and don’t
contribute to the project’s goal.
in-scope: Tasks that are included
in the project plan and contribute to the project’s goal.
3. Project deliverables: Products and services that you will create for your customer, client, or project sponsor. A tangible outcome from a project; what gets produced or presented at
the end of a task, event, or process
4. Success criteria: The standards that measure how successful a project was in reaching its goals.
5. Stakeholders: They are people who both have an interest in, and are affected by, the completion and success of a project. Anyone
involved in the project who has a vested interest in the project’s success.
Key stakeholders: The people with the highest amount of influence on and interest
in a project; also called "key players".
Stakeholder buy-in: The process of involving stakeholders in decision-making to
hopefully reach a broader consensus on the organization's future.
6. Resources: Budget - People - Materials
7. Project charter: A document that clearly defines the project and its goal, and outlines what is needed to accomplish them.
To start a project you should do these things to complete the initiation phase and then start planning, executing, and closing.
