ProjectMandate PM ltd Logo Project Initiation, PM ltd Logo Project Management, PM ltd Logo Project Rescue.
Home A thought ... Red meat is not bad for you. Fuzzy green meat is bad for you.
Starting a Project.
It is widely accepted that the work put into the setting-up of a project pays dividends later. There is always the temptation to "get on with it" but this should be resisted. Planning is essential to a project's success. The old adage "Fail to plan and you plan to fail" could never be more true than when expressed about a project.
What is going to be different after the successful project?
This has already been touched on in the "What is a project?" section but it is worth while repeating here. We need to define not only what the project will produce, in PRINCE2 terms the products, but also how we will tell when and if we have succeeded in producing them.

Yes - the test and the acceptable result for a sucessful product needs to be defined before we start the project. If we don't do that then it is so easy later in the project to accept a product that is not of sufficient quality.
Is the project worth doing/continuing?
We shouldn't start the project without an agreed business case. Agreed in the sense that someone has agreed to put up the money and other resources (people, materials, etc.) needed for the project and agreed also that this is a resonable price to pay for the product. Ideally, the business case would be able to demonstrate that there would be clear business advantage, whether this be savings in process cost or increase in market share, due to the introduction of the project's products.

OK - so we all know the project where "the boss has decreed" or "legislation requires" a certain course of action. When we produce a project and plan to deal with this then we make sure that the business case states clearly why we are doing the project. If there are real benefits then good, name them, if not then say so. It saves trying to manufacture some later on!
Moving on.
The output from the project initiation stage, i.e. what we're describing above, should be the Project Initiation Document (PID). The PID contains the full specification of the project, its aims and its benefits. It confirms a shared understanding - we hope! See here for a classic misunderstanding.
Pareto Analysis - for a Project Management view on this technique click here