Microsoft Project Fundamentals. Teresa S. Stover
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Lesson 3 Establish a Strong Foundation
LESSON OBJECTIVES
List the components of the initiating process of a project.
Identify at least three types of project stakeholders.
Name at least three elements of the project charter.
Name at least three methods for learning potential project requirements.
Identify at least three elements of the project scope statement.
Explain the differences between the project charter and the scope statement.
Decide on the best way to organize project plan documents and make them accessible to the stakeholders.
When you're assigned a new project, you might feel the enthusiasm or the pressure from others to immediately jump straight in and lay out tasks and responsibilities.
It can certainly be more fun—at least at first—to “plan first and ask questions later.” It's all fun and games until you find out you're heading in the wrong direction or that the higher-ups weren't seriously committing to this project after all.
To prevent wasting precious time and money caused by having to double back and rework, when you take on a new project (or even inherit an existing one) one of your first jobs as a project manager is to get the powers that be to take a deep breath and think carefully about what this project is all about.
What's the source of this idea? What problem is it expected to solve? What will the project do and not do? How will you know if the project is successful? Who's paying for it?
In this lesson, you'll learn the important steps of initiating the project through preplanning. This entails identifying the stakeholders, including the project sponsor; writing the project charter and having it approved; collecting the project requirements; and defining the project scope.
You'll also determine the best approach for organizing your important project-planning documents, which can live within or beyond the boundaries of Microsoft Project. The key is to keep your project documents accessible for ready reference as you move through the processes and phases of your project.
Initiate the Project
The initiating process is the first of the six project life-cycle stages, or project processes. In this process, an initial idea grows into a project, in which the project charter is written and authorized, the stakeholders and project sponsor are identified, and you are assigned as project manager.
The steps in the initiating process can be formal or informal, depending on your organization's practices, the size of the project, and whether it's an agile or a waterfall project. However they're implemented, make no assumptions. Rather, be sure to define, document, and get approval for all these steps.
Identify the Stakeholders and Project Sponsor
Project stakeholders are the people who will be involved with the project or who hold some kind of “stake” in the successful outcomes of the project.
Project Sponsor This is the organizational executive or external customer who is funding the project costs. The project sponsor is often the person who conceived the project idea and is most interested in the project progress, deliverables, and outcomes. The sponsor will sign off on the project charter, clarify the scope, review progress, and influence others in support of the project.
Project Manager That's you—the person who is assigned the overall responsibility for planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing the project. You set up and execute the project plan, secure and manage the project team and other resources carrying out the project tasks, track and report on progress toward deliverables and milestones, monitor costs, and adjust the project for changing conditions, all while moving toward a successful completion by the established finish date.
Managing Stakeholders These are leaders who have a management responsibility associated with the project. The project sponsor and project manager are two managing stakeholders, but there might be others. Examples might include department heads who are affected by the use of their team members on the project or who will review specific project deliverables.
Team Members Team members are those who will be assigned to project task responsibilities. You might not have a complete list at this stage, but you can identify names and job functions or titles, or just job functions or skill sets that will be required by the project. This information can help with high-level project and cost estimating.
Customers and End Users These are the people who stand to benefit from the results of the project. End users might (or might not) be directly consulted throughout the project. Either way, name them as a stakeholder category and consider developing customer profiles or user stories to keep their wants and needs in mind as you and the team work through the project.
Authorize the Project Charter
The project charter is like the project's mission statement. It's typically a two-page project overview document that concisely defines the project goal and other high-level parameters of the project.
The project charter formalizes the project, even in an informal organization. It can be invaluable to clarify when an organization executive or customer might have just been “thinking out loud” versus giving a real directive about a true commitment to a project.
Rather like an internal contract, the project charter names and authorizes the project manager and is signed by the project sponsor. The project charter can serve as the “North Star” when matters get murky.
Because the project charter is probably the first document generated for the new project, many unknowns are likely. Between this fact and the conciseness of the document, the more high level and broad the charter, the better it will serve everyone in the long run.
The project charter should include the following:
Project Goal States the purpose or business case justification of the project and characteristics of the product or service being produced.
Objectives List measurable objectives to meet the goal, along with a summary milestone schedule, including the overall project finish date.
High-Level Requirements Describe the characteristics of the end product or service and summarize the project requirements in terms of time, quality, and scope. This or a separate section might also list known project risks, constraints, or issues.
Project Outcomes Identify measurable success criteria to know when and whether the project has achieved its intended goal.
Overview Budget Can be a single overall expected budget total or identify high-level budget categories for the project.
Stakeholders Include the name, title, and responsibilities of the project sponsor and project manager, including their level of authority; managing stakeholders; project team members; and customers or end users.
Project Approval Requirements Identify any interim review and approval points during the project and final project acceptance and sign-off upon project close.
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