PRINCE2® wiki
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Initiating a Project

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Purpose

The purpose of the Initiating a Project process is to understand the work that needs to be done to deliver the required products. This understanding is needed before deciding to continue with the project. Like any project there are a number of important items to discover, and so there are a number of questions to ask about the project:

Objective

Let us put Initiating a Project into context and look at what it really does for the project. The Starting up a Project process checks if the project is viable, while Initiating a Project is about building a correct foundation for the project so that all stakeholders are clear on what the project will achieve.

The alternative would be to allow projects to start after the Starting Up a Project process without knowing any of the following: planning, milestones, cost and level of quality. It is a bit like building a house on little or no foundation.

Initiating a Project can be a big investment for a company but it’s a necessary investment to plan and run the rest of the project. During Initiating a Project, the Project Manager will be creating a collection of management products to show: how the project will be managed, the cost, how quality will be checked, planned, how communication will be done, etc.

Activities

PRINCE2 recommends eight activities in the Initiating a Project, which are:

Initiating a Project Activities

Overview

The Project Manager will begin with the 4 strategy documents and will then create the Project Controls and Project Plan. These are iterative activities so they will continue to be updated during the Initiation Stage. The Business Case can then be completed after the Project Plan as the Project Plan provides information required by the Business Case (time and cost information). The final activity is to assemble the Project Initiation Documentation.

Inputs

Initiating a Project Inputs

Outputs

Roles and Responsibilities

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discussion icon Written by Frank Turley (his LinkedIn profile)