Initiating a project

The purpose of the initiating a project process is to lay a strong foundation for the project. This process ensures that the business fully understands what is involved in delivering the project product before committing to significant expenditures or allocating resources. It helps clarify the project’s objectives, scope, and approach, providing a clear framework for successful delivery.

By setting clear expectations and detailed plans, this process ensures that all stakeholders are aligned on what needs to be done, how it will be achieved, and the resources required.

Objectives

The initiating a project process ensures a common understanding of the following key points, which are documented in relevant management products:

• Why the project is being done, including the expected benefits → business case
• What is included in the project scope and the products that will be delivered → product breakdown structure
• How and when will the products be delivered, and what are the associated costs → stage plan
• Who is responsible for decision-making within the project → roles and responsibilities
• How the required quality will be achieved → quality management approach
• How baselines (e.g., time, cost, quality) will be established and controlled → project plan
• How risks and issues will be identified, assessed, and managed → risk management approach
• How progress will be monitored and controlled → project controls
• Who needs information, in what format, and at what time → communication management approach
• How the project applies business policies, methods, and guidance → project initiation documentation

While the starting up a project process ensures the project’s viability, initiating a project establishes a solid foundation, aligning all stakeholders on the project’s objectives and approach. Without this process, projects would begin with little clarity on key factors like planning, milestones, costs, and quality levels—similar to building a house on a weak or non-existent foundation.

Though initiating a project can be a significant investment for an organization, it’s also crucial to successfully planning and executing the rest of the project. During this phase, the project manager develops key management products (documents to manage the project) that outline how the project will be handled, including plans for cost, quality assurance, communication, and more.

Activities

PRINCE2 recommends seven activities in the initiating a project, which are:

• Agree tailoring requirements
  • The project manager tailors PRINCE2 to suit the project’s specific needs, documenting and agreeing on the tailoring approach.
  • They consult with the project board and project assurance to ensure it aligns with business requirements and controls.
• Agree the management approaches
  • The project manager establishes the management approaches for the project, which are derived from business strategies, standards, and user expectations.
  • These approaches cover areas such as change, communication, sustainability, benefits, commercial, quality, risk, issue, and digital management.
  • Once defined, the management approaches enable the creation of the project controls and project plan, with approval sought from the project board.
• Establish project controls
  • The project manager establishes the necessary project controls to ensure effective management aligned with the project’s scale, risks, and complexity.
  • This involves confirming the delivery method, reviewing management approaches, and setting up decision-making processes and tolerances.
  • Once established, the project manager seeks approval from the project board and ensures that the controls are consistent with the project’s needs and business objectives.
• Prepare the project plan
  • The project manager prepares the project plan by defining the timescale, resources, and people required, in collaboration with users and suppliers.
  • This includes creating product breakdowns, estimating resources, and identifying dependencies, risks, and control tools.
  • Once completed, the project manager seeks approval from the project board and ensures the plan meets business needs and requirements.
• Prepare the full business case
  • The project manager updates the outline business case with estimated time, costs, and risks, working closely with the project executive.
  • The full business case is then used by the project board to approve the project and ensure it remains viable.
• Assemble the project initiation documentation
  • The project manager gathers and organizes all relevant project information, such as the business case, project plan, and management approaches, into the project initiation documentation.
  • This documentation serves as a reference to gain authorization for the project and will later be used to compare actual performance against initial forecasts.
  • The project manager ensures all information is aligned, consults with project assurance, and prepares for the next stage.
• Request project authorization
  • The project manager requests project authorization from the project board by sharing the final business case, project initiation documentation, and project plan.
  • This formal request secures the authority needed to proceed with the project and allocate the necessary resources.

Management approach documents

In PRINCE2, the project manager is required to create detailed management approach documents, which can add considerable work during the initiation stage. It is helpful for the project manager to have well-prepared templates for these approaches, making the process more efficient. For example, a project manager can reuse the same risk management approach for projects within the same domain. Below are the many management approach documents:

• Change management approach
• Communication management approach
• Sustainability management approach
• Benefits management approach
• Commercial management approach
• Quality management approach
• Risk management approach
• Issue management approach
• Digital and data management approach

Inputs

• The trigger for this process is the project board activity “authority to initiate the project”.
• The project brief comes from the starting up a project process. The information in the project brief is expanded and refined and it will become part of the project initiation documentation.
• The stage plan for the initiation stage comes from the starting up a project process.

Outputs

• The nine management approach documents (see above).
• The project management team structure and roles descriptions (part of project initiation documentation.
• The project plan is a high-level plan for the entire project, which can include all product descriptions (part of PID) with additional product descriptions to be added throughout the project.
• The business case is the responsibility of the project executive and provides the justification for the project. In PRINCE2, the project manager can support the project executive in creating the business case.
• The project initiation documentation (PID) acts as a contract between the project manager and the project board.
• An overview of how the project will be controlled (project controls) is part of PID.
• The benefits management approach outlines what benefits will be realized during and after the project, who is responsible for these benefits (typically the senior user), and when they will be achieved.
• The final output of the initiating a project process is a request to the project board to deliver the project, effectively signing off on the PID and authorizing the project to proceed.

Roles and responsibilities

This is a high-level overview of the roles and responsibilities for the activities in the initiating a project process:

• Project board
  • Approve all parts of the project initiation documentation (PID), ensuring alignment with business goals and strategy.
  • Make key decisions about project continuation and resource allocation.
• Project executive
  • Create and maintain the business case, outlining project justification, benefits, and risks.
  • Approve all parts of the PID, ensuring the project plan and approach meet business objectives and strategic alignment.
• Senior user
  • Provide information for the product descriptions and the benefits management approach, ensuring user needs are addressed and benefits are clearly defined.
  • Confirm that the project will deliver value and meet user expectations.
• Senior supplier
  • Approve key sections of the PID, such as the project plan and PMT structure, ensuring the project has necessary technical expertise and resources.
  • Provide resources and support for planning and technical feasibility.
• Project assurance
  • Review the documentation in the PID to ensure it meets business requirements, governance standards, and aligns with the project’s objectives.
  • Provide independent oversight and ensure risks and issues are properly managed.
• Project manager
  • Create the majority of the PID documents, including the project plan, risk management approach, and benefits management approach.
  • Ensure that the project is planned, resourced, and controlled effectively.
• Team manager
  • Assist with planning activities, including the product breakdown structure (PBS), estimating, and defining work packages.
  • Provide expertise and support for setting up resources, quality expectations, and dependencies within the project.

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Written by Frank Turley.

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