Initiating a project

• Purpose
• Objective
• Context
• Activities
  • Overview
  • Prepare the Risk Management Strategy
  • Prepare the Configuration Management Strategy
  • Prepare the Quality Management Strategy
  • Prepare the Communication Management Strategy
  • Set up the project controls
  • Create the Project Plan
  • Refine the Business Case
  • Assemble the Project Initiation Documentation

Key sections

• Introduction
• Business case
• Organization
• Quality
• Plans
• Risk
• Change
• Progress
• Introduction to processes
• Starting up a projectDirecting a project
• Initiating a project
• Controlling a stage
• Managing Product Delivery
• Managing a Stage Boundary
• Closing a Project
• Tailoring PRINCE2 to the project environment
• Directing Projects with PRINCE2

Context

© Crown copyright 2005 Reproduced under licence from OGC

Initiating a Project is aimed at laying down the foundations in order to achieve a successful project.
Specifically, all parties must be clear on what the project is intended to achieve, why it is needed, how the outcome is to be achieved and what their responsibilities are, so that there can be genuine commitment to it.

The Initiating a Project process allows the Project Board, via Directing a Project (see the section covering ‘Directing a project’), to decide whether or not the project is sufficiently aligned with corporate or programme objectives to authorize its continuation.

If, instead, the organization proceeds directly from Starting up a Project (see the section covering ‘Starting up a project’) to Controlling a Stage (see the section covering ‘Controlling a stage’), then it may be forced to commit significant financial resources to a project without fully understanding how its objectives will be achieved.
Without a firm definition, the Project Board will be taking a leap of faith.

All activities within the Initiating a Project process need further consideration if the relationship between the customer and the supplier is a commercial one (for example, the reasons for undertaking the project as defined in the supplier’s Business Case may be different from those defined in the customer’s Business Case) – see the section covering ‘Tailoring PRINCE2® to the project environment’ for more details.

During the Initiating a Project process the Project Manager will be creating the suite of management products required for the level of control specified by the Project Board.
The Project Manager should have agreed (as part of the Initiation Stage Plan) the means by which the Project Board will review and approve the management products - the two extremes are one at a time or all at once.

PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.