Initiating Objective define Project objectives Scope Goals Requirements

Initiating

Objective: define: ° Project objectives ° Scope ° Goals ° Requirements Increasing level of details Often overlapping Each level built on top of the previous one

Project Objectives and Goals Requirements Scope Goals Project Objectives ° Project objectives: binds the project to goals of the organizations ° Goals: define the finishline measurement for the project ° Scope: define the boundaries of the project and determine the project deliverables ° Requirement: define the characteristics of the deliverables

Project Objectives ° To ensure the project lines up with the business objectives ° Sometimes difficult to understand how a project fits in the strategic goals of the organization (e. g. some strategic goals may split and span across multiple projects). ° It allows to determine “win” conditions for certain stakeholders

Project Objectives (II) ° Business Justification Ø Combination of both tangible and untangible benefits Ø Tangible benefits: cost and revenues; provide a quantitative way of measuring why a company should start a project. Ø Untangible benefits: unmeasurable assets that are results of the project. ° Team Goals Ø Expectations of each team’s member for the project Ø Help understand how to deal with the team Ø Remark I. May be in reciprocal contrast Ø Remark II. May be in contrast with the project objectives

Project Goals °Ends or final purposes of the project, that is, objective measures that determine the success of the project °Maybe determined by the project sponsor or by the team °Do not exceed and set to many goals (Tomczyk suggests no more than 6)

Project Goals (II) Make the goals SMART: ° Specific Ø Clear and concise ° Measurable Ø Easy to obtain measure to understand whether the goal has been reached. Maybe a date or a number, or a formula (but keep it simple!) ° Agreed-to Ø Goals must be specific enough that the team can agree on being able to reach them ° Realistic Ø Goals must be realistic. Unrealistic goals set unrealistic expectation and make the team apathetic. ° Time-bound Ø Must have a begin and an end. If no end can be set, are you sure we are not talking about operational work?

Measuring Goals ° The time, cost, and quality triangle (quality being the trickiest to measure) But also: ° Scope and client satisfaction … to try and avoid: Ø Implementing the wrong function right Ø Misunderstanding the customers’ priorities.

Goals (III) °Identify, within the goals, the critical success factors (those goals that are necessary to have the project succeed) ØMake sure to include the critical success factors in the risk management plan

Assumptions ° Always try and make clear the assumptions on which the achievability of your goals is based ° Often hidden as definitions or understanding disagreements ° Try and identify assumptions in the following areas: Ø Priorities Ø Regulations Ø Vendors Ø Resources Ø Team stability Ø Team scope Ø Other pressures

Delineating Scope ° Scope describes the project by delineating the limits of the activities and of the deliverables (baseline deliverable list) ° Gold plating - introducing useless functions to make stakeholder happier ° Scope creeps - slowly changing the scope of the project trough (apparently) small change requests… while we are at it, we may add this new function! ° (sometimes it helps to write down what is not in the scope of a project)

Requirements ° You probably know more than I do on the matter… ° Can be collected with brainstorming sessions (help discover “hidden” requirements) ° Never enough time spent on collecting them ° They help avoiding the scope-creep syndrome. ° … but it is almost inevitable requirements will be added and changed during the project ØSee e. g. RUP ØProject awakening: getting more involved in the project

Scope Management Plan °Write down how you intend to keep the project on scope… Ø… encourage formal change requests Ø… define an approval process Ø… define review points