The project management process begins with an initiation phase. This can be thought of as the phase when an idea becomes a business plan with meaning. It is during this phase where the project will be defined and the goals identified. Some questions typically asked during this phase include:
- What is the purpose of the project?
- What are the project's objectives?
- What kind of resources will be required?
- Are there any potential constraints down the road?
- How much time would it take for the project to be finished?
- Does it have a budget range?
- Who are the stakeholders?
Some important documents may include:
- Feasibility study and Business Case:
- Can the project be completed in the time frame desired?
- What factors might impact this?
- How will the institution benefit from this project?
- Why does this project matter?
- Identify stakeholders:
- Who is impacted?
- Who is the sponsor?
- Who will manage the project?
- Who provides the budget for this?
- Create Project Charter:
- Collects all the necessary information about the project into a single document
At Connecticut College, a project must be approved prior to being started:
- Governance approval:
- Department requests for software require approval from ESAC
- Facilities project requests are subject to FLMC approval
- Each charter is evaluated for business need against available budgets and value to the College.
- Department Approval:
- Smaller initiatives that fall do not require governance approval are evaluated at the department level
Once approved, projects then move to the planning phase