Initiating a Project
“To be called a project, an undertaking must meet specific set of conditions, then it must follow the prescribed project management methodology define by the organization” (Wysocki, 2009, p.6) gives a contemporary view of what a project is all about. Every project is unique in its own respect and gives unique responses to some simple logical questions asked by Wysocki, (2009, p.22) that must be answered in order to model its specific requirements and fit it into any of the standard methodology to effectively manage it to success. I will be using past experiences to answer this questions and how they relate to the process groups and knowledge areas.
What business situation is being addressed?
Organizations raise projects for two reasons (week-3 lecture notes);
1. Increase revenue
2. Improve operations
Whatever the reason, there is a specific business situation that is to be addressed and the Project manager should be able to identify the business focus. This is where the initiation process of a project kicks off. The business situation to be addressed defines the scope to a large extent. As an example; in the exploration and drilling projects where we offer connectivity solutions for Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), the business focus or situation to be addressed helps us scope the clients’ requirements and proffer quality and effective solutions to be delivered in the project.
What needs to be done?
Once the business situation is identified and a scope defined, the next question that comes to mind is how this can be achieved. It is worthy to note that sometimes, clients will often express their wants as their attempt at proposing a solution to an unstated problem (Wysocki, 2009, p.24). This makes the scope initially ambiguous and is up to the project manager to be able to identify the real needs of the client. Gathering and documenting client requirements is usually how the solution is defined (Wysocki, 2009) and still falls under the initiating
What business situation is being addressed?
Organizations raise projects for two reasons (week-3 lecture notes);
1. Increase revenue
2. Improve operations
Whatever the reason, there is a specific business situation that is to be addressed and the Project manager should be able to identify the business focus. This is where the initiation process of a project kicks off. The business situation to be addressed defines the scope to a large extent. As an example; in the exploration and drilling projects where we offer connectivity solutions for Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), the business focus or situation to be addressed helps us scope the clients’ requirements and proffer quality and effective solutions to be delivered in the project.
What needs to be done?
Once the business situation is identified and a scope defined, the next question that comes to mind is how this can be achieved. It is worthy to note that sometimes, clients will often express their wants as their attempt at proposing a solution to an unstated problem (Wysocki, 2009, p.24). This makes the scope initially ambiguous and is up to the project manager to be able to identify the real needs of the client. Gathering and documenting client requirements is usually how the solution is defined (Wysocki, 2009) and still falls under the initiating
References: Wysocki, R.K. (2009). Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme. 5th ed. Indianapolis: Wiley. ISO webpage, (online), http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/mamagement-standards/iso_9000.htm, (Accessed: 26 March, 2013).