I keep having this dilemma for quite some time now: if I were to strip the standard project management methodology to its bones - how would it look like? Which are the core principles that keep it together and make projects run well? Here’s the first episode in a mini-series in which I will share my view on the core project management principles. And, as in any project, I will start with project initiation.

The Key Principle of Initiation - Thinking!

Standard project management methodology will tell you that project initiation is about developing the project charter and identifying stakeholders. But what does this really mean? While browsing through some project management books and thinking about my own project experience, i can say that project initiation is all about THINKING things through. Nothing else!

Is that first part people generally miss doing well: thinking about what they want to do and why they want to do it. Let’s see why I think this to be true.

Why Write a Project Charter?

Have you wondered why it is recommended to write a project charter? Because it makes you think first. Before writing a document, you need to think what you are about to write, otherwise you won’t be capable of putting together something that makes sense. Let’s go through the most common sections of a charter and see how they help:

First, you need to provide some background: where are you (your company, department, team, family, etc.) today? What are the key issues and problems you are facing? Which issues/problems do you want to tackle?

All good questions, aren’t they? And they all lead to what you want to change and do next: your objective! It should be easy to formulate except it isn’t, unless you know very well what matters most to you and why. Once you have that defined clearly in your mind, you can start writing an objective that actually makes sense, which summarizes what you want to do.

The next section in the project charter is about benefits. Everyone will tell you that this will help sell the project. True but, most importantly, it helps you justify to yourself (and your team) why you are doing the project. If that’s clear, tangible and worth doing, both you and the team are more likely to do your best to succeed. And we all know how doing something that matters, makes a whole lot of difference.

Most project charters include also a brief list of high-level requirements. Why are they important? Simply put, requirements are the summary of your (or your clients’) thinking about how things should be or should not be done. Is there something that must be done in a specific way or at a specific time? Is there a possible side-effect, you want avoided?

Having all these elements clearly defined both in your mind and on the project charter help tremendously in ensuring a great start for any project.

Identifying Stakeholders - More Thinking

Now that you know well what you want to do and why it matters, the next step is to start thinking about who you will do the project with. Who can help get things done? And (sometimes even more important) who won’t help you get things done - who might stand in the way of your success? Which other people might care about your project?

Thinking and documenting who you need to work with, the people that impact your project and those impacted by it, is critical to making a plan that has a shot of succeeding.

Summarizing the Thinking

As I said at the beginning of this article, project initiation is all about thinking on the important elements that define a project:

• What is the outcome/objective I want to achieve?
• What do I want to do?
• Why does it matter?
• How I want or do not want to do it?
• Who can help me get the job done?
• Who won’t help me get the job done?
• Who else might be interested in the project?

Having clear answers to these questions should put you in a good position to start planning a project.

What Do You Think?

Before I go, I really want to know - what do you think? Is initiation all about thinking? Are there any other important/core elements to think about? Don’t hesitate to “abuse” the comments form below and share your opinion.

Related content:

Ideas on Successful Project Initiation and Scoping
Stripping Project Management to Its Core: (Re)Defining Scope Planning
Stripping Project Management to Its Core: Executing & Controlling a Project