The business needs and requirements should be set forth by the client or the project management team. If a client of a web-design firm wants a website built, they will inform that company of their requirements. They might want to offer many products, a way for people to purchase, bid, and other things. The requirements are usually detailed documents the entire staff will follow as a guideline for the job. All requirements should be met. Any company needs to be sure they have the ability to meet the requirements of their customers and clients.
Reviewing the current operations is performed along with analyzing the requirements of the project. The firm we mentioned above might need to perform some C+ programming but not have an employee with this knowledge. This means the project will require outsourcing or hiring an employee with this skill. It is very important that any business carefully review the requirements of a project thoroughly and ensure that their current operations have the capability to perform the work. If the current operations cannot perform the work, training might be involved, or hiring more people. If equipment is a factor, it might need to rented or purchased.
When reviewing current operations, a financial analysis will be started. Project management requires a very close estimated budget for a project. If you budget a project too low, you might lose money and some people could be working for free, depending on the contractual agreement. Budgeting a project includes the resources needed to perform the project from start to finish. Resources include labor, materials like software, equipment, and even skills. The budget should also include any training that might need to take place in order to teach employees how to use a new software package. All of these factors must be considered and included when in the initiation phase of a project.
Stakeholder analysis includes determining which resources or people you will use where. Who are the key players in the project and will they make a difference? Which employees will provide support? Will your business need assistance or support, and who will provide it? Make a list of all key players and people that will be involved.
The project charter is the final task in the initiation phase of project management. The project charger is what you will bring to the table when you are asking for money to begin a project or looking for bids. This will include costs, tasks, deliverables, and a detailed schedule from start to finish.
