Project initiation is the first phase of every successful project management plan or system. This phase helps you gather essential information to clarify the project's scope or overall idea. This phase is vital because doing it wrong can easily put you in the wrong direction if you don't ask the right questions, gather the correct information, or seek proper approval before you get started.
The following tips help get your project started right:
Get to Know Your Stakeholders and Define Why
A stakeholder is a person who wants to have a project done. This can be a person, company, or even your customers. If you have a direct stakeholder, it is vital to have a meeting and ask as many questions as possible to be sure you know what they want to do.
Ask them why they want this project down and envision the final project to look like. This meeting is no different than showing up to your hair stylist, for example. The first ten to fifteen minutes is used to really understand how you want your hair done. If these ten minutes are not used correctly, your stylist can easily ruin your hair.
Outline the Project Scope and Key Objectives
Now that you have had a meeting with the stakeholder, you should clearly know what the scope of the project entails or the project parameters. Please take this information and create a project scope plan to fully outline every task, milestone, and objective required to get it done. This way, you can avoid scope creep and prepare your resources accordingly.
Set a Project Start and End Date
Working with due start and end dates allows you to stay more accountable and complete important details to create the full project. Without due dates, you are more likely to procrastinate or spend too long on a task that tools and software could otherwise eliminate.
Be Aware of Your Budget and Resource Limits
Set proper control measures that include keeping track of your budget and resources from the start. Not incorporating your budget or resources in this phase will only lead to mistakes and frustration as you realize you may not have enough when it's already too late.
Don't lead your project to failure before starting due to a poor project management initiation process. The initiation phase is vital to learning the full scope of the project, the assumptions, and possible constraints. Gathering this information and perfecting your initiation processes ensures you lead all your projects to success.
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