38 The Pieces of a Project

Initiation

The first phase of project management is initiation. This is where the project starts to take shape. Stakeholders and team members work together to identify wants and needs, and then the project team creates a plan to accomplish the objectives with the time and budget available. This module will explore the first part of that process: identifying what success will look like for your particular project.

Identifying Your Stakeholders

A stakeholder is someone who has an interest in the development and/or outcome in the project. This person is usually only involved at key project gateways, such as project initiation and evaluation. Their main role is to provide feedback and guidance.

When you are identifying stakeholders, think outside the box. Ask other members of the team and the organization, “Who else should we involve in this? Who might be affected?”

If it turns out you missed a stakeholder, ask them for their feedback. You may not be able to change the project’s course at that point, but you may receive valuable information on possible opportunities or potential issues.

Assessing Needs and Wants

When stakeholders and other project members begin identifying the goals of the project, encourage them to list any and all possibilities. If the sky is the limit, what would they want the project to accomplish?

Then, they should decide which items are necessary for the project’s success (needs), and which are “nice to haves” (wants). If the list is lengthy, wants and needs can be prioritized to help the project team identify the most important tasks. (Remember, this is not a final list, just brainstorming to kick things off.)

To wow your stakeholders, keep this list on hand during the project. Keep an eye out for ways to incorporate wants and maximize their value.

Setting a SMART Project Goal

Each project should have a goal statement. SMART is a convenient acronym for the set of criteria that a goal must have in order for it to be realized by the goal achiever.

• Specific: In order for the project team to achieve a goal, stakeholders must be very clear about what they want. As Jack Canfield says, “Vague goals produce vague results.”
• Measurable: It’s crucial that you are able to track your progress towards your goal. That’s why all goals need some form of objective measuring system so that you can stay on track and become motivated when you enjoy the sweet taste of quantifiable progress.
• Agreed Upon: All team members and stakeholders must agree on the goal.
• Relevant: The goal must be relevant to the business’ purpose.
• Timed: In order for a project to be considered a project, it must have a specific start and end date.

Some examples of good project goals:

• To upgrade the existing sales system to EasySell 5.1 by January 1, 2021.
• To begin production of a new widget by September 1, 2021.
• To build a new 5,000 square foot office facility and have all staff relocated to it by December 31, 2022.

Creating Requirements and Deliverables

Now that we have some idea of what we want our project to accomplish, we can begin setting requirements. Requirements outline exactly what a project must do in order for it to be considered successful. Remember, good requirements are highly specific. Although they are particularly useful in IT projects, they should be used for any project that you want to succeed.

For example, let’s say one goal for our project is this: “To reduce the time to process inbound orders to 15 minutes by January 1, 2020.” A corresponding project requirement could be, “Implement version 5.0 of Superior Records Processing on all 14 customer service representative stations.”

As part of this, you should then be able to create your deliverables. These define what people can expect to hold in their hands after the project is complete. These deliverables will help you set clear expectations at the beginning of your project, and maintain a clear idea of what you are doing as you execute the project.