From the course: Project Management Foundations

Initiate a project

From the course: Project Management Foundations

Initiate a project

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- Initiating a project is about getting commitment to move forward. In other words, the customer or sponsor says yes to the project and gives the go-ahead to start planning. Typically, the first step in project initiation is to assign the project manager who guides the project through the rest of the initiation process. Sometimes the project manager is assigned after the project's been approved. If you find yourself in this situation, be sure to review what was done during initiation and complete any activities that were skipped or left unfinished. The customer or sponsor should make an informed decision whether to approve the project. That's why initiation boils down to defining the project. You identify the problem the project is supposed to solve and gather information about the project, objectives, requirements, deliverables, and more. Once you have an initial project definition, it's time to prepare the project charter. This document formally authorizes the project and describes the authority of the project manager. Throughout this chapter, I'll describe the key elements of a project definition and what goes into a project charter.

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