Initiation begins when the project is approved. You initiate a project by further defining the project purpose and scope, the justification for initiating it, and the solution to be implemented.

Value of Initiation

The initiation phase is important because it identifies the “Why” and “What” of a project or, in other words, the scope and planned business value of the initiative. Sponsors will use this information to determine if the project should receive funding. In this phase, full description and linking of the project to organizational strategy, and definition of resource requirements occurs.  Additionally, expected results and benefits are determined. Securing of sponsor support and approval has taken place, as well as approval of funding to proceed with delivery. Identification of key stakeholder expectations and interests, approval of the project charter, and identification and commitment of the key resources needed for setting up the project are to be completed during this phase.

Topics Covered

• Project Charter
• Stakeholder Management
• Project Kick Off

Templates Provided

• Project Charter
• Stakeholder Roles & Responsibilities Template
• Stakeholder Engagement Plan Template
• Kick-off Meeting Agenda Template

Upon approval of the scoped project, the project moves into the planning phase. The first steps in the planning phase are defining the project and appointing the project team.  The planning phase involves collaborating with the project team to develop a set of planning documents to help guide the team throughout the project In this phase, further develop the project solution in as much detail as possible and plan the steps necessary to meet the project’s objective. This involves the team identifying all the work, and creating a detailed description and breakdown of the project work into discrete deliverables.

The purpose of the Planning phase is to establish the project structure and operating model, including the project team, work breakdown structure, detailed project execution plan, and deliverables.

Goals:

• Create and approve Project management plan and schedule
• Establish Project governance structure
• Define expected project parameters /constraints
• Conduct sprint planning event (if Agile)

Sprint Planning

Sprint planning is an event in scrum that kicks off a particular sprint. The purpose is to define what can be delivered and how that work will get done. It is usually a set period of time (e.g., a 30-day sprint) that address what will get done, how it will get done, who will do it, the inputs, and the outputs.

Value of Planning

Planning is of major importance to the project life-cycle, as it defines the Who, What, When, Where, and How of a project. During the planning phase, the project structure and operating model are established, the work breakdown structure is developed, a detailed project delivery plan created, and deliverables defined.  Furthermore, the project management plan and schedule are approved, the project governance structure is established, the benefits realization plan defined, and expected project parameters/constraints are defined.

Topics Covered

• Business Case
• Project Level Assessment

Templates Provided

• Project Charter Template
• Business Case Template
• Business Case Alternatives Analysis Worksheet
• Operation – Project Checklist
• Project Level Assessment Template

With a clear definition of the project and a suite of detailed project plans and an approved project schedule, budget, resource plan, and business case, the project can now enter the Delivery phase.

During the Delivery phase, the development and delivery of the project benefits are managed and monitored.  Of equal importance, keep all stakeholders informed of progress and escalate any issues.

Goals:

• Deliver benefits
• Actively communicated progress to plan
• Analyze and manage risks and issues
• Status reports
• Execute mitigation plans to reduce risk and action plans to resolve issues

Value of Delivery

Funds applied in the Delivery phase to the project create the defined service, product, deliverable, process, or solution. Through the appropriate level of project monitoring and control, the project manager will provide transparency into the project and appropriate information to allow stakeholders to make educated and informed decisions. Through these project tools, the project manager effectively manages the triple constraint (time, scope, and cost) that delivers the greatest value to the organization. Communication, stakeholder management, and change control are critical processes during this phase.

Monitoring and Controlling

Project Delivery, along with project monitoring and control, involves the application of project resources to do the required work as defined in the project planning process. During Delivery, measure project performance against planned in order to identify variances from the planned project outcomes. Variances are documented via status reports. The next step is for the PM to determine whether there is a need for corrective action. When moving from Planning to Delivery, the project will require key steps and the production of deliverables to assist with making sure your project meets the desired outcomes, during the time frame expected, and with the resources anticipated.

In order to effectively manage the scope of work and ensure that the project achieves the original objectives under the original scope, schedule, and budget constraints, the organization will establish a Change Control Board (CCB) for all (medium and large) projects.  The CCB is a committee that makes decisions regarding whether approval for implementation of presented proposed changes to a project above an agreed-upon threshold. The CCB and Project sponsor must approve any changes to the baseline project above an agreed-upon threshold after review with the Project manager and the project team. The project manager and project sponsor present the changes to the CCB during a regularly scheduled review meeting after performing an appropriate impact analysis of the change to the project scope, schedule, cost, and resources.  If the CCB approves, communicate the changes and the impacts to the project – up to and including re-base lining the project – to the project team and all project stakeholders through the project communications management plan process. The CCB consists of the governance board, project stakeholders, or their representatives, and must include the project sponsor and the portfolio owner. Decisions reached by the CCB are final and binding.

Delivery Implementation Methodology

Any implementation methodology including Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, or others can be used to manage the production of products, services, processes, or deliverables. Generally, all will follow a “design-build-test-deploy” approach. Using this approach, you will create certain deliverables that are unique to your implementation methodology and store them in an online repository.

Topics Covered

• Work Management
• Scope Management
• Schedule Management
• Cost Management
• Issue Management
• Change Control
• Organizational Change Management
• Quality Management
• Resource Management
• Communication
• Risk Management
• Benefits and Value
• Procurement Management
• Stakeholder Management

Templates Provided

• Project Charter
• Business Requirements
• Functional Requirements – Requirements Mapping
• Schedule Management
• Cost Management
• Issue Log Template
• Change Log
• Change Requests
• Project Charter
• Stakeholder Engagement Plan
• Stakeholder Roles & Responsibilities
• Communication Plan
• Quality Plan
• Resource Management
• Action Items Template
• 1 on 1 Meeting Agenda
• Status Reports – Executive Dashboard
• Project Management Evaluation – Change Lessons Learned
• Issue Log Template
• Risk Register
• Benefits Register
• Procurement Management
• Stakeholder Management

Project Closure involves releasing the final deliverable to the customer, handing over project documentation to the business and support teams, terminating supplier contracts, releasing project resources, and communicating project closure to all stakeholders. In both traditional waterfall and Agile projects, a lessons learned or sprint retrospective is the last step conducted.

Growth comes from learning and so a critical part of this phase is the lessons learned process. It is important for project performance to be evaluated so the organization can determine what worked well and should be repeated and what may need to change for future projects.

Goals:

• Review status of benefits with stakeholders
• Dismantle project team and operating model
• Celebrate project success
• Collect and prepare lessons learned for future project application

Project Closure

The closing process formalizes the end of a phase or project. Having tasks defined in the closing phase of your project ensures administrative and contract items are completed, disseminated, and archived. Completing the closure phase will generate the final performance metrics for the project, document and distribute lessons learned, as well as obtain formal project approval from the project sponsor. The project team should conduct a post-project review to discuss materials presented, areas for improvement, and what has been successful. If there are any vendor contracts, remaining invoices, or costs, reconciliations should be re-conducted as part of this phase.

Value of Closure

The completion of this phase ensures that all project activities and deliverables are finished and project documentation is archived. By following a closure process, you can ensure that vendors are paid, resources are released from project activities, and appropriate lessons learned have been completed and documented. Closure provides for the proper shutdown of activities and ensures a smooth handover to production or operations. It also provides for the assessment of the success of the project and gathers lessons learned to apply to future projects/sprints.

Topics Covered

• Acceptance
• Lessons Learned
• Archive
• Transfer
• Celebrate

Templates Provided

• Project Charter
• Change Lessons Learned – Project Management Evaluation
• Project Documents to Archive
• Transition Plan
• Transitioning Planning Checklist
• Project Closure Checklist

Upon completion of the project, the project benefits and return for those benefits should be measured and tracked to determine if the value expected to be obtained was realized during the days, weeks, and months after the project was completed.

During the Value phase, a series of incremental post-implementation reviews, and then a final summary review and analysis, are conducted to ensure benefits derived met the expected business outcomes defined during Discovery and Initiation phases. The project must achieve a sufficient return on investment to be considered a success.

Goals:

• Analysis and preparation of lessons learned for future projects
• Identification of future enhancements and projects
• Enhancement of project management methodology
• Measurement of benefits and outcomes