Most project initiations begin in chaos: a new PM finding their feet, a project team still coming together, vendors eager to push their methodologies, and stakeholders pressing for results. On top of this, there’s usually a mad rush to churn through a stack of documents—Project Management Plan, Charter, Business Case, Agreements, Schedules, Scopes, Procurement packs and more.
But beneath all the paperwork, project initiation really comes down to answering a few simple questions. Strip away the noise, and this is what matters:
Why & What
- Why are we doing this? → Business Case / Rationale
- What is the project about? → Scope Statement
- What problems will it solve? → Problem Statement
Boundaries & Constraints
- Where are the limits of scope? → Functional & Non-Functional Requirements
- How much time do we have? → Timeline
- What is the minimum quality expectation? → Acceptance Criteria
- What if things go wrong? → Contingency & Change Management
People & Resources
- Who will deliver it? → Project Resources
- Who cares about it? → Stakeholders
- What resources do we have? → Budget
- Who owns what? → RACI Matrix
How & Game Plan
- How will we deliver within constraints? → Methodology & Schedule
- What’s our strategy to win? → Project Approach
- What winning looks like?→ Success Criteria
In the end, initiation is not about producing documents—it’s about creating clarity. If these questions are answered well, the documents will follow naturally. If they aren’t, no document will save the project.
