project initiation and project closure

The Project Initiation Phase.
A carefully structured project initiation phase should ensure that the project is clearly defined and specified from the start. The project owner should appoint the project manager and direct them to produce a detailed project initiation document (PID). This document has various components, which together will quantify the risks and benefits associated with the project. The project manager appointed to produce the project initiation document will normally be retained to manage the project. One or more sub-project managers and staff from the project office may also be appointed to assist in its production. The project office is the generic term given to a central resource of dedicated project staff. Project Office staff are likely to include estimators and planners, whose services can be very useful in the creation of a detailed PID. The precise composition of the PID will be influenced by such considerations as management attitudes and the perceived complexity of the project.

Components of the PID
The business case details the justification for undertaking, and for continuing, a project. It is used to define the financial and other benefits which the project is expected to deliver. It also details the cost, timescale and other constraints within which the project is required to operate and against which its performance will be evaluated. The configuration management plan should detail the configuration management procedures to be used throughout the project. It should be produced as part of the project initiation document. A project does not normally exist in isolation. There are various relationships and areas of common interests with other projects, or other activities in the same department, organization, or even externally. The project boundary must therefore be defined in a way which makes it clear how related projects interact, and where the output from one project forms the input to another project, or related area of work.

A project plan will normally consist of a project technical plan and a project resource plan. The project technical plan is produced at the beginning of the project and shows the products required and the corresponding schedule of major activities that will occur throughout the project. This is produced in conjunction with a project resource plan, which details the resources required. Quality policy, where it is applied, is the documented standard for the application of quality assurance and quality control procedures to the running of projects within an organization. The terms of reference provide a definition of the objectives for a project, including any relevant background information.

Project Initiation - Owners Duties.
Upon receipt of the project initiation document, the project owner should ensure that it is checked against the business objectives and the project boundary - as defined by the project sponsor. The project owner will need to review and approve the project plans. At this time the plans will need to contain detailed information relating to the first recognized stage of the project, including plans for those sub-projects that reside in the first stage. In addition to appointing the overall project manager the project owner should appoint the sub-project managers required to deliver the first agreed stage. The resources required should be agreed by the project owner, in consultation with the project and sub-project managers.

Ongoing Project Management.
The use of formal organizational processes throughout the project activities phase should ensure that the project is properly managed and controlled. The control framework required to enable the project owner to monitor progress and exercise control should be detailed at project initiation. The project owner should relate a high level summary of the information they receive to the project sponsor, to keep them informed of progress. Through regular communication with the project managers, the project owner should satisfy themselves that the agreed project management approach is followed - that is, that the structures and control framework put in place are being adhered to. The project owner should monitor the project against its business case and ensure that it remains viable. The business case details the commercial or business benefits justification for the project. The project owner should review and approve forthcoming sub-project plans as the project progresses. This also applies to any remedial plans that may be produced to address a project that is going seriously off-course. It is quite common for sufficient information to produce sub-project plans only to become available immediately prior to the intended start point of the sub-project.

Reviews & Reports.
The project manager should be responsible for ensuring product delivery and for the management and motivation of staff working on the project. They should analyze and collate the progress reports and summarize this information in regular highlight reports which should be presented to the project owner. Highlight reports should be produced at regular intervals, for example monthly, and may also be produced in response to exceptional circumstances. Where a project office is being used, the project manager should assess the results of all project and quality reviews and liaise with the project office staff to maintain the integrity and direction of the project. Decisions which effect the strategic direction of a project will almost certainly need to be referred to a senior management body or individual, but it is the project manager who will have to make the recommendations and then put into effect the decisions made. The project manager should be aware that disagreements have the potential to arise at all levels. The intensity of any particular conflict may be affected by a variety of factors including approaching deadlines, a squeeze on resources or the individual characteristics of those
involved.

Formal Project Closure.
A carefully structured project closure phase should ensure that the project is brought to a controlled end. The project manager should prepare the end project report, which details the main findings and outcome of the project and represents a formal review of the projects degree of success. The project manager should organize the project closure meeting and draw up a list of who should attend. This meeting is concerned with reviewing the project and ensuring the completeness of all of the major project deliverables. It is the final formal control point - apart from the post implementation review; and should be attended by the project owner and the overall project manager. The basic question facing the attendees is: 'Did the project deliver its intended end-product within the time and budgetary limits set?'

End Project Report.
The project manager should present the end project report to the project owner at the project closure meeting. The project owner will need to study this report in detail and should ensure that the project has successfully delivered its objectives, as detailed in the project initiation document, before they formally close the project. The project owner should schedule a future review of the overall outcome of the project. This post implementation review is an analysis of the operational effectiveness of the projects end-product some time, typically six months, after it has been delivered. This process enables valuable lessons to be learned and applied to future project based work.

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