The Function of Project Initiation

The project initiation process group is the first step in the project life cycle. In fact, much of the work performed in this process group is actually outside the scope of the project. The main purpose of project initiation is to authorize a project to begin or continue.

Project initiation commonly occurs at the beginning of a project and can also be required at certain points throughout the project. For example, a large project with the goal of producing a prototype of a commercial jet will likely encounter several points along the project life cycle at which important decisions must be made. After the fuselage and airfoil have been produced and joined together, they must be tested to evaluate performance against project goals. If the performance does not meet certain standards, the components must be reworked to meet standards before continuing. Alternatively, the whole project could be terminated if the product is deemed to be unable to effectively meet the project standards. This point in the project is a crucial go/no-go decision point and would constitute activities in the project initiation process group.

It bears repeating that the project initiation process group activities can be required more than once in the project life cycle. Although the most common place for these activities is at the beginning of a project, don't overlook the fact that they can be called for during the project at any material point.

It is not uncommon for large projects to call for project initiation processes several times throughout the project life cycle. Anytime you need to assess the progress of a project, reevaluate its merit, and request approval to continue, project initiation processes are executed.

In all cases, project initiation processes require input from previous activities. The entities charged with deciding whether to proceed will require substantiating information on which to base a decision. When project initiation occurs at the beginning of a project, at least some of the input must be created in tasks that are not part of the project. This work predates the project initiation date and makes the project start point fuzzy at times. The points in time at which a project begins and ends are referred to as the project boundaries. Because a substantial amount of the inputs to the initiation process is created outside the scope of the project, the starting boundary can be unclear. A project always starts as a result of a business need, and the business need develops before the project commences. Likewise, any documentation of the need for the project is developed before the actual project starts.

You will need to know the inputs and outputs of each process defined in the PMBOK. That's 44 separate input and output sets! The exam will include several questions that require you to know process inputs, outputs, and general information flow. Start now by rationalizing the inputs and outputs of each process.

Think: "For this process, what information do I need before I start (inputs) and what information or deliverables will I produce (outputs)?"

Subsequent project initiations (within the project life cycle) will use inputs from preceding activities. It is important to understand that the activities in the project initiation process group always result in a critical project decision. The end of the project initiation process group is represented by a decision to continue the project, go back and redo some of the work, or terminate the project altogether.

In most projects, you should include any customers and other stakeholders in many of the activities in the initiation process group. Including as many stakeholders as possible in the early project activities fosters a sense of pride and shared ownership of the project. Any stakeholder who feels a sense of ownership will likely be more diligent to ensure the project succeeds. Stakeholder participation will increase the success of setting the project scope, gathering project requirements, and defining the overall criteria for project success.

Let's take a look at the various elements and activities of the project initiation process group.