​What do you do when you’ve just landed a new project? Do you start scheduling tasks straight away and get the team into gear? Here are six things you should strive to do as early as possible. 

1. Validate business case

One of the first things you should do as a project manager when a new project gets assigned to you is to find out why the project is important and to validate that it has an acceptable business case. As a PM you are not responsible for the business case, but it’s important that you are familiar with it and that you buy into it. Too many projects get kicked off without a clear objective, rationale or benefit and when it later runs into trouble it can easily reflect badly on you as the PM. Don’t let that happen. Have a conversation with the managers who allocated the project to you and ask them what the reasons are for the project, what success looks like once the project has been completed and how they would like to measure it. Fully understanding the business case will make you better able to make decisions and steer the project in the right direction.
 
2. Identify sponsor and steering committee
The next thing is to understand who the decision makers are on the project and who you are reporting to. Ideally there should be one person who is accountable – the sponsor – and who acknowledges their accountability. I’m often asked if the PM and sponsor can be the same person, but that’s not an ideal scenario. As a PM you are responsible for delivering the project according to the time, cost, quality and benefit parameters set out by the sponsor. If any of these parameters change you need to escalate and seek guidance from the person above you in the project hierarchy. The sponsor will normally need support from other senior players within the organization, and together they form the steering committee. Make sure you know which decision-makers sits on the steering committee and that they meet on a regular basis to provide executive guidance to your project.
 
3. Analyse stakeholders
It’s very important that you don’t jump into the project and start scheduling tasks without having a good understanding of who the stakeholders are. A stakeholder is anyone who is either impacted by the project or who can impact the project. If you don’t identify all the stakeholders early on there is a risk that fundamental requirements are omitted and that the project won’t be fit for purpose. Another reason why you have to pay attention to the stakeholders is that you need to manage them in such a way that they will back up the project. Ask yourself who the most important decision-makers are and how supportive they each are of the project. Your role is to secure each person’s buy-in to the project by taking on board their reservations and by working with them to create the best possible outcome for everyone.
 
4. Set ground rules
On many projects it’s not uncommon that tasks don’t get completed in the desired timeframe and that the work isn’t done in the way the project manager was hoping for. The fundamental problem is that the PM has a set of expectations that have never been explicitly stated or discussed. These are expectations that don’t just relate to the quality of the work but also how it’s getting done. Having a rulebook that no one has had input to - let alone been told about - is a recipe for conflict. The best way to create an effective and harmonious project team is for the team to produce a common set of ground rules that addresses how they will work together. It’s not for the PM to set these rules but for the core team to define. One such rule could be that we always deliver what we promise and that we will inform our co-workers at the first opportunity if we aren’t able to fulfill our commitment. Another ground rule could be that the PM will always keep the team informed of what is decided at a steering committee level. It doesn’t matter what the rules are as long as they have been collectively agreed and work for everyone.
 
5. Gather requirements
It’s likely that only the top level requirements or objectives have been identified by the time the project gets handed over to you. It’s then up to you and the team to interview the stakeholders to find out what they require from the project in detail. The mistake that many teams make is that they don’t gather the core requirements in enough detail and that they are not explicit about what they will not deliver. That can result in misunderstandings, disputes and rework. Set up a series of requirements gathering workshops where you talk through the current state and the future state and map out all the changes that are required. On some projects it isn’t possible to define all detailed requirements up front as not everything can be decided that early. You do however need to map out all the core functions, set priorities and understand what a successful outcome looks like before you start the work. Creating flow diagrams, storyboards, mock-ups and prototypes are excellent ways to shed light on the requirements as opposed to simply putting words on a page.
 
6. Create high-level plan
Another activity that needs to be completed before the team embarks on the work in earnest is to create a collaborative milestone plan. After having gathered the majority of the requirements you are in a good position to identify the top 10-15 milestones and decide when they need to get completed by. There is a huge difference in doing this work on your own and engaging the team in doing it. When you engage the team and come up with the high level plan in collaboration you gain their buy-in in a completely different way. After you have identified the key milestones, discuss who owns each milestone and the detailed plan below it. This collaborative planning session should also comprise a discussion about what the most important risks are to the project, what you are going to do to address them and who owns each risk.
 
When you get allocated a new project, don’t just start executing the work straight away. At the least you must first understand if the project has a valid business case, who the project sponsor and the remaining stakeholders are, help the team come up with a common set of ground rules, gather all core requirements and create a high level milestone plan that the entire team is bought into. 


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According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), being forward-looking and enlisting others in a shared view of the future is one of the attributes that most distinguishes leaders from non-leaders. In an ongoing survey, HBR asked tens of thousands of people around the world what attributes they were looking for and most admire in a leader. The number one requirement—honesty—was also the top-ranking attribute of a good colleague. But the second-highest requirement, being forward-looking, applied only to the leader role. Just 27% of respondents said it was something they wanted in a colleague, whereas 72% wanted it in a leader. No other quality showed such a big difference between leader and colleague.

Being forward-looking and working jointly with clients and stakeholders to define the project’s vision, goals and benefits is an essential attribute of project leadership. Project leaders must help shape the vision rather than accepting it as a given. Traditionally project managers are concerned with delivering an output or a product rather than the big vision. They happily leave the big-picture-thinking to the client or to the sponsor – or to whom-ever else we feel is closer to the business and the decision-making process than they are. 

We often make the incorrect assumption that the client and executive sponsor know what they need and that they have analyzed their current challenges and opportunities in depth. But whereas the client, or business owner, do know their day-to-day operations better than the project team, they may not be skilled at specifying how their current and future needs can be met by a new product or service. They also may not be able to predict what the positive and negative impacts will be of a major change program and what to do about it.
 
In some cases the project manager may be fortunate enough to work with executives who know exactly what they need and how the project ties in with corporate strategy. But in other cases the set-up will be entirely different with stakeholders who lack a clear vision of how the project can add value in the short, medium and long term. The PMI support this view as their research shows that up to 60% of projects are not aligned to strategic objectives although such an alignment has the greatest potential to add value to an organization. That’s a staggering amount and the exact reason why project managers – or leaders I should say – need to step up and bridge the gap between strategy and delivery.
 
In order to do that, project leaders must fully engage the sponsor and stakeholders and help them visualize the end state when all changes have taken place and all benefits have been realized. They must challenge assumptions and ask the right set of questions – including the hard ones. What will make you say in x months that this project was a success? In which ways will this project help the company and the end-user in the short, medium and long term, to be more effective, profitable or achieve strategic objectives? How will the company operate differently as a result of this project?
 
The most simple and straightforward enquiries are often the most powerful, and the hardest to ask. We sometimes feel that questions that relate to the client’s business, the project idea or the technologies we are planning to use, are too basic to be asked. But if we don’t ask, we won’t be able to understand how to create added value. In the beginning of a project we are surrounded by people who know more than we do, but we have to push ahead until we fully comprehending the context. That’s the only way to establish a solid foundation for delivery.

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Actively build relationships and trust
In your new role you want to be seen as taking action and adding value from day one. That’s understandable. But producing a hurried project plan and quickly getting the team moving may not be the best use of your first days. Instead, you want to focus on getting to know the organization, your new client and the team – and resisting the temptation to kick off the project straight away. Building relationships and understanding the environment you’re operating in is the foundation for everything else you’ll be doing. This may sound obvious but many project managers only build relationships at a superficial level. They meet and greet people in their first weeks but don’t take the necessary steps to actively build trust.

Ask the “dumb” basic questions
In your first month I’d like you to ask lots of questions and listen to the answers. Really listen. When you are new in a role you have a unique opportunity to ask the “dumb” basic questions that help you build trust, agree the rules of engagement and set you up for success. Ask your new client and stakeholders how they do business and in which ways your project will help them to do that more effectively. Find out as much as you can about their world and shadow someone in a line function. Ask them what the project managers before you did really well – and not so well – and in which ways they feel that you can add the most value. Also find out as much as you can about their communication style; how they would like you to keep them informed and in which circumstances they would like you to escalate to them. Your task is to form a clear picture of what success looks like in their eyes so that you can partner with them and provide it. 

Find out what makes each person tick
In a similar fashion you want to build strong relationships with the members of your team. Ask people what they like the most and the least about their jobs, what they feel the team has done well in the past and where there is room for improvement. Your job is to open up and find out what makes each person tick, as that is the building block for creating a high performing team. Have a frank discussion with everyone individually about what they need from you and what you need from them. No one likes to be micromanaged, so talk about how you will be working together in a way that gives each person sufficient autonomy whilst providing you with enough transparency.

Needless to say that in your first month you also have to look at defining and kicking off the project. Enquire about the project’s business case and strategic objectives, establish the project’s governance structure and uncover the major risks, constraints and milestones. But don’t prioritize these classic project management activities over and above building relationships and understanding the business. Your initial priority is to build trust and gather information by asking questions, listening and observing.

 
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The Project Initiation Document (PID) – or the Definition Document – is one of the most important artifacts in project management because it provides a foundation for the project. It specifies why the project is important, what will be delivered, when it will be delivered and how. It’s the contract between the project management team and the steering committee – or sponsor – if you like.

Unfortunately many project managers don’t take the time to write a proper PID. They write a document which is far too generic and therefore doesn’t bear any real meaning. The purpose of writing a PID is not to tick a box so that you can say you have done it, but to ensure that everybody understands the premise of the project. A good PID should answer the following questions:

Why are we undertaking the project? It’s important to understand the background of the project, the motivation for undertaking it and it’s objectives. A good project manager is not only interested in delivering an output or a capability to their customer, but interested in the wider context and the benefits that this capability will ultimately bring about.

What are we delivering? A good PID is as specific as possible about what is in scope and what is out of scope of the project, and it makes use of flow diagrams and Product Breakdown Structures to visually illustrate the boundaries. It also clarifies the project’s success criteria, i.e. everything that must be fulfilled in order for the project to be considered a success.

Who is responsible? It’s important to clarify who plays which roles on the project so that nothing falls through the cracks. Specify who takes the role of project manager, team leader, sponsor, supplier and user representative. You should also document who the main stakeholders are and who the steering committee comprises of.

How will the project be delivered? When you kick off a project you have to determine which approach you will use. Will you use a waterfall or an agile methodology? How will you communicate with the stakeholders? How will you test the quality of the products or services you are delivering and how will you keep on top of risks, issues and changes to scope?

When will the project be delivered? Unless you use a very structured waterfall methodology, you are unlikely to have an in depth schedule of what will happen when. For the PID it will suffice to include a milestone plan which highlights the main phases and activities of the project. As most people are visually minded it is a benefit if you also include a visual roadmap. The more graphical you can make the PID the better.

What are the risks, issues and constraints? Projects often derail because of unforeseen risks, so make sure you get them out in the open as early as possible. Include a snapshot of the project’s top 10 risks and issues and assign owners and mitigating actions. Also remember that constraints and dependencies often turn out to be risks.  

How much is it likely to cost? It is good practice to include a cost estimate in the PID along with any budgetary constraints. Provide the assumptions your team used when they came up with the estimate as well as details about how often you will review the estimates.

When it comes to completing the PID, make sure that you don’t do it in isolation, but that you involve the team as much as possible. After all, it’s the team that will do most of the work. Write the document in plain English and avoid project management speak. Jargon alienates your readers.

And one final point. When you’ve written the PID, don’t just send it out via email and expect your stakeholders to read it. Set up walk-through sessions where you take them through a PowerPoint version of the PID highlighting the main points. 

You can download a PID (or PDD) template for free from the resources page.


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Top Tips for Gathering Requirements

As we have touched upon in the previous post, starting your project off on the right foot is half the job done. If you do not know what you are developing, who you are developing it for, and how you will go about developing it, you will not be able to deliver a successful project. 
 
The project initiation and planning phase is the first major phase of the project, where the project’s aims, objectives, scope, costs and approach are established. This is where you define the ground rules and lay the foundation for everything that is to come later. 

The following tips will help you to build a strong foundation for your project and to kick if on the right foot; 
 
1. Plan your work
The very first thing you should do before you start engaging in lots of activities, is to take time to consider what this phase is all about and what you want to achieve.  Create a list of the tasks you need to embark on, prioritize it and create a mini plan for the initiation and planning phase.
 
2. Understand the business case and constraints
If the project has a business case in written format, ask to see it and query anything you do not understand. If a written business case does not exist, it may well be up to you to pull it together and to get it approved. It is imperative that a sound business case is in place and that there is a clear commitment from management to initiate the project on that basis. Pay special attention to the constraints, dependencies and assumptions you come across. They are likely to be risks or issues which must be addressed during the planning stage. 
 
3. Begin with the end in mind
The best way to initiate a project is to begin with the end in mind. Knowing the purpose and the end vision provides direction, focus and motivation, and is a frame of reference against which to make decisions. Visualize the end state of your project once all changes have taken place and all benefits have been realized. What does that look like and how does it differ from the current state? Really feel the end product. Imagine the benefits and how they will affect the users. 

4. Engage the stakeholders
Early on in the initiation phase, it is important that you take the time to understand who the main stakeholders are and the interests they have in the project. Find out which parts of the business they represent, which outcomes they are looking for and how they prefer to be communicated with during the project. With that knowledge, form the project’s steering committee so that you have a group which can help you to make decisions and move the project forward. Choose people who are experienced and supportive and who have been endorsed by the project sponsor.
 
5. Identify and build the initiation team
You will also need to identify and put together a team that can assist you in analyzing the project’s scope and requirements and that has the knowledge to propose a sound solution to the client’s problem. Set the standards high and choose the most experienced and proactive people if you can. Ideally they should be able to not only guide you on what to build – but also be able to physically take on the prototyping of the proposed solution. 
 
6. Understand and document the project scope
Spend as much time as possible with your customer and end users so that you fully understand their needs and requirements. Clearly define what is in and out of scope and use text, diagrams and illustrations to verify that you have understood it correctly. Remember to also enquire about non-functional requirements, such as maintainability, scalability and performance as well as how the solution will be supported and maintained after project completion. 
 
7. Propose a solution to the client’s problem
Spend time identifying the different solutions that may satisfy your customer’s needs and discuss their pros and cons. What technologies, materials and design principles could you make use of? Compare them to your customer’s success criteria and make sure that all of the users’ high- and medium-priority requirements are satisfied. Build a prototype or run a demonstration of your proposed solution as this will illustrate your proposal much more effectively than simply explaining it. 

8. Estimate the proposed solution
During the initiation and planning phase you must provide a high level estimate of the project’s effort. In doing so, make use of different estimation tools and methods, and look at past projects of similar size and complexity for guidance. Involve as many experienced people as possible and provide both best-case and worst-case estimates for each detailed feature. Factor in all project phases and activities, and add contingency to every part of your estimate to account for any risks you have uncovered.

9. Produce a high-level schedule
The first step in producing a schedule is to identify dependencies between your deliverables and to prioritize them according to business needs and complexity. Find out if there are any milestones you must hit at a certain time. Produce a high-level dependency diagram or product flow diagram to help you visualize the sequence of deliverables. Arrange your deliverables into phases and iterations with clear milestones, and aim to deliver the core and most critical part of the solution first. Then you can start to break down the initial phases and iterations into more detail and assign resources.

10. Gain sign-off and acceptance to proceed
Before you wrap up the initiation and planning phase you must gain sign-off and acceptance to proceed to the next phase. Capture all your findings in the project initiation document (PID) and get it signed off by the steering committee. Make sure it captures all details regarding project scope, objectives, solution and high level plan. Ideally your stakeholders should also sign off on the prototype and provide you with funding for the project to proceed to the execution stage. To download a PID template, request access to the RESOURCES Page. 


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The project initiation and planning phase is the first major phase of a project where the project’s aims, objectives and approach are established. This is where you define the ground rules and lay the foundation for everything that is to come later.

The purpose of defining the project is not to create an absolute map that is set in stone, but to think through the project’s critical elements and steps before you make irreversible commitments and take irrevocable actions. Taking the time to establish the project’s scope and analyze the requirements, problem domain and solution up front is a pre-requisite for project success. It enables you to understand the project’s core challenges and what it takes to address these challenges so that you in turn can deliver a quality product to your client. It is in understanding and establishing a solid foundation for delivery that project leadership begins. If you do not fully comprehend the scope and business context of what your team is expected to deliver, how can you effectively manage risks and issues and lead the team? 
 
To help you get your focus right during the initiation and planning phase, concentrate on answering the questions listed below. As you will see, the questions are focused on exploring and understanding what the scope of the project is and how to best go about delivering what the users want and need. 
    
- What is the project intended to achieve?      
- What are the motives for completing it?    
- What business benefits will it lead to?
- Who will the beneficiaries be?
- What are the project’s success criteria?        
- What are the project’s time, cost and quality constraints?
- Who are the main stakeholders?
- What is in scope and out of scope?
- What are the requirements?
- What is the proposed solution?
- Who and what is required in order to deliver the project?
- What risks, issues and dependencies surround the project?
- What is the project team likely to look like (size, roles, skill sets)?
- Who will be responsible for each aspect of the project?
- What is the likely duration of the project?
- How much is it likely to cost?
- What high-level phases is the project likely to go through? 
- How will the project be executed and controlled?
- How will the products and outcomes be quality checked?
- How will the product be supported and maintained after handover?
- How will the project be governed?
- How will the project be closed down and handed over to the users and support teams?

In order to answer the above questions, you will likely need to spend weeks with the project’s main stakeholders and users. You may also be able to draw on a small project team who can start to prototype possible solutions.

Before you wrap up the initiation and planning phase, it’s important that you take the time to properly document your findings in a project initiation or definition document. Answer all the questions in writing and get the document signed off by the project’s sponsor prior to proceeding with the execution stages of the project. The project initiation or definition document will serve as the “contract” between you, as the project manager, and the steering committee stating what will be delivered, when, and for how much. It is unlikely that you will have a detailed plan to show at this stage, as the requirements will not have been analyzed in depth. So plan for what you can and outline the main phases, activities and target milestones. 

The signed off project initiation or definition document is one of  the most important outcomes of the initiation phase, along with a high level description of the requirements and a functional prototype or proof of concept of the proposed solution. And remember that the initiation and planning phase is also an ideal time to be building relationships and securing buy-in for the project. You need to engage the customer, users and senior executives as well as the team members.

Exercise: Initiating Your Last Project
Take some time to think about the last time you started a new project. Think about the things you did and whether it was a relatively formal or informal process. Did you formulate the business case, or was it written by someone else? How much time did you spend understanding the project’s scope and objectives?  Who helped you analyze the requirements and initiate the project? Did you engage the main stakeholders right from the start? Did you carry out any prototyping during the initiation and planning phase and were you satisfied with the quality of the planning documents which were produced?

From that experience, what would you say your biggest lessons learned were? What worked well and what not so well?

If you had to do it again today, what would you do differently?
 
In the next blog we look at the specific steps you can take to effectively initiate and plan your project. 
 

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