Starting a project-
Download this free checklist to ensure you are completing all the steps needed to get your project off to the right start.
New to project management?
Are you new to project management? Have you been informed of an idea for a project and you are wondering what do I do now?
If you have just received an email from a senior manager telling you to start a project or it's been pointed out that a minute in a management meeting falls to you, you need to start the project identification phase.
This should be crucial phase in a project, as many of us have seen the projects that waste resources and demotivate staff members who are left wondering how did this project get this green light?
The Project Identification Phase
Projects start with an idea, the process of turning this into an output, is called the project life cycle. The project life cycle has distinct phases – identification, definition, delivery, and closure.
Identification as you can see is the first phase in a project, it is how you start a project.
At APMG for example we create quality training and certification. So, for us the initial idea may be a subject matter expert in project management approaching us and suggesting we create a new course.
We then need to decide if this course is worth creating – this is the purpose of the identification phase.
The goals of the identification phase are to:
- develop an outline of the project and assess if it is worth doing;
- determine what effort and investment is needed to define the work in detail
- gain authorisation for the next phase.
To help you reach the goals of the identification phase, we have provided links to three handy templates below.
Templates – helping you start a project the right way
Daily log
Before you have all the information needed to create project documents (like a brief) it is recommended that project managers maintain a diary, formerly known as a Daily Log. This can be used to store information about assumptions, risks, issues and constraints.
On the Praxis Framework website you can download a daily template for free.
Brief
The brief outlines the proposed project. You prepare a brief so a decision can be made on whether or not to proceed to the more detailed definition of the work – the next phase in the project lifecycle.
The Praxis Framework offers a free brief template. There is even a template with notes available, giving you advice on how to fill the template in.
Checklist
The project life cycle has distinct phases, the first is naturally starting the project, and the Praxis Framework calls this stage identification.
Which is essentially where you decide if this project is worth doing? This should be a crucial phase in any project and this checklist will ensure you know what the key activities you need to complete in this phase are.