Starting up a project

• Purpose
• Objective
• Context
• Activities
  • Overview
  • Appoint the Executive and the Project Manager
  • Capture previous lessons
  • Design and appoint the project management team
  • Prepare the outline Business Case
  • Select the project approach and assemble the Project Brief
  • Plan the initiation stage

Key sections

• Introduction
• Business case
• Organization
• Quality
• Plans
• Risk
• Change
• Progress
• Introduction to processes
• Starting up a projectDirecting a project
• Initiating a project
• Controlling a stage
• Managing Product Delivery
• Managing a Stage Boundary
• Closing a Project
• Tailoring PRINCE2 to the project environment
• Directing Projects with PRINCE2

Activities

Select the project approach and assemble the Project Brief

Before any planning of the project can be done, decisions must be made regarding how the work of the project is going to be approached.
For example, will the solution be developed in-house or contracted to third parties?

Will the solution be a modification to an existing product or built from scratch?
Will the solution be based on a commercial off-the-shelf product (often referred to as COTS) or something that is custom-designed?

The way in which the work is to be conducted will depend on any customer or supplier standards, practices and guidelines - for example, any specific development lifecycles that may apply.
These should be captured in the Project Brief as part of the project approach, as they will influence the project strategies to be created in the Initiating a Project process.
It also ensures that the project approach is clearly understood between customer and supplier, and does not jeopardize the project in any way.

An agreed Project Brief ensures that the project has a commonly understood and well-defined start point.

Diagram 1 shows the inputs to, and outputs from, this activity.

© Crown copyright 2005 Reproduced under licence from OGC

Diagram 1

PRINCE2® recommends the following actions:

• Evaluate the possible delivery solutions and decide upon the project approach appropriate to delivering the project product and achieving the outline Business Case:
• Review the Lessons Log for lessons related to the project approach
• Consider any corporate or programme strategies that are relevant, and put the project in context with any other work or corporate initiatives by establishing external dependencies and prerequisites
• Consider any corporate or programme standards or practices that should apply (in a commercial customer/supplier context there are likely to be different standards and practices which need to be accommodated)
• Consider the current thinking about the provision of solutions within the industry sectors and specialist skill areas involved (including any technical options for the development lifecycle for the project product)
• Define the operational environment into which the solution must fit (including operational or maintenance implications and constraints) and how the project product can be brought into that environment
• Consider any security constraints that apply to the project or the operation of its products
• Consider any training needs for user personnel
• Assemble the Project Brief:
• Define the project:
• Confirm current status of the project (e.g. project background and any preparation work carried out to date)
• Confirm the objectives and desired outcomes
• Confirm the project scope and exclusions
• Identify any constraints and assumptions
• Identify the project tolerances
• Identify the user(s) and any other known interested parties
• Identify the interfaces that the project must maintain
• Incorporate the outline Business Case
• Incorporate the Project Product Description
• Incorporate the project approach
• Review the project management team structure and role descriptions to identify any additional roles or skills required to conduct the work. Prepare additional role descriptions as necessary
• Incorporate the project management team structure and role descriptions
• Use the Daily Log to record any new issues or risks.

Diagram 2 shows the responsibilities for this activity.

© Crown copyright 2005 Reproduced under licence from OGC

Diagram 2

PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.