Initiating a PRINCE2 Project Process
The Initiation Stage
After the first Project Board decision, the Project Manager uses the approved Initiation Stage Plan to run the Initiation Stage. This is the first stage of the project. The Initiation Stage has the following main outputs that form part of the PID:
• The four strategy documents (i.e., Risk, Quality, Configuration & Communication Management)
• The Business Case document (which is the responsibility of the Executive)
• The Project Plan
• The Product Descriptions
• Project Controls describing how the project will be controlled
• Roles & Responsibilities / Project Management Team Structure
Most of the work in this first stage is facilitated by the Project Manager, with lots of support from:
• the Executive to develop (refine) the Business Case.
• persons representing the users help with product descriptions and quality requirements
• specialists (also known as “Subject Matter Experts”) can also help with Product-Based Planning, which includes the creation of the Product Descriptions and estimating which is part of planning.
• Senior user provides the expected benefits information which are measurable and when (timeline) they are expected to be realized. This information is stored in the Benefits Review Plan
Project Board: 2nd Decision:
At the end of the Initiation Stage, the Project Board is ready to make their 2nd decision, which is to decide if the project should be allowed to continue to the 2nd stage, as they will only authorize one stage at a time. They will review most of the information in the PID, especially the Business Case, which includes an overview of the Risks, Benefits & ROI information.
They will also review the Project Plan and the plan for the 2nd stage of the project. If the Project Board agrees, then they:
• Authorize the Project – so the project can start
• Authorize the Next Stage – so the first delivery stage can start.
Timing:
• The Initiation Stage, or the Initiating a Project process, is longer than the Starting Up a Project process and usually not as long as a normal stage, but, again, this depends on the project.
• In the example above, the IP Stage is 4 weeks, while the next stage is 8 weeks.
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