#📓 #📢 #🟠 # Project Initiation: Starting a Successful Project ![[calendar-plus.svg]] <small>Sep 02, 2022</small> | ![[calendar-clock.svg]] <small>Jul 17, 2023</small> 🏷️ [[project management]] **Author:** Google Career Certificates **Citation:** Google Career Certifiates. (n.d.). *Project initiation: Starting a successful project* [MOOC]. Coursera. https://www.coursera.org/learn/project-planning-google --- # Summary Description Demonstrate how to set a project up for success during the project initiation phase. Learn how to define and manage project goals, deliverables, scope and success criteria. Discover how to use tools and templates to help set project expectations and communicate roles and responsibilities. Part of [[Google Project Management Professional Certificate]]. # Notes & Important Ideas ## Fundamentals of Project Initiation - Well-planned [[initiation phase]] sets a foundation for a successful project. - begins after problem or opportunity has been identified - [[Important to define scope of a project]] ### Benefits of good project initiation - Don't underestimate resources or timeframe - Set clear expectations with stakeholders to ensure everyone is on the same page and has same definition of success - Ensure that benefits of project outcomes outweigh the costs - Conduct a [[cost benefit analysis]] ### Key components of project initiation - **goals** - what you've been asked to do and what you're trying to accomplish - **scope** - process to define the work that needs to happen to complete the project - **deliverables** - products and services you create for your customer - types of deliverables: - product features & functionalities - documentation - processes - anything that enables you to achieve the project goal(s) - deliverables can be tangible or intangible - **success criteria** - standards by which you measure project success - **stakeholders** - people who have an interest in and are affected by the completion and success of a project - important to understand their needs an ensure they are all aligned before proceeding - **resources** - budget, people, materials, and other items available for project - **[[project charter]]** - document that contains all the details of the project ### Importance of [[active listening]] - Need to meet and communicate with stakeholders to understand what they're trying to achieve - Understand the landscape and context within which the project is taking place ### Performing a [[cost benefit analysis]] - Evaluate if benefits outweigh costs to determine if project should be pursued ## Defining project goals, scope and success criteria - Project goals should be clear and specific enough to tell you what you're trying to achieve, and how to do what you've been asked to do. - Well-defined goals are specific and measurable - Be sure to get enough information from your stakeholders to clearly understand their vision for the project. - Determine what project [[deliverables]] will be expected over the course of the project. - These should also be well-defined. ### How to set SMART goals - Goals should always be: - **Specific** - Goal leaves no ambiguity to be misinterpreted. Should be able to answer at least two of these questions: - What do I want to accomplish? - Why is this a goal? Does it have a specific reason, purpose, or benefit? - Who is involved? Who is the recipient? - Where should the goal be delivered? - To what degree? - **Measurable** - A way to know if the goal has been objectively met. - How much? - How many? - How will I know when it's accomplished? - **Attainable** - Can the goal be reasonably reached based on the metrics? - **Relevant** - The goal fits the organization's strategic plan and supports the project charter. - Does the goal make sense? - Is it worthwhile? - Is it the right time? - **Time-bound** - Has a deadline or timeframe #### Introduction to OKRs - [[OKRs]] are a tool that help focus a team's time and effort on activities that drive success - Help establish and clarify goals or objectives - Key results should be a little more ambitious than SMART goals. - Use to challenge self or team and set stretch goals. - OKRs can be set at different levels: organization, team, and project. - Project OKRs should support and be aligned with organization-level and team-level OKRs. - OKRs help establish the appropriate scope for a project or team. - Strong objectives are: - aspirational - aligned with organizational goals - action-oriented - concrete - significant - Each objective should have 2-3 key results, which should be time-bound. - Strong key results are: - results-oriented - not a task - measurable and verifiable - specific and time-bound - aggressive yet realistic - Objectives should be motivational and inspiring and key results should be tactical and specific. ### Determining a project's scope - Important to define and defend your [[project scope]] - Who will the project be delivered to and who will be using the end product? - Is it straightforward or complex? - What are the project timeline, budget and resources? - Where did this project come from? - Why is it needed? - What is the project expected to achieve? - What does the project sponsor have in mind? - Who approves the final results? - Poorly-defined scope, or major changes to it, can impact the timeline, budget, and even the outcome of the project. - Determine project scope by talking to and understanding the goals of your project sponsors and stakeholders. #### Avoid [[scope creep]] by understanding what is in-scope and out-of-scope > [!info]- In-scope > Tasks that are included in the project plan and contribute to the project's goals > [!info]- Out-of-scope > Tasks that are not included in the project plan and don't contribute to the project's goals. > [!examples]- External sources of scope creep are easier to recognize > - Customer requests > - Environment shifts > - Technology changes > [!hint]- Solutions to avoid external scope creep > - Make project plans visible >- Get clarity on project requirements >- Set ground rules and expectations for stakeholder involvement >- Create a plan for dealing with out-of-scope requests >- Put your agreements and plans in writing > [!examples]- Internal sources of scope creep are trickier to spot and harder to control > - Product improvements > - Process changes #### How to manage changes to a project's scope - Decide if a scope change is acceptable and what impact it will have by using the [[triple constraint model]]. - You can't change one aspect of the project without having an impact on the others. - Need to know what tradeoffs you're willing to accept when making changes to project ### Understanding and defining success criteria - Time to decide if a project is successful is at project launch and project landing > [!definition]- Launch > Delivering the final result to the client. > - Project is finished > - Tasks are completed > - Deliverables are done > - Goal has been met > [!definition]- Landing > Measuring the success of the project using success criteria set at beginning of project. > - Does it work well? > - Did it achieve the desired outcome? - For each success criteria metric, include: - methods for how success will be measured - how often it's measured - who's responsible for measuring it > [!example]- Examples of Success Criteria > Product Quality Metrics > - Track if you implemented product's priority requirements > - Track and assess the product's number of technical issues or defects > - Measure percentage of features delivered or released at end of project > > Customer Metrics > - Evaluate user engagement with product > - Measure stakeholder and customer satisfaction via surveys > - Track user adoption of product ## Working effectively with stakeholders - Important to clarify the roles and responsibilities each person involved in a project has to prevent confusion on who takes ownership of which tasks ### Project team roles and responsibilities - As a project manager, you are responsible for making sure a group of people can come together to achieve a common goal. - That includes ensuring [[accessibility]] #### Choosing a project team - Must consider the needs of the project to decide who does what - Required roles - Team size - Necessary skills - Availability - Motivation - Build a diverse team and dedicate time early on to develop trust between team members. #### Defining project roles - Every project has the following roles: - [[project sponsors]] - team members - customers/users - ([[targets]]) - [[stakeholders]] - Primary, or key, stakeholders are directly affected by the outcome of a project, while secondary stakeholders are indirectly affected. - [[project manager]] - ([[change agent|change agents]]) - ["] The most important part about program management is understanding the personalities of the people you work with so that you can tailor your approach to make sure that you're working effectively with them. - Need to understand the people and the context in order to apply skills and tools to effectively manage project. ### Evaluating stakeholders - Completing a [[stakeholder analysis]] helps you see opportunities for success and potential risk. - Visualize which stakeholders are taking on which responsibilities, and ensure you include the right people in important conversations > [!note] 3 steps to stakeholder analysis > 1. Make a list of all stakeholders the project impacts > 2. Determine the level of interest and [[influence]] for each stakeholder > 3. Assess stakeholders' ability to participate and then find ways to involve them - Use power grid to conduct stakeholder analysis ![[Pasted image 20230716100837.png]] - May want to create steering committee of high influence and high interest stakeholders to be the most senior decision-making body on a project - Project manager is not a member of the committee, but responsible for bringing the right information to the committee > [!example]- Suggested questions for interviewing stakeholders > - What are your most important priorities/goals? > - How will this initiative/project support you and your most important priorities? > - What role would you like to play within this initiative/project? > - Here's how I plan to keep people informed; does that work for you? > - What can I clarify for you? > - What are your expectations? What would you like for the project to accomplish? > - What would success look like for you? > - Who else do you recommend I reach out to about this initiative? > - What information or insights do you have that might be challenging for me to find? > - Where do you see me getting support for this initiative? Facing resistance? > - What additional thoughts/questions do you have? ### Assigning roles and responsibilities - Use [[RACI chart]] to define roles and responsibilities for individuals or teams - Four types of participation: responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed. - Write down each high-level task and deliverable , then assign it the appropriate role for each stakeholder. - There will never be more than one person accountable for a task or deliverable. - The person accountable may also be responsible. > [!warning]- Factors that can cause role confusion > - More than one person accountable - not sure who has ownership > - Unbalanced workloads - some people might be doing more or less work than others on the team > - Unclear hierarchy - people aren't sure who to eek help from > - Unclear ownership of decisions - people aren't sure who makes the final call > - Overlapping work - multiple individuals or teams feel they're responsible for the same task > - Excessive communication - information overload where people don't know what to pay attention to - When you complete the RACI chart, check to be sure no stakeholder has too much they are responsible for. - Share your RACI chart with sponsors and stakeholders to get buy-in and sign-off. ## Utilizing resources and tools for project success ### Understanding project resource needs - Project resources include budget, people, and materials - Plan resources early to set team up for success #### Budgets - Estimate of amount of money project will cost to complete - Talk with stakeholders during initiation phase to uncover hidden costs (i.e., taxes, extra fees) - Use budget to source and compare vendor proposals, figure out upcoming costs and track money moving in and out of project - Include budget in project charter - Stakeholders review it for approval ### Developing documentation for project kick-off - Clear and consistent documentation can ensure transparency and clear communication. - Documentation communicates the answers to key questions: - What problem are you trying to solve? - What are the project goals? - What are the scope and deliverables? - Who are the project's stakeholders? - What resources does the team need to complete their work? - Helps preserve decisions made early in the project and serves as a reference point for team members who might join later in the project life cycle. #### Common documentation for keeping track of details - The [[project proposal]] may be a formal document, a presentation, or just a simple email to get others on board with the idea - Project manager may not be responsible for creating the proposal, but will need to keep track of its progress - The [[project charter]] helps you get organized, set up a framework for what needs to be done, and communicate those details to others. - Includes [[cost benefit analysis]] - Once stakeholders and sponsors have reviewed and approved the project charter, you have the authority to move forward with the project. - The project charter is a living document and the project manager will review and refine the document throughout the project life cycle. ##### Different formats of project charters > [!note]- Project charters vary but usually include some combination of key information > - Introduction/project summary > - Goals & objectives > - Business case/benefits & costs > - Project team > - Scope > - Success criteria > - Major requirements or key deliverables > - Budget > - Schedule/timeline or milestones > - Constraints and assumptions > - Risks > - OKRs > - Approvals - One example of a project charter is a condensed, simplified document - Can be used on smaller projects that are not very complex ![[sDMSHLUqSYyzEhy1KjmMSA_592feb8ec062452e905649cf325961f1_Project-charter.jpg]] - More complex projects may require additional analysis or documents - Organizations may have unique templates ### Evaluating tools to meet project needs - Project management tools help you: - Track task deadlines - Provide visibility to others - Manage a budget - Create helpful diagrams - Manage contracts - Keep stakeholders informed #### Types of project management tools - Scheduling and work management software - e.g., Asana, Jira Software - Assigning tasks to multiple teammates and tracking progress on that work - Visualize team's progress - Better for more complicated projects with bigger teams and larger number of tasks to manage - Productivity and collaboration tools - Online shared documents - Meeting agendas - Status updates - Spreadsheets - RACI charts - Project plans - Presentations - Project overviews - Email and chat #### Common project management tools - Asana - Helps plan and coordinate work from daily tasks to strategic initiatives - Everyone on team can see, discuss, and manage team priorities - Easy to see who is doing what by when - Easy to share status updates and other communications with external stakeholders - Spreadsheets are extremely versatile - Can be used for creating timelines and billing charts, managing budgets, and tracking tasks - Easy to transform, visualize and manipulate information as needed # Connections to Other Materials Use [[SATA chart]] from [[Strategic Organizational Alignment - Crosby 2016]] to identify stakeholders and ensure alignment. # Personal Reflection & Application --- # Other References TBR:: 🔖 [Cost Benefit Analysis for Projects: A Step-by-Step Guide](https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/cost-benefit-analysis-for-projects-a-step-by-step-guide) TBR:: 🔖 [Cost-Benefit Analysis in Project Management](https://pmstudycircle.com/cost-benefit-or-benefit-cost-analysis/) TBR:: 🔖 [Understanding the Unique Utility of OKRs vs. SMART Goals](https://www.smartsheet.com/content/okr-vs-smart-goals) TBR:: 🔖 [Google's OKR playbook](https://www.whatmatters.com/resources/google-okr-playbook/) TBR:: 🔖 [Planning company goals](https://asana.com/guide/examples/project-management/goals-okrs-planning) TBR:: 🔖 [OKRs and SMART goals: What's the difference?](https://www.whatmatters.com/resources/okrs-smart-goals-difference-between/) TBR:: 🔖 [OKRs and KPIs: What They Are and How They Work Together](https://www.reflektive.com/blog/okrs-and-kpis-what-they-are-and-how-they-work-together/) TBR:: 🔖 [How OKR and project management work together](https://www.perdoo.com/resources/okr-and-project-management/) TEL:: [OKR Examples](https://www.workfront.com/strategic-planning/goals/okr/okr-examples) TBR:: 🔖 [OKR TED Talk](https://www.whatmatters.com/articles/ted-talk/) TBR:: 🔖 [Steps to Identify and Prioritize All Stakeholders](https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/identify-prioritize-stakeholders-11408)