Process Group: Initiating

Question 1

What do the Business Case and Project Benefits Management Plan (business documents) contribute to the Project Charter? When are they typically created and used?

Answer 1

Develop Project Charter

Business Case: Outlines the business needs, options for addressing the needs, and recommendations; often started before a project is authorized and used throughout a project to ensure business needs are met

Project Benefits Management Plan: A document that describes how and when the benefits of the project will be realized; informed by the information in the Business Case

Question 2

Why are agreements considered as inputs for the Project Charter?

Answer 2

Develop Project Charter

Agreements (including contracts and Service Level Agreements) formalize what will be delivered to external customers via the project (when a project is being undertaken for an external customer)

Question 3

How do you know if a project has a Project Charter?

Answer 3

Develop Project Charter

1. Sponsor authorized existence of the project
2. Sponsor authorized the project manager
3. Sponsor gave the PM authority to apply organizational resources to the project
4. Sponsor directly or implicitly communicates all of the above

Question 4

What is the Assumption Log?

Answer 4

Develop Project Charter

Lists assumptions made at the start of the project that, if we find to be inaccurate assumptions, will impact the course of the project in some way

Question 5

What are some considerations when creating a Stakeholder Analysis?

Answer 5

Identify Stakeholders

1. Role
2. Positive vs. negative impact
3. Level of activity in project
4. Power authority (e.g. sponsors who pay for the project)

Question 6

What do power/interest grids, power/influence grids, and stakeholder cubes demonstrate and in what circumstances are they typically used?

Answer 6

Identify Stakeholders

Stakeholder classification model that shows power vs. interest and influence of stakeholders; typically used when stakeholder relationships to the project are simple (e.g. smaller projects)

Question 7

What is the purpose of the Salience Model and in what circumstances is it useful?

Answer 7

Identify Stakeholders

Stakeholder classification model that describes salience of stakeholders in terms of their power, urgency, and legitimacy to the project (results in 7 types of stakeholders); useful for complex stakeholder networks

Question 8

In what way does the Directions of Influence method classify stakeholders?

Answer 8

Identify Stakeholders

According to influence on the project or project team (upward from senior managers, downward from temporary contributors of skill/knowledge, outward from outside the project team, and sideward from project manager peers or middle managers)

Question 9

What should the Stakeholder Register contain?

Answer 9

Identify Stakeholders

Main output:
1. Identification info
2. Assessment info (requirements, expectations, influence/impact on project)
3. Classification per stakeholder mapping/representation methods