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  • Chapters
    • Introduction
    • The Stages of a Project
    • Chapter 1. Sponsorship and Leadership
    • Chapter 2. Defining the Objectives and Benefits
    • Chapter 3. Planning the Project
    • Chapter 4. Ensuring the Project is a Manageable Size
    • Chapter 5. Defining the Budget
    • Chapter 6. Managing the Risks
    • Chapter 7. Getting the Right Project Manager
    • Chapter 8. Getting Customer Representation
    • Chapter 9. Defining Roles & Responsibilities
    • Chapter 10. Getting the Right Resources
    • Chapter 11. Monitoring and Reporting Progress
    • Chapter 12. Communicating Progress
    • Chapter 13. Consultation and Leadership
    • Chapter 14. Getting Realistic User Requirements
    • Chapter 15. Defining Your Approach
    • Chapter 16. Conducting Structured Testing
    • Chapter 17. Creating an Implementation Plan
    • Chapter 18. Conducting a Post Implementation Review
    • Chapter 19. Realising the Benefits
    • Chapter 20. Learning the Lessons
    • Chapter 21. Celebrating Success
    • Checklist
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  • 21 Ways to Excel at Project Management

Defining the Objectives & Benefits

Question 2: Have you defined and understood the business objectives and benefits?

Good Practice: A project definition document should be prepared early in the project and formally signed off by the steering committee. This document defines the goals, objectives, benefits, deliverables, exclusions, assumptions, business sponsors, responsibilities, estimated costs, timescale and serves the following purposes:
  • Clearly defines the objectives and scope of the project.
  • Provides management and team members with a common view and clear understanding of the project.
  • Provides a strong starting point for the subsequent definition of more detailed documents, such as the project plan, budget, and functional requirements specification.
A leader addressing a group of colleagues sitting around a table with their laptops

The single best payoff in terms of project success comes from having good project definition early.

RAND Corporation

Common Mistakes

  • Start focusing on solutions, achieving something before understanding the business objectives you want to achieve and identifying the business sponsors needed to help achieve these objectives.
  • Not returning to the benefits statement during the project to ensure they are still valid and achievable.

Quotes

  • The number of projects that set out confidently with little or no idea of what they are supposed to achieve is truly astounding.
  • Some projects start out with a clear idea but lose track of it by the time they're 20% into the project.
  • Many proud, objective-orientated managers have a list of goals that are, on closer inspection, technology-driven, and not business-driven. They are headed for a successful project whose results will never be used.
  • Keep in mind that the aim of a project is results delivery, not as is often the case, construction activity. This means thinking about the products the project is in business to deliver.
Defining the Objectives and Benefits

Question 2: Have you defined and understood the business objectives and benefits?

3
Planning the Project

Question 3: Have you developed a detailed project plan?

4
Ensuring the Project is a Manageable Size

Question 4: Is your project a manageable size?

5
Defining the Budget

Question 5: Have you defined a detailed project budget?

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