1 - agree precise specification (terms of reference) for the project Often called the project 'terms of reference', the project specification should be an accurate description of what the project aims to achieve, and the criteria and flexibilities involved, its parameters, scope, range, outputs, sources, participants, budgets and timescales (beware - see note below about planning timescales). Typically and prior to the project's formal establishment the project 'terms of reference' are produced or at least drafted at a fundamental level by a 'project sponsor', or 'executive in charge' (of the project). Often such an initial top-level general project description (a 'business case' basically) is required for the project to be justified, …show more content…
A project specification is essential in that it creates a measurable accountability for anyone wishing at any time to assess how the project is going, or its success on completion. Project terms of reference also provide an essential discipline and framework to keep the project on track, and concerned with the original agreed aims and parameters. A properly formulated and agreed project specification also protects the project manager from being held to account for issues that are outside the original scope of the project or beyond the project manager's control. This is the stage to agree special conditions or exceptions with those in authority. Once you've published the terms of reference you have created a very firm set of expectations by which you will be judged. So if you have any concerns, or want to renegotiate, now's the time to do it. The largest projects can require several weeks to produce and agree project terms of reference. Most normal business projects however require a few days thinking and consulting to produce a suitable project specification. Establishing and agreeing a project specification is an important process even if your task is simple one. A template for a project specification: 1. Describe purpose, aims and deliverables. 2. State parameters (timescales, budgets, range, scope, territory, authority). 3. State people involved and the way the team will work (frequency of meetings, decision-making process). 4.
“The narrative description of the project scope, including major deliverables, project objectives, project assumptions, project constraints and statement of work, that provides a documented basis for making future project decisions and for confirming or developing a common understanding of project scope among the stake holders” (PMBOK Guide 2004, p. 370)
A project scope is a way to describe the major deliverables of a project and this includes key milestones, high level requirements, assumptions and constraints. A projects scope is a useful way to make decisions for the future of the project if changes are needed. The projects scope also defines boundaries of a given project and it clarifies what can be delivered and what is expected to be delivered ("Match ware", 2013). The scope explains the boundaries of the project and the responsibilities of every one working on that project. This helps who ever is working on the project by defining guidelines and helping them to remain focused. The projects scope is a very important part of the SDLC because this serves as a manual for how the project will be completed including important details, deliverables, tasks, costs, and deadlines.
The Project Charter defines the scope, objectives, deliverables and overall approach for the work to be completed. It is a critical element for initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and
I was able to correlate almost all the concepts of project lifecycle with my experience in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as a software engineer. Author’s project charter discussion involves the role of stakeholders and some project documents like business case and contracts. I was working in a small team of 15 under the client Experian, a global credit information group. The stakeholder’s relationship in the project was banks to Experian and Experian to TCS. The banks request list of people having certain credit scores. Experian outsource that work to TCS to create program that generates the list required by banks. Since this business between TCS and Experian goes in contract, it is Experian that decides whether to take a bank’s request and TCS takes all the requests of Experian. A start of any solution will be initiated by a business case document as mentioned in this book. Whenever a new solution needs to be developed, first I received a business document containing the purpose of the document, high-level design, low-level design, project objectives, project approval, assigned project manager and project sponsor. As I was only a developer, the budget information would be stripped from the document. And regarding scheduling, I had the independence to design my own schedule. Change request will also be sent through the same business case document with the changes highlighter. Once the development was over, the project goes to a
Project Objectives and Success Criteria. The project objectives define quantifiable criteria that must be met for the project to be considered successfully completed (Sharma & Lutchman, 2006). According to Kless (2010), project objectives answer the question, like what does success look like? Project objectives are high-level statements that explain exactly what the project’s desired results are. Project objectives should be
From the initial development stages of a built development, project definition is carried out in the period from receiving the performance specification during the inception stage, up until the receipt of full planning permission. The RIBA Plan of Word specifies work stages to reach the planning application stage where the clients’ approval allows the scheme to be submitted. These stages consist of: inception, feasibility, outline proposals and scheme design. The CIOB Code of Practice talks about an outline brief moving towards a full definition that covers the clients’ objectives, functional requirements, project outline scope and constraints. The detailed brief provides the resource requirements, a scheme design and a feasibility and strategy appraisal. The development of the brief is a critical stage at which the scope of the project is properly established and verified by the project constraints, which ultimately leads to the planning permission to process.
In project management a project charter it tells you information about the scope, objectives and the team members in the project. It provides detailed information about the roles and responsibilities of each team members and a summary of the project objectives
Business needs, high level project description, or product requirements that the project is undertaken to address.
It includes project’s needs like design objectives, benefits, risks, issue and project’s initiation, background of the project, timeline, project’s financial aspects, identification of the stakeholders and so on(Rouse).
The first component of the project plan is a statement of work (SOW). This is a detailed description of all of the work products that will be created over the course of project, including who is responsible for making each work project. The vision and scope document is a useful starting point for the SOW But the SOW serves a different purposes—while the vision and scope document talks about it. The rationale for the project (the needs that must be met, the list of users and stake holderswho need it built, etc.) the SOW simply contains a detailed list of the work that must be done and all of the work products that will be produced. The SOW is included as part of the project plan, but it should be a
Establishing the project 's software scope and boundary conditions, the overall cost and schedule for the project and the
This document tells formally the existence of the project and gives direction for the project’s objective and management. The project manager has the major role in creating the project charter. This is the key output of the initiation process. It consists of budget information, project objective, main success criteria, approaches, roles and responsibilities. In the end of this document, stakeholders should sign for accepting the agreement on the need for and intent of the project.
The Project Scope pertains to the work necessary to deliver a product. Requirements and deliverables define the project scope, and it is critical that the stakeholder is in agreement with the information discussed in the proposed plan (Projectscope.net, 2015).
This chapter will show the different content such as project context, project description and purposes, project objectives, project scope and limitation, project definition of terms that are directly related to the project. It will discuss in detail the aim of this study and the goals behind it.
The objective is to define the resources, project alternatives, time lines and other project related information.