ABSTRACT
The value a project contributes to an organization must be clearly defined from the outset if it is to be managed effectively. The pressure for changes to be made during implementation can invariably be traced back to a poor understanding of value at a project’s inception. Client organizations are by their very nature multi-faceted. Determining the exact value criteria for a project from such organizations requires a clear framework within which decisions can be made. Structuring this framework at the outset of the project will ensure that not only is value adequately defined, but also that it can be managed during the project life-cycle and ultimately delivered. Clients should go through a series of stages in determining the project definition, producing the following documents at successive steps:
• Client’s business case: the financial raison d’être for the project; • Project specific statement of need: an outline document setting out what is required
to fulfill the business case; • Strategic project brief: an outline document stating how the project will fulfill the
statement of need; and • Project definition: a document setting out the exact details of the project, its scope.
