ABSTRACT
Effective project management begins with effective project initiation. This is the stage during which the management foundations for the project are laid. Fundamental questions about the project are posed and answered before costly resource is committed. As so many people with different perspectives have an interest in the project, it is sensible that the answers to these basic questions are documented. In this way, a clear and common understanding may be shared amongst the project’s leaders and managers. The collective and individual expectations of the Project Steering Group are captured in the Business Case. The Project Governance Report (containing the Project Plan) describes how those expectations are to be delivered. As a stage of the project which is consuming resource, it is important that initiation is subject to the same management disciplines outlined for the rest of the project.
