Chapter 3. Project Initiation
3.5 Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- The official selection of a project based on the alignment of its business case with project selection criteria is followed by the development of a project charter that authorizes the project manager to apply organizational resources in order to achieve the project’s objectives.
- A project charter consists of high-level content about a project such as a project purpose, measurable project objectives, high-level requirements, key deliverables, constraints, assumptions, overall project risks, summary milestone schedule, preapproved financial resources, key stakeholder list, project approval requirements, project exit criteria, project team members, and the information regarding the sponsor. A project charter provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. It is signed off by the project sponsor.
- A project is significantly affected by the environment comprised of internal and external factors. These factors should be taken into account while developing a business case, and while initiating, planning, executing and closing a project.
- Organizational structure, as an internal environmental factor, plays a critical role in projects as they are an indispensable part of the organization they belong to. The formal subsystem of the organizational structure consists of three main organization types, that are functional, matrix, and project-oriented. The informal subsystem includes the organizational culture which sets one organization apart from another with the beliefs, attitudes, and values the organization’s members share.
