When to Use a Project Initiation Document

The project initiation document is very important for large projects involving a large number of people who will interact throughout. It is especially important to present a project initiation document to potential sponsors as they are able to get the picture of what they are funding. The project initiation document is also used when a business case is involved since it defines the deliverables expected.

Project Initiation Document Definition

A project initiation document is a detailed write-up that is documented at start-up to guide a project to ensure that it achieves its aim. It is a PRINCE2 term that represents the plan of approach in project management as it combines start-up and initiation phases of a project process. It brings together all the key information needed to start and run a project smoothly and it therefore forms the basis of assessment and management.

The project initiation document (PID) provides a reference point for both the customer and the project implementing team throughout the project period.

It contains the following details on

 

• Organization and governance of the project (organograms will be useful to provide a brief description of the requirement of each person’s role in the project)
• Project definition, aim and goals (includes expected deliverables)
• Scope (includes task assignments, time parameters and boundaries of the project, the owner and the project team)
• Duties and responsibilities of everyone involved and the limits of these responsibilities
• Communication and quality plans (including flow of information method and quality criteria for the deliverables)
• Time schedules
• Budget estimates (including monitoring and using performance indicators)
• Risk analysis and constraints (contingency plan, people responsible for risk management)

Project Initiation Document Benefits

Benefits are the reasons any project is created and implemented. The benefits identified should therefore be quantified and their timing of realization estimated. They should balance against the costs and timings estimated at initiation. Therefore the project initiation document:

Assures the management that the project has a sound basis and is worthy a commitment.
Ensures that all the hard work and investment that has gone into the project will give the greatest possible returns
Helps you stay focused on why you initiated the project in the first place. It reflects the current status, plans and controls of the project.
Helps you establishment levels of accountabilities until the project ends. This will eliminate the blame game associated with failed projects.
Is used to evaluate the performance of the project against the expected results at the time of closing the project.
Remember: producing the project initiation document at the right time is essential—at the start-up. Since it is a very good checklist, both the sponsor and project team, will be able to refer to the project achievements throughout.

The project initiation document therefore provides the correct platform where all the project’s needs are written for easy of reference. At the end of the PID, the team leader provides the project’s progress to enable the project board decide whether to continue with the project, amend the scope or stop the project.

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