Project
no: Date:
Document Management
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D Date of Change |
Name |
Cha Changes Made |
|
9/23/06 |
Doug Friend |
Updated Format and Instructions |
|
9/24/06 |
Doug Friend |
Changed Page Payout, Framework Edits |
|
|
|
ff |
Projects
IT makes this document available electronically to all stakeholders centrally.
Template
comment
Project
no
Enter code number here
Date
Add date of recording the problem statement.
KISS - We Like the
Simple Approach
Problem Statement
Defined
Once the problem has
been defined the Mission Statement, using a simplified approach, should answer:
What do we do? e.g. Develop an Ecommerce System (product)
For whom do we do it? e.g.
Client or Another Department (customer)
How do we go about it? e.g.
Design, Prototype, Develop, Train (strategy)
When do we need to do
it? e.g.
Completed in 6 to 8 months
Having derived an
agreed Mission Statement from the above, any decision making in the project
should always meet with the Mission Statement as the minimum requirement.
The formal approach
As we have already
seen from the ‘simple’ approach above the Mission Statement sets out to answer
the following questions:
What do we do? (product)
For whom do we do it? (customer)
How do we go about it? (Strategy)
When do we need it? (Timeframe)
The aim is to make
sure that everyone is on the same wavelength with regard to the project.
However, the simple
approach may be quite suitable for the majority of cases e.g. short duration or
uncomplicated projects. On the other hand, more complex and longer projects may
require a more formal approach to make sure that all issues are raised and
discussed before producing the Mission Statement. Follow-up with the mission statement
published in a "project newsletter" helping to keep everyone on the
same page and let stakeholders know the PM or PMO is managing communications.
The stages below
can be carried out using a brainstorm technique.
Internal and
external environment
One should consider
the effect of the above on the project. Internal aspects could be e.g. what is
the personnel department’s policy in recruitment? External could be e.g. are
there any regulatory restrictions in
place or legal constraints? This exercise should be kept as brief as possible
and will be more straight forward for internal issues than external. If the
whole team is within one department it is easier than if a matrix arrangement
is in place.
Stakeholders
One should note all of
the stakeholders i.e. anyone that has a vested interested in the project e.g.
customer, Project Sponsor, suppliers, senior managers etc.
Customers
Identify the customers
from the above stakeholders i.e. users of the teams project output. At least
one will be the project’s major customer.
Identify the 2
or 3 major customers and list what they want.
Do this from the list
above. In order to find out what they want from the project go and ask them!
Don’t guess.
Success criteria
How will you measure
the success of the project? This will cover both soft as well as hard issues
e.g. job satisfaction, training (soft) or budgets, schedule, sales, expansion
(hard).
Consider
critical future events
What significant
events might have a bearing on the project e.g. merger, exchange rate
movements, recruitment policies etc?
Prepare the
The aim of the above
activity is to promote a degree of discussion and get the team thinking
laterally, not to confine themselves into a box. Having completed the exercise,
everyone should have a lot clearer idea when it comes to writing the Mission
Statement.
This can be written in
a step-wise procedure: