Proj Defini Guide Li

Project Definition Guidelines
Once you have built the case for your project though the Project Justification process
you need to define your project in detail. The purpose of the project justification stage is
to establish the need for the project and present a compelling argument to the decision
makers so that they could decide whether to go ahead with the project or not. The
purpose of the project definition stage is to define the overall boundary of the project
functionally and technologically that would help in the design, development,
implementation and evaluation of the proposed system. Following guidelines would help
you develop exhaustive project definition. Note: This utilizes following project
management model:
Project
Management
Model
Define The
Project
Project
Justiofication
Plan The
Project
Manage The
Project
Project
Definition
The project definition justification relies extensively on the information collected during
the project justification stage. That is why it is important that the customer interviews
conducted during the justification stage should be quite thorough.
Step 1: (Last step of Justification Stage) Based upon the analysis of

alternatives recommend the best possible solution
Recommend the alternative that:

o
Has the best value based upon the feature-benefit analysis and risk analysis
Is aligned with department/organizations vision, objectives and measurables
Fits within the enterprise-wide IT strategy and business plan
Provide an impact statement that outlines the advantages and disadvantages of

implementing or not implementing the solution including the cost, both the
development cost and opportunity cost of not implementing the solution
Step 2: Define Project Scope
The project description that should include details about:

o
The goals and objectives
It should be able to address the purpose of the project why are we undertaking
this project?
gantthead.com
The projects business goals specify the impact of the project on the overall
corporate objectives and strategies.
o
Strategic alignment within the organizations
Why it is needed now?
Budgetary impact, efficiency improvements
Fit within overall IT strategy
Business function improvements
Impact on competitive advantages of the organization
End-User Description
o
Who are the customers of the system?
Who are the users of the systems?
Who are the beneficiaries of the system?
What impact would the system have on their job?
What the project would include and what it would not include?
Describe the requirements and Features or the FURPS for the system:
o
Functionality: detail the feature set and capabilities
What are the functions of the proposed system?
How general are they?
Are they business related or technology related?
What are the security implications?
Usability: Consider the user interface for the system
What human factors are impacted by the systems
Detail the aesthetics of the look-&-feel
Address the consistency of features
What are the documentation needs of the system?
Reliability: Details about the systems that address:
Failure frequency and severity
Output Accuracy and Frequency
Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)
Failure recovery
Program predictability
Performance: What are the performance related expectations of the system?
Speed
Response time
Resource consumption
2007 gantthead.com
gantthead.com

Efficiency
Supportability: What are the support-related expectations and criteria for the
system?
Maintainability: extensibility, adaptability, serviceability
Testability
Compatibility
Configurability
Ease of installation
Ease of problem localization
Identify the staffing needs for the design, development and implementation of the
system.
o
Skill sets
Experience
Availability
Technology Requirements including HW and SW

o
Internally available
To be acquired externally
Dependencies and Interfaces

o
Internal dependencies and interfaces
External dependencies and interfaces
Step 2: Deliverables and Milestones
What would be the final deliverable of the project?
What are various milestones that need to be reached in order to give the final
deliverable?
What are various deliverables associated with these milestones?
How will all deliverables be quantified and measured?
Who would evaluate and certify or sign off on deliverables?
What are the project start and end dates?
What other conditions impact the project execution and implementation?
Step 2: Evaluation and Validation of the Project
Cost Benefit Analysis: This is the financial scope of the project

o
State various types of costs associated with the project
Describe benefits of the project
Perform cost-benefit analysis and total value of the project
2007 gantthead.com
gantthead.com
What are the risks associated with the project?

o
Risk of doing the project
Risk of not doing the project
Controllable and uncontrollable risks
Risk mitigation strategy
Project Approval
o
Validate the project objectives by involving all affected parties including systems
people, development team, business users, upper management
Get approval for the project objectives and scope
2007 gantthead.com

Proj Defini Guide Li

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Proj Defini Guide Li

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Proj Defini Guide Li

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Project Definition Guidelines

Step 1: (Last step of Justification Stage) Based upon the analysis of

Recommend the alternative that:

Is aligned with department/organizations vision, objectives and measurables

Fits within the enterprise-wide IT strategy and business plan

Provide an impact statement that outlines the advantages and disadvantages of

Step 2: Define Project Scope

The project description that should include details about:

The goals and objectives

Project Definition Guidelines

Strategic alignment within the organizations

Why it is needed now?

Budgetary impact, efficiency improvements

Fit within overall IT strategy

Business function improvements

Impact on competitive advantages of the organization

Who are the customers of the system?

Who are the users of the systems?

Who are the beneficiaries of the system?

What impact would the system have on their job?

Functionality: detail the feature set and capabilities

What are the functions of the proposed system?

How general are they?

Are they business related or technology related?

What are the security implications?

Usability: Consider the user interface for the system

What human factors are impacted by the systems

Detail the aesthetics of the look-&-feel

Address the consistency of features

What are the documentation needs of the system?

Reliability: Details about the systems that address:

Failure frequency and severity

Output Accuracy and Frequency

Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)

Performance: What are the performance related expectations of the system?

Project Definition Guidelines

Maintainability: extensibility, adaptability, serviceability

Ease of problem localization

Technology Requirements including HW and SW

Dependencies and Interfaces

Internal dependencies and interfaces

External dependencies and interfaces

Step 2: Deliverables and Milestones

What would be the final deliverable of the project?

What are various deliverables associated with these milestones?

How will all deliverables be quantified and measured?

Who would evaluate and certify or sign off on deliverables?

What are the project start and end dates?

What other conditions impact the project execution and implementation?

Step 2: Evaluation and Validation of the Project

Cost Benefit Analysis: This is the financial scope of the project

State various types of costs associated with the project

Describe benefits of the project

Perform cost-benefit analysis and total value of the project

Project Definition Guidelines

What are the risks associated with the project?

Risk of doing the project

Risk of not doing the project

Controllable and uncontrollable risks

Risk mitigation strategy