Review of the week

Congratulations on completing the first week of Project Initiation.

This week, we have focused on the project initiation stage of the project life cycle by covering three key areas.

First, we discussed what project management is – we looked at key aspects, including its history and the evolution and development of professional bodies, such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) and Association for Project Management (APM).

Second, we explored what is meant by a project scope and offered you the opportunity to think about how important it is for a project to have a clearly defined scope agreed with the client.

Finally, we introduced a key tool used in the specification and implementation of a project – the Project Initiation Document (PID). This document includes details such as why the project has been initiated and who is responsible for each aspect of its delivery.

Next week you will:

• Have an opportunity to understand and develop skills related to identifying and managing project constraints – sometimes known as the ‘iron triangle’
• Learn how the ability to effectively plan and manage these constraints is a key skill for any effective and successful project manager
• Use what you have learnt to write and critique Project Initiation Documents for yourself

Your task

To summarise and review what you have learned this week, use the project life cycle to note the key issues and elements that make up the project initiation stage – using it like a mind map. You can download a copy of it from the bottom of this step.

For inspiration, you may want to look at some guidance about mind mapping from Tony Buzan who invented the technique.