tional chart of the project team, showing the functional areas
involved. Since these are not fully developed plans and esti-
mates, it’s important to give any estimates in terms of ranges
and to note confidence levels where it makes sense to do so,
to show that any information you provide reflects your level of
knowledge at this stage of the project.
Project stakeholders.A listing of individuals and organizations
involved in the project or affected by the activities and/or out-
comes.
Success criteria. The
methods that will be used
to determine how well the
project objectives were
met. It should include a list
of critical success factors
and quantified levels of
achievement.
Preliminary Planning:
How Much Is Enough?
You’ll find this to be one of
the most difficult points in
the life of the project. In
Chapter 1, we discussed the fundamental gap between the cer-
tainty desired by management and the inherent uncertainty of
projects. This is typically the point at which that gap is greatest.
You’re about to make a specific project proposal to manage-
ment, who will crave precise estimates. You won’t be able to pro-
vide precise estimates, because you simply don’t know enough
at this point. You’ve done a limited amount of analysis, so you
can’t predict an outcome with much confidence.
The schedule you produce in your preliminary planning
should be relatively very simple and not very detailed. In fact,
the level of detail in all of your documentation should reflect
your level of knowledge and certainty. In most cases, you may
Defining Your Project 69Obtaining Formal
Agreement on
Project Definition
Treating the Project Definition Docu-
ment as a kind of contract can be of
value. It can serve to ensure that all
major parties affected by the project
or its outcome agree—in advance—on
what is to be done and how. It’s advis-
able to get all of these parties to for-
mally sign off on the Project Definition
Document, indicating that all are in
agreement on your approach.