Chapter 4
Checking the Idea Before You Start
In This Chapter
Checking that your project is really a project
Finding the right people and appointing them
Taking on board lessons from earlier projects
Writing a rough (Outline) Business Case
Identifying important planning information
Sketching out the project idea – the Project Brief
Planning the first stage of the project up front
Starting up – the processes and products you use
PRINCE2 gets going before the project gets going, and this chapter looks at the part of PRINCE2 that you do before the project: You take a quick look at the project idea to provide information for an important management decision – whether to start the project and get stuck in to planning it in detail, or abandon the whole idea because it doesn’t look worth it after all.
The PRINCE2 name for this pre-project work is, predictably, ‘Starting Up a Project’. This chapter describes exactly what that work is and the key points to help you run this first part of PRINCE2 effectively and successfully.
Understanding ‘Starting Up a Project’
PRINCE2 has seven processes that walk you through your project and ‘Starting Up a Project’ is the first of these. Like the others, Starting Up a Project – or ‘Start Up’ for short, then has activities inside it. (Have a look at Chapter 2 for more on how to use the processes.) Remember that you don’t follow the activities as a slavish list. They’re more like a checklist and can sometimes really help you because you can see what you ...
