In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. The celebratory feast acknowledged the power of collaboration and partnerships between the Abenaki and Pawtuxet tribes, and the Pilgrims. Do you have collaborative partnerships across your projects worthy of celebration?
Asking a few easy questions as the project navigates through key phases will help generate discussion and/or action on possible areas of need which can contribute to project success. Here are questions to consider during Feasibility and Initiation.
Feasibility: Should We/Can We Do It?
Has an executive sponsor been assigned?
Have all alternatives to be researched been adequately defined?
Are approval bodies required? Are members identified?
Has a project manager been assigned?
Are executive leaders and key approval authorities clear on what will be contained in the proposal?
Initiation: What Are We Doing?
Has the Executive Sponsor contributed to, reviewed, and approved project scope?
If the project is highly cross-functional, do you need/have a steering committee?
How are ‘top’ decisions handled?
How are key stakeholders communicated to/from? How frequently will it occur? How will ‘crisis’ issues be handled?
Has a project team kickoff meeting been held? Does everyone understand the project problem/goal/deliverables?
Are the project deliverables and their completion metrics clear and understood by all?
Are expected business outcomes identified and stated in a measurable way?
Tomorrow, we’ll feast on more questions.
