Project initiation is about setting your project up for success. Too often this step is under-managed and under governed resulting in poor projects going forward for investment.

This step should be driven by the need to reduce uncertainty early in every area of investment — to answer the questions, Is it worth doing? and Can it be done?

Get this stage right and much of the downstream project and business problems disappear. Yet, too often, this stage is skipped or skimped thereby increasing downstream costs and time. When you hear of projects being ‘off the rails’, it is often because they were never on the right rails in the first place!

The TOP™ Project Initiation TOPology puts your project ‘on the right rails’ by

• determining the ‘opportunity scope’ - to discover the areas of greatest opportunity
• defining the desired business outcomes (end states) - to know where you’re going
• identifying the unknowns early - to know what you’re doing
• assessing the project’s feasibility - to determine if its possible
• identifying the areas of potential value - finding where the most value to be gained is
• and defining the ‘solution scope’ to optimize the investment - where you should invest to get the ‘best bang for your buck’

plus

• how to project manage and govern this critical project stage
• and cull poor ideas early.

The TOP™ Project Initiation TOPology puts your projects on the right rails, heading in the right direction and sets it up for success.