Managing IT Projects

Define the Project

At the start of the project, the project champion should appoint a Project Manager.  

The  project champion is the person within the business unit that is responsible for promoting the project idea from conception to CAPEX approval.  The project manager is a specialist who is responsible for ensuring that the approved IT project is completed to specification, on time and to budget.

The first task for the project manager is to define the scope of the project and the responsibilities of each person involved. The formal scope should be formalised in a Project Initiation Document (i.e. "PID").  A PID defines:

Once the PID has been agreed and signed off by the project champion, the project can get underway.

When the project champion first introduces the project to the project manager a Start-up Checklist is a useful aid.