Introduction to Project Management Assignment 1 Several of the questions posed relate to the Initiating Process Group of the PMBOK

Guide. During the Initiating Process projects are described and authorization is obtained from the client to start the project (Project Management Institute, 2008, p.44).

The first question that relates to the Initiating Process is What Business situation is being addressed?. One of the outputs of the Initiating Process is to develop the Project Charter which sets out the clients initial requirements. An input in development of the Project Charter is the Business Case for which the project is to be used. This will answer the question What Business situation is being addressed (Project Management Institute, 2008, p.73-78).

A further input into the Project Charter is the Project Statement of Work which provides a description of the work to be done (Project Management Institute, 2008, p.75). The question of What needs to be done? relates to the Initiating Process through content that will be provided in the Project Statement of Work.

Part of the output for the Project Charter is a High level requirement & High level Project description (Project Management Institute, 2008, p.77) which will provide an outline of what needs to be done in the project and hence answers the question What will be done?.

The next process that relates to one of the questions posed is the Planning Phase. The main output of the Planning Phase is the Project Management Plan which contains all the Management Plans that will provide guidance on how the work will be done. Hence the question How will it be done? relates to the Planning Process (Project Management Institute, 2008, p.78-82).

The Initiating Process Group sets out the success criteria that will form the basis for the evaluation of the question How will you know it was done? (Wysocki, 2009, p.27) . The Project Charter documents Measurable project objectives and related success criteria (Project Management Institute, 2008, p.77) which clearly defines criteria for the successful completion.

How well was it done? relates to the Closing Process Group. During the Closing Process Group the Project Manager reviews all the work that was completed to ensure that the requirements that were set out in the Initiating Process were met (Project Management Institute, 2008, p.99). The review can provide vital information of the successfulness of the process. The deliverables are also handed to the client and feedback will be received whether al l the success criteria has been met.

Although all the questions have equal merit and should be addressed individually and thoroughly in the project, I agree with Mochal & Mochal (2011) in that you need to spend sufficient time planning to make sure that you know what you are doing hence I feel the questions that are most influential in ensuring the success of the project management approach are What will be done and How will it be done which relate to the Initiating and Planning Process Groups.

Although various changes can be encountered throughout the Project Life Cycle; if a clear and precise goal is set of what is needed to be achieved and how it will be achieved the road to successful completion will be smoother than the road where no planning whatsoever took place.

In 1994 a fire broke out in the carbonate regeneration column in the Benfield Unit of the Gas Circuit at Sasol Three in South Africa. The unit was a crucial component and without it a large part of the factory couldnt function. Even though this was causing large financial losses due to the unit being not operational as well as the fact that schedule was the most important factor in completion of the project (Boggon, 1996), thorough planning did take place which enabled the project to be completed under budget and short of the initial 47 day goal. This proves that the Initiating and Planning Process Groups are vital in the successful completion of any project.

Works Cited
Boggon,I. (1996), 1995 PMI International Project of the Year-Benfield Column Repair Project, In: Cleland,I. , Bursic,K. ,Puerzer,R. ,Yaroslav Vlasak,A. (ed.) Project Management Casebook. Project Management Institute [Online]. Available at: http://pmi.books24x7.com/toc.aspx?bookid=3036 (Accessed: 10 March 2012),pp.5-14. Mochal,J. and Mochal,T (2011), Lessons in Project Managemen,2nd Edition, Apress [Online]. Available at: http://pmi.books24x7.com/toc.aspx?bookid=43720 (Accessed: 10 March 2012) Project Management Institute (2008) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide, 4th Edition ed. s.l.:Project Management Institute. Wysocki, R. K.(2009) Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme. s.l.:Wiley Publishing, Inc., p. 27.