Page 92 - Budgeting for Managers

Planning and Budgeting a Project
List of tasks to get approval for the Transition to Production
Phase.
Production: The time when the result of your project, the product
or service, is in use.Write down what customer service and technical
support will do to maintain the product or service in working order. 75
Decommissioning: Description of events or dates that would cause
this product or service to be in need of review for major upgrade
or replacement.
Table 5-1. Quick project overview with field definitions (concluded)
We begin by talking to our customers and filling out the top
half of the form: purpose, initial situation, and goal. It’s impor-
tant that we get the customer’s answers to these questions, and
not just our own.
When you take on a project, you’re a project manager, even
if that’s not your job title. A small project may take only a few
days and maybe you’ll do all the work yourself. That’s a good
place to start. Over time, you can learn to handle longer proj-
ects with more people on them.
Customer Anyone who will use or work with the product
or service we create.
Purpose The reason for creating the product or service, its ben-
efit to the organization. How will it help the bottom line? Can we sell
it? Will it reduce cost? Will it help us make a better product, serve our
customers better, or get things to them sooner? Will it improve safety
or reduce risk?
Initial situation The problem to be solved or the opportunity we
want to take advantage of.What customers are doing now, what they
are using, and why it isn’t working.The environment, that is, all of the
things with which the new product or service will interact.
Goal What are we making? Picture the end result, the product or
service in use by customers.Who are they? What will they be doing?
What will they be using?
Imposed Requested or required by the customer.“Imposed” is the
opposite of “estimated.” “Imposed” is what the customer wants;“esti-
mated” is what we think it will take to do the job.