1. Chapter 3 Project Initiation

2. The stages of a project Project concept Project proposal request
Project green light
Project definition
Project approval
Project kick-off
Project plan
Project approach

3. Project Concept The idea or the reason It may contain the following
Problem statement
It may contain the following
Business cases
Benefits
Description of a problem or solutions to a problem
Initial estimate
The project concept can be the result of a special meeting, a initial research, etc

4. Project Concept -- The initial cost estimation
To reach a figure for the initial estimation, you may have to consider the following
Total number of hours and cost per hour
The size of the team
Cost of management and supporting staff
H/W and S/W costs
QA costs
Consulting or contractor costs
Deployment delivery, and manufacturing costs
Advertising and marketing costs
Cost of producing this estimation
Others (such as kick-off) meeting and final party

5. Project Proposal RFQ (request for quotation)
Request for an exact quote for a specific service or S/W or H/W item
RFI (Request for information)
To garner information before sending a RFP
Verify assumptions and certain requirements
Solicit resumes and team compositions (legal issues)
Other basic communications
RFP (request for proposal)
This is a big one

6. Request for Proposal (RFP)
It consists of the following:
Introduction
Executive Summary
include a summary of the requesters company and market space.
Purpose
a description of the project, the problem and the proposed solution that the requester needs to achieve.
Key Business and Technical Requirements
include the key business and technical requirements.
Proposed Project Phases and Milestones
include a high level description of project phases (if applicable) and milestones.
Quality Assurance Requirements
include any and all quality assurance requirements including processes, procedures, and methodologies.
Budget
detail the budget that has been established to complete the project. .
Schedule of Events
include a schedule of events with timelines for the proposal through awarding of contract to vendor
Proposal Template
indicate whether a proposal document template is included and any instructions for completing it.

7. The Proposal Introduction Executive Summary
include a brief history of the company together with some high level financial information
Corporate and Cultural Information
contain additional information about your company and the technical department(s) that will be involved in the project. It should include a corporate overview and some information about the company culture
Previous Projects and Clients
contain descriptions of previous clients and projects that were similar to the project the client is proposing or that will demonstrate your organization's expertise and experience in project management and development
Client References
list some of your clients who have agreed to give references
Development Methodologies and Process
include an overview of the project lifecycle, and the documentation that is produced during each phase. It should also include information about processes and procedures for such things as configuration management, quality management, source control, security, and any other standard processes used during the development of projects

8. The Proposal Quality Assurance and Testing Processes and Procedures
Quality assurance processes, procedures and methodologies should be outlined together with an overview of the documentation produced at each step of the lifecycle. There may be testing outside of the quality assurance team that also needs to be accomplished
Development Environment
include a brief description of the development environment such as operating system, design packages, programming software, unit test software etc
Assumptions
contain both organizational assumptions and technical assumptions.
Organizational assumptions include such things as, the expectations the vendor has from the client as far as involvement in the project; client responsibilities such as testing or documentation; client representatives for the project (project manager, for example).
Technical assumptions will include items such as, client's existing hardware, systems and software that will be used for the project; specific technology will be used in the development of the product; consultants will be engaged for specific areas of development requiring specialized knowledge or skill sets.
The Problem
This section will include a brief description of the problem. This can be taken directly from the RFP or can be elicited from the client via phone conversations or meetings.
Proposed Solution(s)
This section will include details of the proposed solution or solutions. There may be more than one way to solve the specified problem and, if this is the case, give the client some alternatives.
Constraints, Limitations, and Risks
Note any known constraints, limitations, or risks that are currently known. This can include things such as the timeline for the starting the project. You may need to complete another project before you would be available to work on this one. Any limitations that you company has with regard to technology, knowledge and skill sets should be identified together with a proposal for how you would manage them should you be awarded the project. Risks are things that are obvious to you based on the information that the client has already furnished.
Proposed Project Phases
The project may need to be developed and delivered in phases either because the client has requested it in the RFP or because you feel that the size and/or complexity of the project warrants it. You may propose that the project be delivered in three phases with one of the products being delivered in each.
Milestones and Deliverables
This section will include high level project milestones and deliverables. These would include the project phases, if relevant. At this early stage of the planning phase, the milestones may be confined to approximate dates for completion of specific documents for the planning phase and a high level timeline for when each of the subsequent lifecycle phases will be concluded.
The Proposed Project Team
The proposed project team will include the specific roles/positions needed together with some high level qualifications and skill sets. Individuals do not need to be identified at this point.
Costs and Payment Details
This section will contain high level estimates based on the initial estimates that were created during the concept phase or the budget information contained in the RFP.
Terms and Conditions
This will include some legal jargon that will most likely be supplied by your legal department. It will contain some disclaimers related the accuracy of the information contained herein, together with contractual requirements for the approval to move forward with the project.
Proposal Submission and Questions
This section will include the contact information of the proposal preparer, the date and time that the proposal was submitted, and the method of delivery. It will also include any questions the preparer has about anything in the RFP that was not clear.
Proposal Acceptance and Approval
By signing this document, everyone involved is in agreement that the proposal document is accurate and complete and is approved to move forward.

9. The Proposal Proposed Solution(s)
include details of the proposed solution or solutions, or alternatives
Constraints, Limitations, and Risks
Note any known constraints, limitations, or risks. This can include things such as the timeline for the starting the project. You may need to complete another project before you would be available to work on this one. Any limitations that you company has with regard to technology, knowledge and skill sets should be identified together with a proposal for how you would manage them should you be awarded the project. Risks are things that are obvious to you based on the information that the client has already furnished
Proposed Project Phases
The project may need to be developed and delivered in phases either because the client has requested it in the RFP or because you feel that the size and/or complexity of the project warrants it.
Milestones and Deliverables
include high level project milestones and deliverables. At this early stage of the planning phase, the milestones may be confined to approximate dates for completion of specific documents and a high level timeline for when each of the subsequent lifecycle phases will be concluded
The Proposed Project Team
The proposed project team will include the specific roles/positions needed together with some high level qualifications and skill sets. Individuals do not need to be identified at this point.
Costs and Payment Details
This section will contain high level estimates based on the initial estimates that were created during the concept phase or the budget information contained in the RFP.
Terms and Conditions
This will include some legal jargon that will most likely be supplied by your legal department. It will contain some disclaimers related the accuracy of the information contained herein, together with contractual requirements for the approval to move forward with the project.
Proposal Submission and Questions
This section will include the contact information of the proposal preparer, the date and time that the proposal was submitted, and the method of delivery. It will also include any questions the preparer has about anything in the RFP that was not clear.
Proposal Acceptance and Approval
By signing this document, everyone involved is in agreement that the proposal document is accurate and complete and is approved to move forward.

10. The Proposal The Proposed Project Team
include the specific roles/positions needed together with some high level qualifications and skill sets. Individuals do not need to be identified yet
Costs and Payment Details
contain high level estimates based on the initial estimates that were created during the concept phase or the budget information contained in the RFP
Terms and Conditions
include some legal jargon that will most likely be supplied by your legal department. It will contain some disclaimers related the accuracy of the information contained herein, together with contractual requirements for the approval to move forward with the project.
Proposal Submission and Questions
include the contact information of the proposal preparer, the date and time that the proposal was submitted, and the method of delivery. It will also include any questions the preparer has about anything in the RFP that was not clear
Proposal Acceptance and Approval
By signing this document, everyone involved is in agreement that the proposal document is accurate and complete and is approved to move forward

11. Cost of proposal
For large systems, the project proposal can cost a lot if details are required
Sometime the client will pay certain amount

12. Green light The project can move to next stage
The initial $ is in place
However, we may start at different stages (chapter 4)

13. Different Types of … Project Stakeholders Resources
Internal versus external
Desktop versus internet (web based)
Nothing but Web
Software versus hardware
Stakeholders
People/group/organization who are involved, or have an interest in, the project or the outcome of the project
End user/Payer/Payee/The marketing people/The support people
Resources
People/Equipment/Time/Money