I am trying to attempt to elaborate the PMI steps during project chartering, with a scenario  and a chart from the following.

The PMI defines the project charter under Project initiation process group [PIPG].

Chartering the project is a major step under this PIPG. The project charter authorizes the PM to plan and use the allocated budget, time and resources. By using these entities the PM need to complete the objectives of the project with better planning, execution and control towards reaching the organization’s targets.

They are mentioned in the below chart.

 

For a successful project manager assessing and defining all of them are very essential upfront during the project initiation phase with Chartering process step.

By identifying them, the PM or a Program manager also can identify the risk mitigation areas before starting any activity. The required risk and contingency planning can be done for the activity’s smooth functioning. At the same time these two managers also can well plan for cost control by keeping percentage of the buffer budget from the allocated or planned budget.  Hence it helps in controlling the project overruns also.

Normally, in any IT organizations taking care of these measures happens upfront due to the resources costing for the activity. Hence most of the clients are greedy in controlling the resources cost as per their role or responsibility. Once the cost is hiked and the allocated budget is eaten up by the program, there is a possibility of unavailability of the funds. Due to these financial constraints, obviously the client needs to close the project or program. Ultimately it is a failure of a Program or Project Manager also due to risks mitigation or planning  are not done. It not only denotes the failure of these managers and customer,  and also on the resources.

When the resources come out of the project, they will be under confusion on answering on their past project performance.  In reality any 1^st attempt recruiter or a recruiting manager might feel this resource did not work well on the project, it happens due to the recruitment team’s  unawareness on these issues. But the resource might have worked or contributed well on the project. Unfortunaltely, for the failed projects many people don’t like to give the feedback.

To avoid this kind of havocs to all the team of the project, if the managers follow the processes correctly and completely, a healthy environment can be created for the resources also. A PM should not think Project charter is a document only; it has lot of controls planning also,  to be successful and also to achieve the planned targets timely within the budget.

A good leader in PM role also educates the resources on these process steps and plans to be aware of by the resources. So that they can feel the responsibility to identify the timely risks and intimate to the PM immediately.  Otherwise,  the reserved or uneducated [on Project] resource might feel, “Okay, It is not working for now! I have done my work for today let me logout  my day”. Then the next day nobody knows the dependent issues. The client also can get astonished for the suddenly appearing issues through the PM or resource and those were not mitigated.

Hope this might help any new PM or existing leads to understand the project initiation stage using the PMI methods with some meaningful scenarios.