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Staff Directory Home Strategic project delivery Getting started Project first steps

Project first steps

Assessing a project idea

For all project ideas there needs to be an initial assessment to determine whether the project should be subject to approval and oversight by the University’s Project Co-ordination Group (PCG). In order to do this, you will need to assess the project idea against the project assessment matrix.

Kick off meeting

Before you begin to put together your Project Mandate please get in contact with SPCS change@essex.ac.uk to arrange a kick off meeting. This is a resource that we recommend you take advantage of right at the beginning of your project to help you refine your project idea and assess what resources are already in place to support you. During the kick off meeting we will help you define your business objectives, the benefits that you hope to achieve and help you assess any potential issues to ensure that you have a clear idea about what you want the project to deliver. Finally we can help guide you through the project governance process.

Who to consult?

  • The kick off meeting is an excellent opportunity to identify potential stakeholders and begin to gain buy in for your project.
  • It is vital that you consult Finance to establish an estimated project budget. Finance will need to sign off your mandate form so early engagement will ensure that you are presenting accurate figures.
  • Once you have a good idea of your objectives and expected benefits it is time to consult any specialist teams that you would like to involve, even if their involvement will not be immediate as this will help departments with forward planning. Depending on the project requirements you may want to consider speaking with Procurement, IT Services and any external collaborators that you may need to consult with.
  • Consider whether you need to consult the Business Analysts to establish options appraisals and potential approaches. For details of who to contact please view the project contact list.

Completing the Project Mandate

The Project Mandate outlines the rationale for a future strategically important capital or revenue project and should be completed and submitted to the Project Governance office for consideration for approval by the appropriate committee. For advice on how to complete the project mandate please see the Project Mandate template.

Project lifecycle stages
Stage 1: Project initiation and scoping
Stage 2: Project planning and defining the design and approach
Stage 3: Implementation readiness and delivery
Stage 4: Business as usual and benefits realisation
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  • University of Essex
  • Wivenhoe Park
  • Colchester CO4 3SQ

 

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