Building an Opportunity or Problem Statement
An Opportunity or Problem Statement:

Contains information that gives specificity to the issue

Describes the “pain” caused by the current problem

Identifies the issues
 What is occurring/happening?

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When did the problem start?

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Example: The problem has developed over the last six months
Where is the occurrence?
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Example: Products are delivered late to our customers
Example: Our West Coast customers are primarily affected (roughly 75% of the
total)
Extent of the problem
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Example: 30 orders worth $790,000 in July
Project Charter: TEMPLATE
Business Impact
Opportunity or Problem Statement
• Why should we do this? What is the benefit?
• What “pain” are we or our customers experiencing?
• How does this project align with the business strategy?
• What is wrong or not working?
• What is the quantified value of the project ($$$)?
• Why do we think we can generate the value proposition
described in the Business Impact?
Goal Statement
Project Scope
• What are our improvement objectives and targets?
• What are the boundaries of the initiative (start and end
steps of the process or parts of a system)?
• Specifically, what are we going to do and deliver?
• How will success be measured? What specific
parameters will be measured? Define Y = f(x)
• What authority do we have?
• What is not within scope?
Project Plan
Team Selection
• How are we going to get this done?
• Who are the team members?
• When are we going to complete the work?
• What is their role?
• What are the major milestones?
• How much of their time will be dedicated to the
project?
Project Charter: IAB “The Next Great Idea”
Business Impact
Opportunity or Problem Statement
• Why should we do this? What is the benefit?
• What “pain” are we or our customers experiencing?
• How does this project align with our long term
strategy?
• What is wrong or not working?
• What is the quantified value proposition?
• Why do we think we can generate the value proposition
described in the Business Impact?
• Increase awareness of IE to non-IIE members
• IE profession doesn’t have the name recognition (MG)
• Traditional marketing is cost prohibitive
• Non IEs don’t know what IEs do.
• Leverage the personal networks of IAB membership
• Getting a message out to non-IIE members
• IEs that move into mgmt positions not considered IE
Team Selection
Project Scope
• Who are the team members?
• What are the boundaries of this initiative? Start & End?
• What is their role?
• What authority do we have?
• How much time will be dedicated to the project?
• What is Out of Scope?
• Public side of IAB vs. Yahoo ‘members only’
• The IAB is empowered w/IIE HQ assistance
• Direct Marketing to the IIE Membership is out of scope
• Bring in other orgs, CIE? IIE Fellows? CIEADH? RVPs?
Revised 3/18/2010 WGT