Project Name Here
Initiation Plan
Project Manager:
Last updated:
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DESCRIPTION
Briefly describe the project.
GOAL / KEY OBJECTIVES
In a few sentences, encapsulate the project goal and concisely define the project objectives.
BENEFITS
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Value of the project to your department
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Value of the project to the University
SUCCESS CRITERIA
How will you know that you achieved the project benefits? Describe the business and technical
indicators of success, including metrics when appropriate.
APPROACH
Describe the approach, or strategy, for your project. Use the following questions as a guide to
determine the approach description:
a. Will you be developing a system in-house or purchasing a vendor package?
b. If purchasing a vendor package, how will you test the package with end users prior to
making the purchase decision?
c. Will the project be delivered in phases as part of a larger project or “program”?
d. Will you be developing prototypes?
e. Will the solution be piloted or deployed in waves?
f. If working with a new technology, will there be a critical decision point where you will decide
to move forward or implement a contingency plan?
g. What is your technical development approach – agile, iterative, waterfall? How will the
project work be conducted?
h. What is the functional approach in terms of data conversion, integration with other
systems?
i. How will functional teams and technical teams interact?
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SCOPE
Business processes impacted by the project:
In Scope
Out of Scope
Uncertain
Out of Scope
Uncertain
Out of Scope
Uncertain
Constituencies impacted by the project:
In Scope
Systems impacted by the project:
In Scope
Change management procedures to control scope during the project:
Recommended procedure:

Changes to project scope that result in a measurable change to the project timeline,
resource utilization and/or budget must be documented and signed off by the project
sponsor, the project manager/customer and the OIT lead. This document should include
details about the change, reason for the change and impact of the change.
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TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS
List the technical components required to support the project (such as, software, hardware,
development, QA, training and production environments, end user environment, device types, OS,
browser).
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Item 1
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Item 2
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Item 3
INTERDEPENDENCIES
Interdependencies with other projects:
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Item 1
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Item 2
Interdependencies with other groups (internal/external):
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Item 1
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Item 2
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Item 3
ASSUMPTIONS
This plan is based on the following assumptions (such as resources, policies and schedules):
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Item 1
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Item 2
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Item 3
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HIGH-LEVEL PROJECT SCHEDULE
Milestones / Deliverables
Responsible
Due Date
Tie tasks to project objectives
Change management procedures to control project time line during the project:
Recommended procedure:

Changes to the project schedule after the schedule baseline has been determined and
communicated that are due to reasons other than scope changes must be documented and
signed off by the project sponsor, the project manager/customer and the OIT lead. This
document should include details about the change, reason for the change and impact of the
change.
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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Review the following roles, confirm the responsibilities, add or remove roles as needed to fit the
needs of your project and confirm the team structure of the core vs. extended team.
PROJECT GOVERNANCE
Project Role
Name and Office /
Department
Project Responsibilities
Executive
Sponsor
Name, Office
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Overall project owner and champion
Sponsor
Name, Office
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
Approves Project Initiation Plan
Approves any changes to the plan, scope or
timeline
Works with project manager to resolve project
issues.
Makes decisions based on information provided
by the project team and business insights in
order to keep the project moving forward
Shares in the responsibility to establish realistic
expectations.
Active in identifying key stakeholders
Acts as vocal project champion
May deliver key project communications
Attends Sponsor (Steering Committee) Meetings
Receives and Reviews Project Status Reports
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Steering
Committee
Name, Office
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Name, Office

Name, Office
…
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Provides guidance on overall project direction
Represents their constituencies for policy level
and other major project decisions
Serves as a vocal and visible project champion
throughout their respective organizations
Reviews and approves project deliverables, and
reviews and approves scope change requests
Is typically chaired by the project sponsor and
includes the project manager and OIT lead
Makes decisions based on information provided
by the project team and business insights in
order to keep the project moving forward
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Project Core Team
Project Role
Project
Manager
Name and Office /
Department
Name, Office
Project Responsibilities
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Technical Lead
Name, Office
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Reviews and approves all project deliverables
(Initiation Plan, Detailed Plan, Testing etc.)
Provides overall project oversight and works with
business offices and Technical Project manager
to keep project on track.
Ensures business and functional decisions are
made to ensure technical development progress
and completion
Works with Change Manager to develop Campus
Readiness plan and deliverables
Delivers project communications and conduct
other campus readiness activities
Escalates issues to sponsor when necessary
Reports on project status to key groups and
people (Sponsor, Steering Committee etc.)
Ensures the project is initiated against a plan
Gains buy-in from key stakeholders and keep
their interest and level involvement right
throughout the project.
Keeps stakeholders and resources informed of
what is happening with the project
Measures the performance of the project. Knows
how the project is performing against milestones,
time frames, deliverables, budget and resources.
Signs off on deliverables
Participates in Requirements gathering
Coordinates/Manages OIT technical resources
for completion of project deliverables
Provides guidance on best methods for interface
architecture design
Ensures functional specifications meeting
technical needs for development
Manages OIT Technical Development effort
Provides the technical perspective in day-to-day
project decisions
Monitors issues and change requests
Keeps all technical stakeholders aware of project
status
Ensures completion of project technical testing:
Unit, integration testing
Ensures technical go-live readiness
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Project Role
System Expert
Name and Office /
Department
Name, Office
Project Responsibilities
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System
Programmer
Name, Office
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Functional
Expert/ Subject
Matter Expert
Name, Office
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Participates in Functional Specification
Development meetings for representative
systems
Writes / assists with writing of functional
specification document(s)
Develops system interfaces
Tests system interfaces
Supports system(s) upon go-live
Participates in Requirements gathering
Develops, review and refine technical spec
Designs, builds, unit tests, migrates and
transitions all technical deliverables, including
online reports
Conducts Stress Test (if needed)
Participates in analysis, requirement gathering, &
preparation of specifications
Provides business expertise regarding processes
and system design
Identifies reporting requirements
Identifies security / access requirements
Provides department-specific insight into process
and system designs
Identifies improvement opportunities
Identifies department specific requirements
Defines test case scenarios
Creates and approves test plans
Provides user acceptance testing support
Participates in development of the campus
readiness plan
Information
Warehouse
Expert
Name, Office

Identifies Information Warehouse options and
resources
Security and
Authorizations
Expert
Name, Office

Creates and maintains system security
(authentication, user profiles, assignment of
users to profiles)
Project
Coordinator
Name, Office

Assists Project Manager with scheduling
meetings and securing meeting space
Captures meeting notes
Assists with stakeholder involvement throughout
project lifecycle
Assists with development of test plan
Supports and participates in testing
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Project Role
Project Office
Consultant
Name and Office /
Department
Name, Office
Project Responsibilities
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Change
Management/
Campus
Readiness
Consultant
Name, Office
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Usability Expert Name, Office
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End User
Training Expert
End User
Documentation
Expert
Name, Office
Name, Office
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Assists in preparation of the Project Initiation plan
Creates project SharePoint site, documentation
structures and manages site access
Provides Princeton Project Management
Methodology support
Provides sample templates and deliverables as
needed (issues logs, test plans etc.)
Completes periodic project status reports
Develops Stakeholder Information document(s)
and approach for reaching various stakeholders
Assists with planning for user engagement
throughout project
Develops and executes Campus Readiness Plan
Supports Project Manager in campus readiness
activities, communication development, timing
Works with Project Manager and Technical
Manager to define User Acceptance Test
approach and plan
Participates in user sessions throughout the
project lifecycle to ensure user issues are
addressed in all
Works closely with the project lead to ensure
usability by end users is a key success measure
Ensures usability activities that capture, test,
validate and revise user requirements throughout
the project are incorporated into the project plan
Works with the team to perform UX activities
including audience research, usability testing,
prototyping and heuristic evaluation
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Performs training needs analysis
Defines the training approach
Develops training materials
Works with functional team to develop training
exercises and related data
Delivers training and information sessions
Coordinates training logistics
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Participates in testing
Develops Quick Reference Card(s)
Develops documentation (if needed)
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Project Role
PostImplementation
Support Lead
Name and Office /
Department
Name, Office
Project Responsibilities
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Vendor
Management
Name, Office
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Project
Extended
Team
Identifies and prioritizes campus customers’
future needs
Requests future enhancements and funding
Performs user testing and sign-off on new
releases
Onboards/trains new employees
Maintains application website and FAQs
Manages the overall relationship with the vendor
Regularly reviews and decides to implement new
features delivered by the vendor
Notifies the vendor of technical issues and
coordinates resolution and campus
communications.
Provide upgrade schedules to maintain the
application on a supported version
Advocate Princeton’s needs in the evolution of
the product’s development roadmap
Tracks SLA metrics and monitors performance
Monitors the financial health of the vendor
Name, Office
Project responsibilities
Name, Office
Project responsibilities
Name, Office
Project responsibilities
RISK PLAN
Describe the potential project risks with the probability of happening, the impact to the project if it
occurs, a plan to reduce the likelihood of occurrence, reduce the impact and/or deal with the risk
when it occurs.
Risk Factor
Probability
Impact
(High, Medium, Low)
(High, Medium, Low)
Plan / Mitigation
Strategy
Responsible
Person
In Place
By Date
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PROJECT TEAM COMMUNICATION PLAN
How will the team work together and key stakeholders be kept informed about the project status?
What
Team Meetings
Who
Frequency
Who receives / participates
Meetings with Sponsor
Written Status Reports
Other Forms of Communication
CAMPUS READINESS PLAN OVERVIEW
If this project has wide-reaching impact to the campus, please summarize the following:

Key changes, potential impacts and methods of transition

Key methods of outreach (training, communications, etc.)

Key Stakeholders with whom communications and outreach will be important