Project Initiation and Business Case
What the domain is really testing
Initiation is the gate between an idea and an authorised project. Candidates must distinguish the business case (the justification: costs, benefits, risks, options considered) from the project charter (the authorisation: objectives, scope summary, sponsor, high-level milestones, budget envelope, project manager's authority). Learn the inputs and outputs of the chartering process and the notion of a stage gate where the sponsor re-confirms the case.
Concepts to hold firmly
- Benefits are owned by the business, not the project manager; the manager delivers outputs and outcomes.
- Options appraisal compares alternatives including "do nothing".
- The charter grants authority; without it, scope changes have no baseline to be measured against.
- Assumptions and constraints recorded at initiation become risk inputs later.
Traps
Questions often present a situation where a senior stakeholder asks for extra scope before the charter is signed. The best answer is normally to capture the request and route it through the sponsor and change control, not to absorb it quietly. Another trap conflates the business case with the benefits realisation plan; the former is a justification, the latter is how benefits will be measured and sustained. Watch for "who approves the charter" - usually the sponsor or a steering committee, not the project manager.
Rule of thumb
If a decision changes funding, scope boundary, or authority, it belongs at the initiation gate and needs sponsor sign-off. If it changes how the work is done inside the approved boundary, it is execution.
Worked example
A charter states a £2m budget and a 12-month horizon; a director asks for an additional reporting module. Correct response: log the request, assess impact on cost, schedule, and benefits, present it to the sponsor for a decision against the business case.