Project Initiation, Stakeholders, and Requirements
What the exam tests
Initiation converts an idea into an authorized project. The exam tests the business case, project charter, stakeholder identification and analysis, and requirements practices that create a shared, testable understanding.
Core rules
- The business case justifies investment and is revisited at gates; the charter authorizes the project and names the project manager. A charter is high-level: purpose, measurable objectives, scope boundaries, key deliverables, budget, milestone schedule, assumptions, constraints, and approval requirements.
- Identify stakeholders early, then analyze power, interest, influence, and impact. A power/interest grid suggests engagement: high power/high interest manage closely; high power/low interest keep satisfied; low power/high interest keep informed; low/low monitor.
- Requirements are functional (what it does) and nonfunctional (performance, security, usability). Elicit with interviews, workshops, observation, and prototypes; record acceptance criteria and trace requirements to design, build, and test.
Worked example
A regulator has high power but low interest in daily design; a call-center supervisor has low power but high interest. The plan should keep the regulator satisfied with milestone compliance evidence and keep the supervisor informed through demos. Reasoning: engagement effort follows influence and impact, not enthusiasm alone.
Traps
- Treating the charter as a detailed schedule or scope statement.
- Writing requirements without acceptance criteria.
- Ignoring negative stakeholders who can block acceptance.
- Gold-plating beyond approved requirements.