There needs to be a focal point at which all information relating to the 'what, why, who, how, where, when, and how much' of the project is:
✔ Gathered for agreement by the key stakeholders
✔ Available for guidance and information for those involved in the project.
This information is collated into the Project Initiation Documentation. The Project Initiation Documentation is an aggregation of many of the management products created during initiation and used to gain authorization for the project to proceed. It is not necessarily (and rarely) a single document, but a collection of documents.
The version of the Project Initiation Documentation created during the Initiating a Project process, and used to gain authorization for the project to proceed, should be preserved. It will be used later as a means to compare the project's actual performance against the original forecasts that formed the basis of approval.
PRINCE2 suggests the following for this activity:
Extract and, if necessary, revise information from the Project Brief (project definition and project approach)
Include or reference information in the:
✔ Project's management team structure and role descriptions
✔ Business Case
✔ Quality Management Strategy
✔ Configuration Management Strategy
✔ Risk Management Strategy
✔ Communication Management Strategy
✔ Project Plan
✔ Include or reference the project controls and summarize how the project has tailored PRINCE2
✔ Assemble the Project Initiation Documentation
✔ Carry out a cross-check of the information in the various elements to ensure that they are compatible
✔ Consult with Project Assurance to check that the assembled Project Initiation Documentation meets the needs of the Project Board and/or corporate or programme management
✔ Prepare for the next stage (which triggers the Managing a Stage Boundary process)
✔ Request authority from the Project Board to deliver the project.
