4. Project Objectives and Approach: Know Which Star to Navigate By

One of the keys to a good project is to start the team out with clear project objectives and a well-understood approach. Ideally, the project leadership will have this defined for you—but how do you know if they don’t?

This chapter talks about forming project objectives and offers some questions that will help you solidify those goals. We’ll also discuss some common project approaches (or methodologies) and how they may influence the way you work.

Carolyn Chandler

You’re in the project kickoff, with the full team for the first time. The project manager hands out some materials and gives you an overview of the project. By the end of the meeting, ideally, you should have the following information:

• Why is the project important to the company?

• How will stakeholders determine if the project was a success?

• What approach or methodology will the project follow?

• What are the major dates or milestones for key points, such as getting approval from business stakeholders?

All of these questions concern the expectations that stakeholders have for the project: what the project will accomplish and how they will be involved in it. The first two questions pertain to the project’s objectives and the last two to the project’s approach.

A project objective is a statement of a measurable goal for the project. Let’stalk about objectives in more detail.