Include the name of the document's author, author's telephone and email address.
Contributors:
List contributors to this document, and the nature of
their contributions.
Primary Contact:
All questions and comments about the project should
be addressed to the primary contact. It will be the responsibility of
the primary contact to answer or direct the questions or comments to the
appropriate parties.
The primary contact is usually the Project Leader. Include email link.
Distribution:
List the mailing list, Usenet group, web address, or
other method of intended distribution.
REVISION HISTORY
Date of Revision
Revised by
Description of Revision
Affected Modules
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The intent of this summary is to give a very high level overview of the project, directed to upper management, financial backers, etc. This summary information is expanded with details later in the document.
Problem or
Opportunity
Clearly but briefly define the problem or the business
opportunity. Include only essential facts and conclusions and expand on the facts and conclusions in the Project Definition section.
Proposal
Describe the recommended
proposal only. List and describe alternatives in the appropriate section.
Project Scope
Specifically state what
the boundaries of the project will be. List all issues. Remember that the Scope Statement represents a type of contract.
Cost/Benefit Summary
Summarize
the anticipated cost of the project, as well as the benefits or returns that
will result from its completion. Not all benefits are financial or
measurable. For example, improved customer confidence would be an intangible, immeasurable benefit.
PROJECT DEFINITION
Problem or Opportunity
Define
the problem or opportunity. Basically, this section explains why this
project is needed. State who this problem/opportunity will impact and how.
Business
Objectives
Describe what is to be accomplished with this project.
Usually the objective is simply to fix the problem or take advantage of the opportunity specified above.
Project Scope
Specifically
state the boundaries of the project. List what's NOT included as well.
Preliminary Requirements
Enumerated list of the user's preliminary requirements.
The requirements may be business and/or technical in nature. If they're solely technical, make sure there's an underlying very good reason.
This list is a high level description of what should be met, not how it should be met.
Assumptions
Enumerated list of the existing circumstances that will affect the outcome of this project (the availability of a specific personnel or resources, e.g.).
Constraints
List the factors that are outside of the project's control, but to which the project must conform, such as the need to conform to particular interface specifications. Constraints may seem like "Requirements," but they are different in that these are not functional requirements of the project itself but are externally imposed limitations.
Risks
List potential causes of failure.
List potential results of failure.
What will happen if the project fails?
What will happen if this project is done?
Establish a relative risk to these items when applicable (low,
medium, high).
List any legal issues that exist or could exist.
Issues & Concerns
What are the unresolved concerns of the project? Usually
related to Requirements that demand resolution by an Assumption.
Example: A requirement for a financial system that handles secure
transactions assumes that a secure database is obtainable.
That we haven't yet obtained a secure database is a concern.
PROJECT PROPOSAL
Proposal
Detail the proposal that you have
selected as your primary choice. Remember, you've already selected this
as the best of the alternatives, so present it in that light. Also,
you're not designing it now; that's next phase. So don't get bogged down
in details.
Alternatives
For each of the alternatives, provide justification for its rejection. Some alternatives may be rejected outright; others are possible fallback opportunities. Make sure the difference is clear. Options considered should always include:
Purchase packaged application. Do you NEED to do this?
Partner with someone else to provide a solution. It may be that
another company has a solution that is ALMOST what you need; and that
contracted changes may be more cost-effective than in-house development.
Doing nothing is ALWAYS an alternative.
Cost/Benefit Analysis
List all known costs (for example, Systems, Legal, Business Unit,
Marketing, Administrative).
List benefits resulting from the successful completion of this
project. Some benefits may be intangible.
Spell out the financial bottom line (Cost/Benefit picture).
List alternative Cost/Benefit analyses for alternatives (such as
"what do we lose if we DON'T do the project")
Roles & Responsibilities
Names aren't necessary here, but do list all positions and responsibilities.
Show an organization chart, if appropriate, and state clearly who has responsibility for managing the project and coordinating effort.
Preliminary Project
Schedule
You should link to an external schedule that is maintained under revision control.
