I'd like to hear your opinion. I'm curious to see if there's any correlation between the amount of change and the industry, so can you please specify in which industry do you work?
Thanks! Saving Changes...
The magnitude of a project's uncertainty and complexity are more likely to correlate positively to the volume of change in the early stages of a project than industry. Saving Changes...
The most important aspect of any projects is that the define requirements match the clients expectation of the final product or service that is to be delivered so the more exploratory this stage is and comprehensive the less likely change in requirements will occur further along the project lifecycle. All requirements should be signed by all stakeholders and be able to link back into the project objectives and deliverable of the Work Breakdown Structure. The more engaged the client is with the project team the more defined the solution that will be delivered. Asking the right questions, see possible prototype or test systems and knowing what the clients competitors are using also aids in this decision making process. Saving Changes...
How much can a project change at the initiation phase? Depends on how much the 'initiators' know... it relates to Kiron's point about uncertainty and complexity.
As for industry, I feel that probably of change is high for projects in the Technology industry. Saving Changes...
I was in IT, and now work on logistics & transformation projects. Initiation is where I expect to see a lot of change. At the beginning of Initiation you have an idea. By the end of Initiation the idea should have evolved enough to merit approval to move to the planning phase, where it can change even more.
This is assuming that it is a type of project that you haven't done before. In IT, if you are doing COTS implementations, you may see less change because it's become more of a repeatable process. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The only thing you have to take into account to answer that question is Barry Bohem´s Cone of Uncertainty that was created in software field but it was taken for lot of other domains including it the PMI indluded the cone numbers in previous versiones of PMBOK. Saving Changes...
Lonnie PacelliAuthor & President| ProjectManagementAdvisor.comBellevue, Wa, United States
During initiation what you should have locked down is the primary project objective, i.e. the problem that the project is addressing and a going-in position on scope, as well as an agreement on the priority of scope, schedule, and budget. As example, is there an immovable date that must be hit, is there an absolute not-to-exceed budget, or a mandatory scope that the solution must include. Understanding the scope/schedule/budget priorities can inform the overall project as the work continues to be refined. Saving Changes...
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