Practice Quiz: 

Reflection: Project initiation

and key components
In this exercise, you will read a scenario and identify the six key components of
project initiation:

 Goals
 Scope
 Project deliverables
 Success criteria
 Stakeholders
 Resources
 Start by reading the scenario:

Imagine you are a project manager at an educational software company. You’re

assigned a new project to develop a digital grading platform for a local high school.
Before beginning the project, you meet with teachers, school administrators, the
school IT department, and the district superintendent to discuss the project and get
their input.

During these meetings, you organized your thoughts by writing down project key
components that the stakeholders have requested. Your notes on the key
components are:

 $150,000 maximum budget

 Team: can add one member from the school IT department
 Platform should allow teachers to enter grades and allow students/parents
to view grades
 Need full teacher buy-in at high school: 100% adoption within next nine
months
 Project should focus only on the digital grading platform and NOT impact
other digital platforms (ex. attendance, school lunch payments)
 Overall, the school is seeking a platform for digital grading

The next step in the project is to organize the key components into a project
charter. You will then present the charter to the individuals involved with the
project. The project charter ensures everyone is aligned before planning and then
executing the project.

Question Which of the key components is the project’s goal? Write one sentence.

Answer To develop a digital grading platform that allows teachers to enter grades
and allow students/parents to view grades
Note: The project’s goal is what you’ve been asked to do and what you’re trying to
achieve. The goals are often determined by senior leaders at an organization or
company. Did you consider the goal as: To launch a digital grading platform for the
high school and get full teacher adoption?

Question Which key component outlines the project’s scope? Write one sentence.

Answer To develop a platform that allows teachers to enter grades and allow
students/parents to view grades with the help of one member from the school IT
department

Note: Project managers use scope as a boundary—what should or shouldn’t be

included in the project. In the scenario above, the project scope is: Creating the
digital grading platform and not updating other digital platforms the school uses
such as attendance or meal payments.

Question Which key component is the project deliverable? Write one sentence.

Answer A digital grading platform that allows teachers to enter grades and allow
students/parents to view grades

Note: A deliverable is the tangible and intangible outcomes of a project. The

deliverables in the examples are: A platform for teachers to enter grades and
students to view their grades.

Question Which key component outlines the project’s success criteria? Write one
sentence.

Answer Develop the project within the budget that allows teachers to grade online
and students and parents can view these grades.

Note: The success criteria are the standards by which you measure how
successful a project is in reaching its goals. Did you consider: 100% of teachers
adopt the digital grading platform within the next nine months?

Question Who are the project stakeholders? Write one sentence.

Answer Teachers, school administrators, the school IT department, district

superintendent, parents, and students

Note: Stakeholders are people who have an interest in, or are affected by, the
completion of a successful project: teachers, students, parents, school
administrators, school IT department, and the district superintendent.

Question Which key components outline the resources you will have at your
disposal for the project?
Answer $150,000 budget, the member from the school IT department

Note: Resources generally refer to the budget, people, and materials available to
complete the project. In the scenario, it’s the budget of $150,000 and the member
from the school’s IT department.