Project initiation includes two processes: (1) develop the project charter and (2) identify project stakeholders. But why the second processes is included in the initiation and not in the planning process group?

Let’s explain this through an example. The house owner wants you to manage the design and construction of his new house. He informed you that he is allocating a budget of $1 million to build a modern and distinguished villa and that should be completed within 2 years.

What you know about him is that he is married and has 3 children. So, you may assume that he wants the villa for his current family, and you may plan to contact his wife to understand more about her needs and expectations. All over the sudden, the house owner dropped to your office and informed you that you made a mistake as he wants to build the house for a new wife which he is planning to marry.

Before starting the planning processes, you need to know from the project sponsor about the “key stakeholders” in your project and whether you can contact them or not. You need to know if they are authorized to sign any approvals or just to tell you while the final decision is still within the hands of the project sponsor/owner.

I have been in certain situations where the general manager of the company wants a financial system but he doesn’t want the existing financial manager to interfere with the new project because he is planning to hire another financial manager in the next six months. The general manager doesn’t want such information to be disclosed at the moment.