After the project team has been selected, the Project Manager conducts and documents a Project Initiation Meeting. For simpler projects, a written agenda and sign-in sheet may suffice. For larger projects, the Project Coordinator assists in preparing meeting minutes as directed by the Project Manager.
At the Project Initiation Meeting, the Project Manager presents the project and all that was discovered during the Project Initiation phases. This meeting is a key step in the process because it serves as an opportunity for team members to raise issues not previously identified. Should these issues have the potential to affect the cost and/or schedule, the Project Manager updates the budget and/or schedule per the process described in Section 6, Project Monitoring & Controlling.
The Project Initiation Meeting is also an opportunity for the Project Manager to establish each team member’s roles and responsibilities, including the client and his/her staff involved in the project. The Project Manager also solicits input from the client on desired frequency and format of communications, for example: daily phone calls; weekly status meetings and/or emails; written status reports, etc. The Project Manager and client agree on a communications plan and the Project Manager or Project Coordinator documents this decision in the project initiation meeting minutes, as appropriate. For longer term, higher value projects, the Project Manager may complete a Client Communications Plan (refer to Section 4.6).
