The Overall Process of the Project Description Process

The overall process of the project description process can be summed up by:

Phase 0: Concept - Project Definition; Project Team Setup

Phase 1: Initiation - Project Definition and Requirements; Planning, Scope and Tradeoffs; Scheduling, Costs and Estimating; Team and Communication

Phase 2: Execution - Ongoing Planning; Specifications; Tracking and Control; Reviews; Testing

Phase 3: Approval - Test Planning and Test Execution; Completion Criteria & Checklists

Phase 4: Delivery - Project Completion; Close-out Activities

Project

A project is 'a means of doing something' or 'a scheme of work'.

A project aims to reach a specific goal, from a defined starting point, within a given time frame, with specified inputs (e.g. money, manpower). It is a means by which the ideas and objectives of policy are converted into practical reality.

A project can stand alone or be related to a number of other projects or activities in a group of tasks/sub-tasks. A project usually is made up of a number of tasks which are integrated with each other and do not stand alone.

In turn, a task may comprise a number of separate activities.

Types of Project

A project may involve 'hard' activities - construction, building works or large-scale equipment procurement often referred to as a capital project. Capital projects usually involve a substantial investment at the project start and may have a life-span of many years (e.g. 20 years or more).

Or it may involve 'soft' activities - management, institutional development, training, etc. These projects often may involve continuing expenditure over a period of years, but do not give rise to a capital asset. Or may involve a combination of both types. All hard projects have associated operation and maintenance costs.

A project may charge for its product or service, thereby generating revenue income. Such a project is often described as 'revenue earning' or 'income generating'. A project is economically viable when over time revenues exceed the costs of operation, maintenance and paying back any initial investment.

Project Scale and Complexity

Projects can vary enormously in scale and complexity both technically and in terms of funding.

'Environment' is an imprecise term that is often loosely used. All hard projects and most soft projects have some environmental implications or impacts. These impacts may be broadly positive or negative, and a decision has to be reached where the acceptable balance lies.

It is usually helpful to distinguish between:

* projects having environmental objectives; and

* other projects where the objectives are not environmental but which have environmental impacts, or secondary environmental benefits.

From an environmental perspective four broad types of project can be identified:

1. where an economic activity has a substantial environmental component or impact;

2. where the objective is to improve the environment, or environmental conditions, and/or human health. These may sometimes be referred to as 'green' projects;

3. mixtures of the above, where a proposed activity brings economic benefits and at the same time helps to improve the environment. These are often called 'win-win' projects;

4. research projects - which may eventually result in commercial applications having environmental consequences.

Sources of Project Ideas

Project ideas can be drawn from a number of different sources.

You may already have a clear idea for a project. Most people start with a problem or with something that they want to do. A project is a way of implementing a policy or of solving a problem.

The following are possible sources of project ideas:

* from an analysis of environmental problems and opportunities, a strategy or strategic policy framework has been developed - project ideas may then be invited or generated from a number of agencies, for example, central, regional or municipal government, or non governmental organizations;

* there may be a need to implement new legislation e.g. European Union environmental directives;

* there may be a national call or invitation for project proposals;

* partly or fully developed ideas may already exist;

* ideas may have been generated in the course of evaluating and implementing earlier projects.

Alternative Solutions

In other cases, you may have identified a problem, but do not know yet how to address it. Common ways of generating project ideas and alternatives are:

* by brain-storming within your organization;

* by adapting good practice used in other regions or countries to suit local conditions;

* by inviting proposals to solve an identified problem from companies known to have the required expertise.

Once you have identified several alternative solutions, or ways of tackling a problem, it is necessary to decide which would be the most appropriate one to select.

Each of the possible alternatives will have corresponding advantages and disadvantages and costs and benefits which need to be considered.

Preliminary Assessment of a Project Idea

At this point it is not necessary to develop a full specification for the project. What is needed is sufficient information to judge whether the project addresses the identified problem and whether it is likely to be practicable and affordable.

Preliminary assessment includes identifying whether domestic funding is likely to be available for the project and, if so, from what source. If money will have to be borrowed from external sources, it will