BUS 3300 · Project Management: Initiation and Scope

Led by Isambard Kingdom Brunel Simulacrum

The phase where projects are won or lost. Scope, charter, stakeholders, assumptions — through the lens of Victorian mega-projects.

1. Module 1

   Project Initiation: Where Everything Starts

   Led by Isambard Kingdom Brunel Simulacrum

   The question

   The project charter authorises the project to begin. It states the objectives, the scope, the constraints, and who is accountable. What does it contain — and what happens when a project starts without one?

   Outcome

   The student can write a project charter and describe the initiation phase outputs.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 1.1 Write a Project Charter Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Begin the course → Print certificate of completion
2. Module 2

   Scope: The Most Important Document in the Project

   Led by Isambard Kingdom Brunel Simulacrum

   The question

   Scope creep is the silent project killer. Gold-plating delivers more than was asked for and costs money that was not budgeted. The WBS decomposes scope into manageable work packages. What is the difference — and who controls the scope baseline?

   Outcome

   The student can write a scope statement, build a two-level WBS, and apply a change control process to a scope request.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 2.1 Build a WBS Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 2.2 Scope Creep Analysis Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
3. Module 3

   Stakeholder Management in Initiation

   Led by Isambard Kingdom Brunel Simulacrum

   The question

   Some stakeholders want the project to succeed. Some want it to fail. Some don't care until it affects them. The power/interest matrix tells you who to manage actively and who to monitor. What does "engagement strategy" mean in practice?

   Outcome

   The student can produce a stakeholder register and plot engagement strategies.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 3.1 Stakeholder Register Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
4. Module 4

   Assumptions, Constraints, and Dependencies

   Led by Isambard Kingdom Brunel Simulacrum

   The question

   An assumption is something you are treating as true for planning purposes. The GWR assumed that broad gauge would be adopted nationally. It wasn't. How does the pre-mortem technique surface dangerous assumptions before they become expensive failures?

   Outcome

   The student can identify project assumptions, constraints, and dependencies, and apply the pre-mortem.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 4.1 The Pre-Mortem Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
5. Module 5

   Initiation to Planning: The Handover

   Led by Isambard Kingdom Brunel Simulacrum

   The question

   The SS Great Eastern was the largest engineering achievement of the nineteenth century and a financial disaster. What went wrong in initiation — and what would a proper project charter have changed?

   Outcome

   The student can describe the initiation-to-planning handover and analyse a real initiation failure.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 5.1 Final Essay: The Initiation Failure Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion