Project start-up phase: the weakest link Available to Purchase

A project is normally undertaken to produce a product or facility that has been deemed necessary to satisfy a need. Within the total life cycle of a project, from start to finish, the period that often receives less than the attention and effort it deserves is the initial start-up phase. The start-up or concept phase is defined as that period prior to identifying that a project exists, and before the allocation of substantial funds, and when all options including the no-go option have been investigated. Yet it is during this phase when decisions are taken that can have maximum impact on the outcomes during the later phases of a project. Should appropriate problem solving and decision making be neglected in the early stages (a stage being part of a phase) of a project then the very reasons for creating the final product for which the project was initiated would be highly questionable. In this paper the normal decision-making process is examined for completeness and in particular with regard to how obtaining value should be integrated within the start-up process. Value here is defined as the maximisation of project functionality while concurrently minimising the total life-cycle cost. The paper concludes with the author's recent experiential view of a practical guide that all clients, sponsors, project managers, and other project stakeholders should consider as the process and the associated deliverables for the start-up phase for capital works projects.