There are several essential pieces of project documentation which you will, as a project manager, need to prepare.

You will need to take the time to ensure that these documents are read and agreed by all those involved in the project.  However long this process takes, it is well worth the investment as it could save you huge amounts of time and trouble in the future.

Good Project Documentation Includes:

• A one-page summary of the project which sets out the project sponsor, the project manager, the stakeholders, the scope, the important deadlines, the budget, and an ‘elevator pitch’ of the project, or the way that you would describe it to the CEO if you met him in the lift (or elevator) and he asked what you were working on
• A time-line/project plan which sets out how long each task will take, constraints on each, and who will be involved
• A budget including both people and financial resources, which can often be the hardest thing to agree
• A risk analysis to show what could go wrong and how to avoid it or survive it!