Project Initiation

This chapter focuses on issues surrounding the initiation of projects and introduces some important terminology. You will find several sources for how projects are prioritized and how objectives are defined.

Financial Considerations

Payback Period

Payback analysis is important in determining the amount of time it will take for a project to recoup its investments. This is the point at which the benefits start to outweigh the costs. The best way to see that is by charting the cumulative benefits and costs. As you can see in the example in Figure 7.5, the cumulative benefits outweigh the cumulative costs in the second year

Figure 7.5: Payback Analysis Chart.