Ideally, the need for an IS project would be given in some detail before planning begins. When the requirement is not detailed adequate, what steps can the project manager take to enhance the likelihood of the project’s success?

When the needs are not given in enough detail, the project manager may require making some assumptions in order to get started. When the same, these assumptions are required to be clearly documented, preferably within the Project Initiation Document, and the assumptions must be drawn to the concentration of the users and, in exacting, of the sponsor. Such assumptions then form part of the initial ‘baseline’ for the project and, must the work later prove more wide or time-consuming than supposed, the project manager will have a superior case for approaching the sponsor for more time, resources or budget to complete this.