The following is a suggested template for developing a proposal and initial planning document for an administrative computing project. It can be adapted for other types of projects.

1.0 Introduction

• Background on the institution or department
• Background on the project, including committees, teams and decision makers
• Statement on the confidentiality of the information

2.0 Business Problem/Opportunity Statement

• Statement of the problem to be solved or desired service in terms of business
• Statement of motivation and high level goals of the project
• Statement of scope and objectives
• Statement of business constraints and critical success factors ("must have" versus "like to have")
• Installation, training, start-up and maintenance requirements
• Project management and reporting requirement
• Performance criteria for success of the project and solution
• Performance penalties

3.0 Current Technical Environment

Describe the technical environment as it exists today. It is important to stay open to new technologies that may meet the requirements of this project, but project planners need a description of the current environment to address integration issues.

• Desktop and departmental server hardware and operating systems
• Upgrade and replacement cycle of current systems
• Description of software in use which is related to the project
• Available departmental technical support
• Network description

Technical architecture options and restrictions:

• Describe the technical architecture that the department can support and any firm technical requirements