Starting a new paid project

If a new funded project is starting up, there should be:
 * A google docs folder for it in OKFN Projects, containing:
 * a Budget spreadsheet (following the Budget Template (a google doc itself) or similar format)
 * a project overview document, which includes a sheet with all the info below (the project summary). it may also contain a sheet detailing how spend is tracking against the project budget, sheets with links to other relevant documents, etc.
 * a unique code recorded in Xero and the timesheet system

These documents should be created in collaboration with the Foundation Coordinator, or area coordinator for CKAN, Open spending, or other major thematic area. The foundation coordinator should in all cases be aware of and able to see all the documents.

It is probably a good discipline to consider all the information below when bidding, even if they aren't all included in the bid documents.

Project budget
The budget should be an internal representation of expected income and expenditure. We track budgets by month so unless there is a good reason to use another period, divide the future into months.

Expenditure such as a subcontract or purchase will be checked against this budget by the authorising person and if there isn't any budget left then it may not be possible to spend money!

The budget should detail personnel to be used and their rates. If there's any questions talk to the Foundation Coordinator. the FC will also ensure the central OKFN Budget (GDoc) staffing sheet includes the personnel in question and that they have time for the project, and will also update teh staffing sheet with a line about the project, teh dates, the FTE, and the rate.

The FC will also ensure the time described in the project budget is copied through to the timesheet system (in hours) so that time spent and expected to be spent can be seen. The timesheet system (Toggl - in set up now) should have all the time expected to be spent in the current year (eg 2012) in it if there is no logical project period to use. At some point the FC or project manager will update this with more time allocation.

The FC will also copy the headlines of the budget into the OKFN organisational budget sheet for review.

Project overview document
One liner

A clear summary of the project Practical details

including:
 * dates (eg is a 6 mnth project starting 1 Feb 2012)
 * funder and programme (eg it is funded by JISC as part of the Digital Infrastructre programme 16/11 call under the Research Tools strand).
 * Partners and collaborators. List all of them, institutions, contact name at each institution, and at least an email/phone for each contact. Note the balance of partners if there's anything like that (eg major partner, minor partner, and what that means)
 * a note of any advisory boards or other VIPs
 * A note of the total budget scale (eg Funder providing 100k, OKFN matching with 50k from other sources)

Contacts This includes a list of the team and their roles in the project, and also key contacts at the client or funding bodies and at partners, and their roles. A note of an email address would be nice, but if not the *must* be in Highrise with at least one contact method. The OKFN contacts section must include the project manager or coordinator, or otherwise the person who can answer or get answered any question about the project. This is almost certainly the person who is repsonsible to the OKFN management team and board for the project.

What is success for the project? The key ways we'll know whether the project succeeded. This is likely to be more than just "the project will deliver new code to do X and a mailing list for it", but a richer description of more holistic things. Ideally, these will be somewhat measurable or at least such tthat at the end of the project, people can say "did we do X?" and know, definitely and without debate, whether or not it was done. When reviewing the project at the end, this would be a big topic of discussion. Although it's possible that the definition of success may change during a long project (in which case this doc should be updated - but the original definition should be retained too!) a good definition of success would not change much, even if the project day to day and project plan end up being different to the original intent.

What is success for the OKFN?  A paragprah or more on what the OKFN is looking for from the project. This may note specific deliverables but should also include an indication of why we are doing the project, eg strategy which applies to this project, such as growing expertise in a new area, building new client base, moving towards a topic we believe will be of concern in future years, etc. This will help us during a project to check  not only whether we are meeting the deliverables but also whether we are getting what we really want from the project. It may also help decisions to be made around the project.

What is success for the funder/client/partners?   A paragraph or more describing what the funder/client/partners (these may need to be listed separately depending on what the project is like and whether they are all 100% aligned!) are looking for from the project. This may note specific deliverables but should also include an indication of why they are doing the project, eg strategic relevant for them. This will help us during a project to check not only whether we are meeting the deliverables but also whether everyone is getting what they really want from the project. It may also help decisions to be made around the project. Current status A few bullet points detailing what the current situation is. This should be updated regularly (eg monthly). This might cover topics like: Note that these should reflect SUCCESSES as well as RISKS :)
 * hiring - is the team complete, is anyone leaving, do any hires need to happen, are job ads out, are there any problems within the team? Or is anyone really shining in their role and delivering exceptionally?
 * finance. Is the project working roughly against the budget, or is it over or underspending, and if so what are the broad reasons why?
 * deliverables. Are they on track?
 * risks. Any major unforeseen risks, or big changes happening?
 * technical. Depending on the project, are there any unexpected techncial issues or challenges?
 * project plan and project management. is everything running ok?? Is the project just starting up, running, needing review, or winding down?
 * stakeholders. Are clients/funders/partners all happy and on board? any drop outs or changes? any complaints? any notable successes?