You%20are%20an%20AI%20assistant.%20Information%20will%20be%20provided%20to%20help%20answer%20the%20user's%20question.%20USE%20ONLY%20THE%20REFERENCE%20INFORMATION%20PROVIDED%20TO%20ANSWER%20THE%20QUESTION.%20Be%20very%20specific%20in%20your%20answer%20and%20focus%20only%20on%20the%20question.%20Do%20not%20reference%20the%20material%20provided%20in%20your%20response.%0AUser%20question:%20When%20do%20a%20project%20start%20%0AReference%20information:%20%0A%23%23%23%0A-%20The%20idea%20is%20generated.%20This%20takes%20the%20start-date%20back%20a%20long%20way%20before%20the%20project%20is%20actually%20formalized%20and%20on%20the%20surface%20this%20definition%20may%20not%20make%20sense.%20However,%20remember%20that%20the%20definition%20you%20choose%20can%20depend%20on%20what%20the%20implication%20is.%20You%20may%20choose%20this%20definition%20if%20your%20company%20is%20trying%20to%20focus%20on%20the%20time%20it%20takes%20between%20when%20an%20idea%20is%20generated%20until%20the%20idea%20is%20fulfilled%20though%20a%20project.%20The%20concern%20may%20be%20that%20there%20is%20too%20much%20time%20to%20implement%20good%20ideas.%20If%20a%20company%20wants%20to%20minimize%20this%20total%20time%20span%20between%20idea%20and%20fulfillment,%20it%20might%20go%20with%20an%20early%20project%20start-date%20definition%20like%20this.%0A-%20A%20budget%20is%20approved.%20This%20definition%20is%20a%20little%20more%20concrete%20than%20the%20prior%20idea.%20In%20this%20definition,%20an%20idea%20has%20been%20generated%20and%20the%20idea%20has%20made%20it%20far%20enough%20that%20a%20cost/benefit%20statement%20has%20been%20prepared.%20The%20project%20has%20also%20made%20it%20through%20the%20prioritization%20process%20and%20an%20actual%20budget%20has%20been%20approved.%20Keep%20in%20mind%20that%20the%20budget%20may%20have%20been%20approved%20during%20the%20prior%20year%20business%20planning%20process.%20The%20actual%20work%20may%20not%20start%20until%20the%20following%20year.%20Therefore,%20this%20definition%20may%20also%20start%20the%20clock%20too%20early%20for%20many%20organizations.%0A-%20A%20project%20manager%20is%20assigned.%20This%20one%20is%20more%20common.%20It%20may%20be%20hard%20to%20say%20that%20a%20project%20has%20started%20before%20a%20project%20manager%20is%20assigned.%20When%20the%20project%20manager%20is%20assigned,%20the%20project%20planning%20and%20definition%20begin%20and%20the%20meat%20of%20the%20project%20starts.%20This%20is%20the%20general%20definition%20for%20project%20start-date%20that%20is%20utilized%20in%20the%20TenStep%20process.%0A-%20The%20Project%20Charter%20is%20approved%20by%20the%20sponsor.%20In%20some%20organizations%20the%20project%20officially%20starts%20when%20the%20sponsor%20approves%20the%20Project%20Charter.%20Some%20companies%20require%20an%20approved%20Project%20Charter%20and%20schedule%20before%20the%20project%20team%20can%20be%20allocated.%20They%20do%20this%20to%20ensure%20that%20the%20up-front%20agreement%20is%20in%20place%20before%20project%20work%20begins.%0AThe%20question%20of%20when%20a%20project%20formally%20starts%20and%20ends%20is%20one%20that%20most%20people%20take%20for%20granted.%20However,%20there%20is%20not%20an%20easy%20answer%20for%20every%20organization.%20There%20are%20probably%20one%20or%20two%20answers%20that%20make%20most%20sense%20from%20a%20project%20management%20standpoint,%20but%20there%20may%20be%20cultural%20or%20financial%20factors%20that%20cause%20your%20organization%20to%20define%20the%20project%20boundaries%20differently.%20If%20you%20are%20trying%20to%20compare%20projects%20within%20your%20company,%20or%20if%20you%20are%20comparing%20yourself%20against%20external%20companies,%20it%20is%20vital%20that%20everyone%20uses%20the%20same%20events%20as%20the%20starting%20and%20ending%20point.%20However,%20if%20you%20are%20not%20making%20comparisons,%20then%20to%20a%20certain%20extent%20these%20dates%20just%20need%20to%20be%20understood%20up-front%20for%20each%20project%20by%20the%20major%20stakeholders.%20This%20agreement%20will%20keep%20you%20from%20being%20in%20a%20position%20where%20you%20declare%20victory%20only%20to%20discover%20others%20that%20think%20you%20have%20more%20work%20to%20do.%0A-%20The%20project%20kickoff%20meeting%20is%20held.%20Using%20this%20definition,%20the%20planning%20and%20definition%20work%20is%20considered%20to%20be%20%E2%80%9Cpre-project%E2%80%9D%20work.%20All%20projects%20start%20with%20a%20formal%20kickoff%20meeting%20with%20the%20major%20stakeholders%20and%20project%20team.%20By%20the%20time%20the%20kickoff%20meeting%20is%20held,%20the%20planning%20is%20completed,%20the%20sponsor%20has%20approved%20starting%20the%20work%20and%20the%20project%20team%20has%20been%20allocated.%20The%20kickoff%20meeting%20is%20the%20time%20to%20tell%20everyone%20that%20the%20project%20is%20ready%20to%20begin.%20Because%20of%20this%20prior%20work,%20most%20organizations%20consider%20the%20kickoff%20meeting%20to%20be%20too%20late%20to%20use%20as%20the%20definition%20for%20the%20project%20start-date.%20%20%0AWhy%20the%20Start-date%20is%20Important%20(1.0.1.1.P2)%20%20%0ATo%20a%20certain%20extent,%20you%20might%20think%20that%20it%20doesn%E2%80%99t%20really%20matter%20when%20the%20project%20starts.%20Having%20a%20somewhat%20undefined%20start-date%20does%20not%20take%20away%20from%20the%20fact%20that%20the%20work%20is%20a%20project.%20It%E2%80%99s%20obvious%20that%20the%20project%20started%20at%20some%20point,%20since%20there%20was%20a%20point%20when%20the%20work%20was%20not%20in%20progress%20and%20a%20point%20where%20the%20work%20was%20in%20progress.%20So,%20at%20some%20point%20the%20project%20did%20in%20fact%20%E2%80%9Cstart%E2%80%9D.%20%20%0AThe%20reason%20it%20is%20important%20to%20know%20the%20start-date%20is%20that%20there%20may%20be%20consequences%20and%20incentives%20based%20on%20how%20long%20it%20takes%20to%20complete%20a%20project.%20The%20following%20are%20examples%20of%20these%20consequences.%0A-%20Project%20team%20accountability.%20It%20is%20hard%20to%20hold%20people%20accountable%20for%20things%20that%20are%20not%20within%20their%20control.%20For%20that%20reason,%20it%20makes%20sense%20that%20a%20project%20manager%20is%20held%20accountable%20for%20the%20project%20no%20earlier%20than%20when%20he%20is%20assigned.%20If%20the%20project%20clock%20starts%20before%20he%20is%20assigned%20it%20is%20possible%20that%20some%20decisions%20were%20made%20and%20some%20resources%20expended%20beforehand,%20and%20therefore%20he%20does%20not%20have%20total%20control.%20Likewise,%20if%20team%20members%20are%20held%20accountable%20for%20completing%20a%20project%20within%20budget%20and%20on%20schedule,%20it%20is%20hard%20to%20hold%20them%20accountable%20for%20work%20and%20decisions%20that%20take%20place%20before%20they%20are%20assigned.%20For%20that%20reason,%20perhaps%20the%20project%20should%20officially%20start%20when%20the%20project%20manager%20is%20assigned,%20while%20team%20members%20are%20accountable%20for%20what%20happens%20after%20the%20Project%20Charter%20and%20schedule%20are%20approved,%20or%20after%20the%20project%20kickoff%20meeting%20is%20held.%0A-%20Process%20improvement.%20Many%20companies%20keep%20track%20of%20the%20total%20duration%20of%20projects%20and%20attempt%20to%20shorten%20the%20average%20project%20duration%20over%20time.%20It%20is%20important%20that%20everyone%20within%20the%20company%20use%20a%20common%20starting%20and%20ending%20point.%20Otherwise%20the%20project%20duration%20statistics%20will%20not%20be%20meaningful.%0A1.0.1.1%20Project%20Start%20and%20End-dates%20%20%0A(1.0.1.1.P1)%20%20%0AOne%20of%20the%20characteristics%20of%20a%20project%20is%20that%20there%20is%20a%20definite%20start%20and%20end-date.%20This%20seems%20simple%20enough%20until%20you%20start%20to%20try%20to%20define%20exactly%20what%20these%20dates%20mean.%20There%20are%20no%20universally%20recommended%20standards%20for%20either%20date.%20It%20depends%20on%20each%20organization%20and%20whether%20there%20are%20any%20implications%20for%20choosing%20one%20alternative%20over%20another.%20Here%20are%20some%20of%20the%20options%20for%20identifying%20the%20project%20start-date.%0AOnce%20you%20have%20your%20initial%20estimates%20on%20effort,%20cost%20and%20duration,%20you%20can%20complete%20the%20Service%20Request%20form%20for%20a%20small%20project.%20%20%0AMedium%20and%20Large%20Projects%20(2.1A.P3)%20%20%0AAt%20the%20smaller%20end%20of%20a%20medium%20project,%20you%20may%20have%20the%20ability%20to%20use%20the%20same%20techniques%20as%20for%20a%20small%20project.%20However,%20the%20larger%20the%20project,%20the%20harder%20this%20informal%20process%20becomes.%20In%20the%202.2A%20Techniques%20section,%20there%20is%20information%20on%20how%20to%20build%20schedules%20from%20previous%20projects%20or%20from%20a%20pre-built%20template.%20These%20options%20are%20usually%20the%20best%20and%20fastest%20way%20to%20build%20a%20schedule%20for%20your%20project.%20For%20the%20purpose%20of%20this%20section%20however,%20the%20assumption%20is%20that%20you%20have%20to%20build%20the%20schedule%20from%20scratch.%20The%20best%20way%20to%20do%20this%20is%20to%20start%20with%20a%20Work%20Breakdown%20Structure%20(WBS)%20and%20define%20the%20schedule%20from%20there.%20The%20general%20process%20is%20as%20follows:%0A%23%23%23