The goal or desired outcome clarifies the purpose of the team. Boundary conditions inform the team of any predefined limits. Examples include a desired completion date, monetary, and personnel limits. It must be stated clearly to the team that they are developing a recommendation for sponsor approval. Sponsors are typically the managers or supervisors with the power to approve and implement the team's recommendations.
Sponsors also provide the team the needed resources.
Team members volunteer or are chosen because the process in review is part of their job. Customers can also be valuable team members. A facilitator helps the team stay focused and moving forward, develops teamwork, and encourages everyone to participate and use process improvement tools. Identifying processes needing improvement is everyone's responsibility. We all know the frustration of having work done based on an estimate and then face a final bill that is higher than the estimate.