When I think of some of the project mandates that I have seen, I am reminded of a line from a song in the musical Kismet A fool sat beneath an olive tree, and a wondrous thought had he . Sounds like another project mandate coming up!

The project mandate is supposed to be senior management's statement of what it wants the project to deliver. It should be a beautifully clear, concise statement of requirements, leaving no uncertainty in the mind of the reader. Unfortunately it is very often a vague and very brief idea with no stated purpose for the project, constraints or reasons.

I was asked by the managing...