Project Analysis Overview Worksheet

This document serves as a structured backbone for moving an initiative through the project approval lifecycle and project delivery lifecycle. It starts with a clear statement of purpose, then defines measurable objectives and their dependencies, helping teams perform PAL Stage 1 business analysis and demonstrate project readiness and approval. It captures constraints: time, monetary, equipment, and physical- so sponsors see tradeoffs early in the conceptual review phase.

The Solution Overview requires a unique title and identifier, a description tied directly to objectives, and a reasoned decision based on alternatives analysis and financial analysis. Teams can align this with an alternatives analysis template, financial analysis worksheets, or a financial worksheets template to justify selection criteria. Resource Analysis and Resource Requirements outline funding, personnel, time, and equipment, supported by a procurement assessment form and a solution requirements template. Where relevant, existing resources and site analysis provide context for feasibility and staging.

Risk Analysis prompts a disciplined review of threats and opportunities, allowing managers to integrate a failure mode and effects analysis using an FMEA worksheet. Its focus on potential consequences, including positive schedule or cost impacts, leads to a recommendation grounded in evidence. When used for development projects, the same structure supports submission requirements and submission package components, such as site photographs, an existing conditions plan, stormwater plan review, erosion and sediment control measures, watershed and earth disturbance details, PCSMP review needs, and stormwater regulations compliance. Transportation efforts can add traffic analysis aligned with a project traffic forecasting handbook.

For regulated infrastructure, the framework maps to environmental review and the permitting process, including environmental assessment, environmental impact statement, environmental assessment worksheet (EAW), environmental assessment worksheet EAW references, and project development and environmental studies. It helps teams define a review path-local review, alternative review, or full review-address project size determination, and prepare an executive transmittal. It also supports application guidance and tracking details, such as a project tracking number and submission process for public utilities commission matters, like a certificate of need, site permit, or route permit covering transmission lines, power plants, wind turbines, or pipelines, with public participation documented.

Use cases include IT projects using GenAI, municipal stormwater retrofit programs, transportation corridor expansions, and energy infrastructure. The same structure aids project oversight and project approval.

Proposal Kit can streamline preparing this analysis with document assembly, automated line-item quoting, an AI Writer to build supporting documents, and an extensive template library. Teams can quickly produce consistent alternative analyses, financial summaries, and executive transmittals, improving ease of use and readiness to submit complete packages.

To extend the value of this framework, teams should formalize preparation instructions that clarify who completes each section, required attachments, and acceptance criteria. Clear guidance reduces rework and accelerates project readiness. When a jurisdiction requires an ERSA application, the analysis can feed that package directly: teams translate objectives, constraints, and resource needs into the ERSA worksheet, then align submittals with local thresholds for earth disturbance and stormwater controls.

Defining development type and project characteristics up front helps reviewers route the project to the correct review path and timeline, and it helps managers select the right alternatives, analysis depth, and financial analysis level. This approach also improves cross-functional coordination; procurement, engineering, finance, and permitting can work from the same baseline to avoid scope drift and missed requirements.

Proposal Kit supports this disciplined process by giving teams repeatable document assembly, checklists derived from preparation instructions, and an extensive template library suited to different development type profiles. Its AI Writer can write supporting narratives that reflect project characteristics, while automated line-item quoting produces consistent budgets that align with the financial sections. Whether preparing an ERSA application, building an ERSA worksheet summary, or tailoring content for stakeholders, Proposal Kit helps organizations produce coherent, submission-ready documents with less effort and greater confidence.

Beyond scoping and selection, this framework supports disciplined governance. Teams can convert the measurability of objectives into SMART KPIs, baselines, and benefits realization plans, then use stage-gate checklists to confirm project readiness at each approval gate. A simple decision log pairs well with the alternatives analysis to document assumptions, scoring criteria, and tradeoffs, ensuring a clear rationale when leadership conducts portfolio reviews or redirects funding. Dependency mapping across objectives, milestones, and resources exposes critical path risks early and informs change control when scope shifts or constraints tighten.

For data-heavy initiatives, including IT projects using GenAI, the risk section can capture model governance, data quality, privacy, and explainability considerations alongside a failure mode and effects analysis, helping executives weigh innovation against compliance. Infrastructure and land development efforts gain efficiency when the analysis pre-populates downstream deliverables and clarifies review path expectations. By aligning project characteristics and development type with permitting thresholds, teams reduce iteration during the submission process and shorten schedule exposure.

Practical use cases include a regional SaaS rollout requiring procurement coordination and training resourcing; a facilities expansion that must integrate an existing conditions plan and site photographs; and a municipal program bundling stormwater retrofit sites with shared erosion and sediment control strategies. In transportation, early traffic analysis tied to a project traffic forecasting handbook can calibrate the scope before costly redesigns. Energy proponents can prepare stronger executive transmittals and anticipate information needs for a certificate of need or route permit by tracing how constraints affect alternatives and cost.

Proposal Kit helps organizations operationalize this rigor. Its document assembly and extensive template library enable standardized stage-gate packages and cross-referenced sections, while automated line-item quoting aligns budgets with selected solutions. The AI Writer can write consistent preparation instructions, ERSA application narratives, and ERSA worksheet summaries tailored to development type, improving ease of use and accelerating leadership-ready materials without sacrificing quality.

How do you write a Project Analysis Overview Worksheet document?

Project Analysis Overview

Overview of Project Purpose. Describe as necessary the business problems being addressed by this project. Description of Project Objectives. For each objective of the project give a detail of the objectives description, the "measurableness" of achieving that objective, and what if any dependencies the objective may have upon other objectives or project milestones.

Description of Project Constraints. Give a description of what if any constraints the project may have. Either in relation to the project as a whole, or as pertains to specific objectives.

These constraints may be physical, monetary, equipment, or time wise.

Solution Overview

For each solution give it a unique title and short identifier.

Description of Solution

Give a detail of what is being proposed to address the specific business problems as given in the project description and how they relate to the objectives outlined in B. Reason for Decision on Solution. Describe in detail how the solution in C. above was decided upon as well as what factors played a key role in selecting solution and how the solution will address the objectives outlined in B.

Resource Analysis

Describe each resource necessary to achieve the objectives of the project described in B. These resources may be equipment, funding, time, personnel, etc.

Resource Requirements

Risk Analysis

Describe all potential risks involving the project solution outlined in section C as they relate to the project objectives outlined in B. Bear in mind that some unintended risks may be of a positive nature (for example a particular consequence of the solution may risk a goal to be achieved ahead of schedule.

Risk Potential consequence

Recommendation

Describe the justification behind choosing the solution outlined in section C as it relates to the risk involved from section D.