A project vision statement is a document that gives a high-level demonstration of the main purpose of the project including desired future state, the associated goals, ultimate goal. In other words, the vision statement shows us the big picture.
A well-prepared project vision statement is very useful as it helps to contribute to the motivation, engagement, and devotion of the project team to the project work. In PMBOK 7, it is among strategic project artifacts and recommended to be used in;
It is project manager's responsibility to effectively communicate the project vision statement to the key stakeholders and the project team. A project vision statement should not be confused with the project management plan or project brief.
Despite they seem to have similar content, they are different in terms of how they handle the information. The vision statement does not give details about the definitions, descriptions, and scope of the project. It is short like the project brief document but more focused on the main purpose of the project. To make this distinction, the project manager has to be more careful about communicating the project vision statement.
A good project vision statement;
- Should reflect current and future objectives of the organization,
- Should be brief. It should not contain more than a few sentences,
- Should be easy to remember and should not be complex,
- Should be clear, everyone should interpret it the same way,
- Should focus on the end goal of the project,
- Should provide a brief timeline to achieve the main goals of the project,
- Should motivate the project team,
- Should promote engagement of the key stakeholders.