How to Create a Project Intake Process And Why You Need It

When you’re contending with multiple complex and high-stakes projects, it can be difficult to know how to prioritize efficiently. So, what do you do? The answer: Establish a well-oiled project intake process 

A standardized process allows you to prioritize projects and ensure they align with your business goals, project intake is a critical preliminary phase in portfolio or program management. In this article, we’ll explore every step of the project intake process, outline best practices, address common challenges, and provide a sample intake form. 

What is a Project Intake Process?

The project intake process is a systematic approach for receiving, evaluating, and approving project requests. It acts as a gateway to ensure prioritized and aligned projects move forward, without any important undertakings falling by the wayside. 

If organizations don’t follow established project prioritization criteria and conduct a thorough project intake process, they will inevitably face challenges and potentially insurmountable obstacles. Teams become overwhelmed, there’s a strain on resources, the data is insufficient, and priorities are unclear. The project could fail to come to fruition altogether. A customized project intake process allows you to hammer out each detail from the beginning, ensuring you have everything in place to kick off your project.

Intake processes vary by industry and organization size. Some are more formal than others. That’s why we will offer some steps that you can adapt to your unique scenario. 

Benefits of a Project Intake Process

Improved Prioritization and Alignment

The intake process helps you process projects based on your organizational goals and ensure you allocate resources to high-impact projects, keeping the focus on staffing the most valuable initiatives. 

Resource Efficiency

A structured process can prevent resource overload because you will filter and prioritize requests, facilitating better planning and utilization of team capacity. 

Enhanced Transparency

With a clear intake process, there is greater transparency and communication. All departments are aware of how projects will be evaluated and prioritized. They also have the necessary data to get started on the right foot.

Reduction in Project Overload and Burnout

By adopting better intake practices, teams avoid taking on more projects than they can handle. This reduces burnout and improves your team’s overall productivity. 

Key Steps to Set Up an Efficient Project Intake Process

Establishing an efficient project intake process workflow improves the overall initiative. These are the general steps you should follow for an effective process.

Step 1: Define Objectives and Criteria

Start the intake process by establishing the objectives. The overarching goals for any project include strategic alignment and proper resource allocation, but there will also be specific goals unique to the context. Define your criteria, such as ROI, resource needs, timeline, and alignment with company goals. 

Step 2: Identify Stakeholders and Assign Roles

Determine who should be involved, such as project managers, department heads, and the executive team, along with their specific roles, including reviews, approvals, and providing input. 

Step 3: Design a Structured Intake Workflow

Typically, the intake workflow includes stages such as submission, review, prioritization, approval, and feedback. Create a standardized process, including decision points like approval or rejection.

Step 4: Establish Evaluation Criteria for Requests

Determine how you will evaluate project requests. Possible evaluation criteria include strategic impact, resource requirements, or feasibility. These criteria will help you prioritize projects appropriately. 

Step 5: Implement a Project Intake Form

Create or customize an existing project intake form. The form should capture all the essential project details for initial evaluations. In the section below, we’ll go into more detail about what you should include in your intake form and provide a customizable template. 

Step 6: Use Tools to Streamline the Process

Project intake can be complex. Tools like Prism PPM offer features such as automation, tracking, and reporting to streamline the process and allow you to collect data more efficiently.

Step 7: Pilot the Process and Refine

Test out the intake process on a small sample before rolling it out to the entire organization. That will allow you to solicit feedback from stakeholders and make necessary adjustments.

Project Intake Process Flow Chart

Prism PPM visual workflow including project intake process

Creating a project intake process flow chart allows stakeholders to visualize the workflow. This diagram depicts the intake flow from initial project request submission to final approval or rejection. When you build the chart, include stages such as:

• Submission
• Initial Review
• Detailed Assessment
• Approval/Feedback (or Denial)
• Project Kickoff

Also include decision points and criteria for assessment, displaying how projects are approved, need clarification, or are declined. 

Key Components of a Project Intake Form

Example Template 

Title:

_________________________________

Project Goals and Objectives:

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Start Date: _________________________________

End Date: _________________________________

Key Milestones:

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Budget Estimate: _________________________________

Resource Needs: 

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Project Sponsor(s): _________________________________

Contact Information: _________________________________

Project Lead/Manager:_________________________________

Contact Information: _________________________________

Additional Stakeholders:  _________________________________

Contact Information: _________________________________

Custom Fields:

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

The project intake form is a document that includes all the key components of and factors that affect the project intake process. There are some fields that should appear on every intake form, while other fields are optional. Additionally, software like Prism PPM can be customized with user-defined fields so the correct information will be available at the start of the project.

Essential Fields: Key Fields That Should Be on Every Intake Form

Here is a suggested list of form fields that should appear on all intake forms:

• Project Title and Description: A clear, concise title that uniquely identifies the project and a brief overview of the project’s purpose, objectives, and scope.
• Goals and Objectives: The high-level outcomes or benefits the project is expected to deliver and the specific, actionable steps or deliverables that support the project goals.
• Timeline and Deadlines: The start and end dates to help assess scheduling feasibility and any deadlines or milestones critical to project success.
• Budget and Resource Needs: The projected budget range to evaluate financial feasibility and the team members, departments, or materials needed to execute the project
• Primary Stakeholders and Contact Information: The project sponsors, the project lead or manager, and any additional stakeholders.

Additional Custom Fields: Optional Fields for Different Needs

Depending on the project, you may need additional fields:

• Risk Assessment: Anticipated risks and any mitigation strategies to highlight project complexities.
• Anticipated ROI or Value: Expected return on investment or other value metrics to assist in prioritization.
• Resource Availability and Constraints: Any constraints or specific skillsets needed for the project.
• Project Dependencies: A list of related projects or tasks that may impact this project’s success.

Who Oversees the Project Intake Process?

You should always have a single accountable party, such as a project manager, operations manager, or PMO, to oversee the process. That will help avoid confusion and keep everything (and everyone) aligned.

That doesn’t mean no one else is involved in the project intake process. Additional key players include:

• Intake Coordinator: Manages submissions, reviews, and communications.
• Project Review Committee: Provides input on prioritization and feasibility.
• Executive Sponsor: Ensures alignment with strategic objectives.

Best Practices for a Successful Project Intake Process

Follow these project intake process best practices for a more successful process. 

1. Standardize the Intake Form: This ensures consistency.
2. Automate and Use Technology: Tools like Prism PPM automate repetitive tasks, track submissions, and improve efficiency. 
3. Keep the Process Agile: Ensure that the process is adaptable to feedback and changing needs.
4. Promote Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Receive regular input and feedback from various departments to ensure that your evaluations are comprehensive and easy to understand. 

Project Intake Process Example

Consider the example of an IT department at a healthcare organization. The IT manager completes the project intake form, outlining the goals of the project (upgrading all legacy software, for instance), the timeline, milestones, the proposed budget and personnel needed (e.g. Apple and PC specialists), and the point people.

The IT manager submits the project for review. The project review committee reviews the proposal, considering the resources and budget needed. They also contextualize it among the other projects the organization is undertaking and determine that it is high-priority. Then the intake coordinator communicates the approval to the IT manager, and the project begins.

How Prism PPM Can Support Your Project Intake Process

Prism PPM streamlines and supports your intake process with features like automated intake forms, prioritization tools, resource management, and reporting. Project and portfolio managers can use the platform to accelerate intake, ensure consistency, and prioritize more effectively, all while helping you ensure alignment with strategic goals. Contact us If you want a custom demo of our project intake features.

Metrics for Measuring the Success of Your Project Intake Process

Establishing metrics for measuring the success of your project intake process will allow you to identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement. Continuously review your process according to these metrics to further enhance it and ensure that it’s working as it should.

For example, your metrics might include:

• Time to Process Requests
• Approval Rate
• Percentage of Projects Aligned with Strategic Goals
• Resource Utilization Rate

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Implementing an Intake Process

Of course, not all intake processes are seamless. Keep these common mistakes in mind to make yours as smooth as possible.

1. Overcomplicating the Intake Form: Adding too many fields causes confusion and leads to project delays. 
2. Failing to Review and Update Regularly: It’s essential to keep the process aligned with your business goals and adjust it as needed. 
3. Ignoring Stakeholder Feedback: Team members should be involved in the review process to improve usability and effectiveness.
4. Skipping Training: All stakeholders must understand how to use the intake process and form.

Conclusion

A thorough and efficient intake is crucial to the project evaluation process. By honing your process, you’ll address key user pain points such as prioritization, resource management, and strategic alignment. Use these steps and the template provided to create or refine your own project intake process. 

Prism PPM enhances project intake, helping you streamline and manage projects effectively. Contact us today to learn more about our portfolio management solutions.