Initiation is the earliest stage of any project. When initiating project, the key information such as the objectives and scope are defined by project initiator (project manager). Planning is a primary process at the stage which is undertaken to provide justification for initiating project and proceeding with following stages. Within any project methodology, project initiator or project manager plans project and approves project initiation documents (e.g. Annual Plan and Draft Project Proposal). The processing of project initiation documents generally takes from one week to several months before initiating project.

To plan and initiate project properly, project initiation software is required. Project initiation software allows to plan project parameters, process project initiation documents, and initiate project in accordance with schedule. When initiating project, it's essential that any project initiation document is completed and approved as a collaborative effort between project initiator and project team. Project initiation software helps ensure that there's a clear understanding of the objectives, scope, and requirements of project between all the project participants.

Good examples of project initiation software are VIP Team To Do List and VIP Task Manager Professional. Both project initiation software solutions are for task management and group collaboration within projects. VIP Team To Do List is a desktop-based program that allows to create, assign and email project task lists to team members. Powerful functionality of this project initiation software enables project initiator to plan and schedule project parameters and collaborate with team members by emailing tasks and publishing to-do lists on FTP.