Project Management - C783 Western Governors University
C783 Merrillton Robotics Data Migration Scenario-AHN2 Task
1: Initiating and Planning the Project | 2026 Update with Complete
Solutions. WGU
Christopher B. Johnson
7-15-2025
Introduction
Merrillton Robotics is in Houston, TX, planning and executing an IT project that will migrate services from their
aging on-premises infrastructure to an MSP (managed services provider) in the cloud. This transition is vital to
the organization as it has identified certain limitations in the scalability of their resources. Increasing legal
obligation to adhere to stricter data security regulations has been judged to be beyond Merrilton’s IT staff’s
current capabilities.
, Merrillton Robotics has elected to outsource the hosting of its production environments in the cloud,
contracting a third-party data center to alleviate the costs associated with an on-site installation of new
infrastructure. The Project needs to ensure that all the company’s data resides within domestic borders. This
document is intended to help the project team understand the various steps associated with this Project and is
structured according to the PMBOK process.
Initiating Process
A1. Project Charter:
The project charter is an important input for the Initiating Process Group, which is defined in PMBOK. It is
defined by PMI (2017) as the document that formally authorizes a project and allows the project manager to
use organizational resources assigned to the Project. It describes the high-level project objectives using several
crucial inputs, defined by the PMBOK as the business case, enterprise environmental factors, agreements, and
organizational process assets.” The business case is derived from relevant research to justify the expense of
the Project, identify stakeholders, and clearly describe what the Project will and will not accomplish.
Agreements are an essential part of the PMI framework because they provide a formal structure to authorize
the Project and the obligations of parties, what is being delivered, time frames, costs involved, and parties'
obligations. Agreements illustrate the high-level scope, establish the initial baselines for cost and risk, and
ensure obligations can lead to legal or contractual, liabilities; the project charter is the updated agreed
information based on the agreements of, statements of work, service contracts, and memos of understanding,
demonstrating clarified mutual commitments that guide the project manager’s authorities and initiates a
successful project initiation.
According to the PMBOK guide (Project Management Institute, 2017), Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs)
are essential to the project charter because these internal and external conditions affect how a given project is
planned and conducted. The EEFs range from organizational culture, governance frameworks, and pre-existing
infrastructure. EEFs can also include market conditions, industry standards, and regulatory requirements. EEFs
can shape how a project will define its objectives in planning and provide an understanding of what resources
are available. EEFs can impact risk identification strategies as well as stakeholder engagement strategies.
Therefore, project managers must consider EEFs in a project charter to align the Project with priorities and
external constraints and ensure that the Project is warranted and properly positioned for success.
Organizational Process Assets are necessary inputs to project charters because OPAs are the plans, processes,
policies, procedures, and knowledge bases that can or do influence project planning and performance. OPAs
can contain templates, lessons from similar projects, risk registers, and standard guidelines to help define the
charter’s high-level scope, objectives, and success criteria. OPAs support project managers for maintaining
consistency with existing practices, repeating effective processes, and increasing the chance of success by
leveraging what is arguably a sound methodology and at least some knowledge.
1
C783 Merrillton Robotics Data Migration Scenario-AHN2 Task
1: Initiating and Planning the Project | 2026 Update with Complete
Solutions. WGU
Christopher B. Johnson
7-15-2025
Introduction
Merrillton Robotics is in Houston, TX, planning and executing an IT project that will migrate services from their
aging on-premises infrastructure to an MSP (managed services provider) in the cloud. This transition is vital to
the organization as it has identified certain limitations in the scalability of their resources. Increasing legal
obligation to adhere to stricter data security regulations has been judged to be beyond Merrilton’s IT staff’s
current capabilities.
, Merrillton Robotics has elected to outsource the hosting of its production environments in the cloud,
contracting a third-party data center to alleviate the costs associated with an on-site installation of new
infrastructure. The Project needs to ensure that all the company’s data resides within domestic borders. This
document is intended to help the project team understand the various steps associated with this Project and is
structured according to the PMBOK process.
Initiating Process
A1. Project Charter:
The project charter is an important input for the Initiating Process Group, which is defined in PMBOK. It is
defined by PMI (2017) as the document that formally authorizes a project and allows the project manager to
use organizational resources assigned to the Project. It describes the high-level project objectives using several
crucial inputs, defined by the PMBOK as the business case, enterprise environmental factors, agreements, and
organizational process assets.” The business case is derived from relevant research to justify the expense of
the Project, identify stakeholders, and clearly describe what the Project will and will not accomplish.
Agreements are an essential part of the PMI framework because they provide a formal structure to authorize
the Project and the obligations of parties, what is being delivered, time frames, costs involved, and parties'
obligations. Agreements illustrate the high-level scope, establish the initial baselines for cost and risk, and
ensure obligations can lead to legal or contractual, liabilities; the project charter is the updated agreed
information based on the agreements of, statements of work, service contracts, and memos of understanding,
demonstrating clarified mutual commitments that guide the project manager’s authorities and initiates a
successful project initiation.
According to the PMBOK guide (Project Management Institute, 2017), Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs)
are essential to the project charter because these internal and external conditions affect how a given project is
planned and conducted. The EEFs range from organizational culture, governance frameworks, and pre-existing
infrastructure. EEFs can also include market conditions, industry standards, and regulatory requirements. EEFs
can shape how a project will define its objectives in planning and provide an understanding of what resources
are available. EEFs can impact risk identification strategies as well as stakeholder engagement strategies.
Therefore, project managers must consider EEFs in a project charter to align the Project with priorities and
external constraints and ensure that the Project is warranted and properly positioned for success.
Organizational Process Assets are necessary inputs to project charters because OPAs are the plans, processes,
policies, procedures, and knowledge bases that can or do influence project planning and performance. OPAs
can contain templates, lessons from similar projects, risk registers, and standard guidelines to help define the
charter’s high-level scope, objectives, and success criteria. OPAs support project managers for maintaining
consistency with existing practices, repeating effective processes, and increasing the chance of success by
leveraging what is arguably a sound methodology and at least some knowledge.
1
