“Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”
Napoleon Hill
No matter what OSS project, or any project you start, capturing the requirements is the first place to start. The requirements help to identify the guiding vision for what you need to achieve. A project without clear requirements is like a boat with no destination port to head towards.
This page provides tools to help to Capture OSS Requirements, which you may wish to use to refine your project vision and key objectives.
This page provides tools to help Plan an OSS Project, which may help to define the detail of your project plan starting at the highest level, then drilling down into the details.
But one aspect of project initiation that is often overlooked is Change Management. The following page outlines an OSS-specific variation on John Kotter’s 8 Step Plan for managing change. The first step, creating a sense of urgency, is usually the most overlooked yet it is one of the most important as it establishes the essential momentum to help drive OSS change.