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What should a project proposal include?
A project proposal should include the problem, proposed solution, objectives, scope, deliverables, timeline, budget, resources, risks, success metrics, and approval request. Asana’s project proposal guide, updated February 1, 2026, defines it as the document stakeholders use to judge timeline, budget, objectives, and goals before they approve work.
The simplest way to write one is to answer 7 approval questions in order: why this project, why now, what will be delivered, how it will be done, who and what it needs, how much it costs, and how success will be measured.
| Proposal section | What to write | Concrete test |
|---|---|---|
| Executive summary | Problem, solution, impact, and approval request in 150 to 250 words | A busy sponsor can repeat the ask after reading only this section |
| Background | Evidence that the problem is real, current, and worth solving | Includes at least 1 internal metric, benchmark, customer quote, or dated source |
| Objectives | 2 to 4 measurable outcomes | Each objective has a number, deadline, or yes/no acceptance test |
| Scope and deliverables | What is included, what is excluded, and what the team will hand over | No stakeholder has to guess what they are funding |
| Timeline | Phases, milestones, dependencies, and decision points | Dates or durations are visible, not hidden in prose |
| Budget and resources | People, tools, materials, vendors, and cost logic | Every cost has a reason and owner |
| Risks and approval | Top risks, mitigations, next step, and signature or approval action | The reader knows exactly what to approve |
How do I start a project proposal?
Start with a one-sentence approval ask, not a title page. Use this format: We request approval for project X to solve problem Y by date Z, using budget A and team B, measured by result C. That sentence becomes the spine of the proposal.
Before drafting, collect 5 facts: the current pain, the affected audience, the cost of doing nothing, the proposed deliverable, and the decision deadline. PMI’s 2024 Pulse of the Profession reported a 73.8% average project performance rate across respondents, which is a useful reminder that approval documents should make execution assumptions visible before the team commits.
Copy-and-do opening formula
- Project name: Customer onboarding redesign
- Problem: New customers take 14 days on average to reach first value
- Proposed solution: Redesign the onboarding emails, in-app checklist, and help-center entry path
- Approval ask: Approve 8 weeks of work, 3 team members, and a $12,000 contractor budget
- Success metric: Reduce average time to first value from 14 days to 7 days within 60 days after launch
What is the right project proposal structure?
Use a structure that moves from business reason to execution proof. ProjectManager’s 2026 guide lists executive summary, project background, vision and success criteria, risks, scope, SMART goals, approach, benefits, resources, budget, and timeline. For most business proposals, you can compress that into 7 readable sections.
| Order | Section | Write this |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Executive summary | The approval ask, the problem, the solution, and the expected result |
| 2 | Background and problem | The current situation, evidence, and why the issue matters now |
| 3 | Objectives and success metrics | The measurable outcomes the project must achieve |
| 4 | Scope and deliverables | The work included, excluded, and handed over |
| 5 | Approach and timeline | Phases, milestones, dependencies, and responsible owners |
| 6 | Budget and resources | People, tools, vendors, materials, direct costs, and cost assumptions |
| 7 | Risks, decision, and next step | Top risks, mitigations, approval action, and decision deadline |
A short internal proposal can be 1 to 2 pages. A formal client, grant, construction, software, or enterprise proposal may need supporting tables, signatures, and attachments. Smartsheet’s December 21, 2025 template library separates one-page, business, IT, software, construction, grant, consulting, and presentation proposal formats because the approval context changes the amount of detail needed.
How do I write the scope, deliverables, and timeline?
Write scope as boundaries, deliverables as outputs, and timeline as decision-ready phases. A weak scope says improve onboarding. A strong scope says redesign 6 onboarding emails, 1 in-app checklist, 3 help articles, and 2 analytics dashboards; exclude billing flows and mobile push notifications.
Scope table to copy
| Scope area | Included | Excluded | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | 10 customer interviews and support ticket review | Full market research study | Findings summary with top 5 friction points |
| Content | 6 onboarding emails and 3 help articles | New brand voice guide | Approved copy package |
| Product experience | 1 in-app checklist and empty-state copy | Billing, pricing, or mobile push work | Checklist spec and handoff notes |
| Measurement | Activation dashboard with 4 metrics | Company-wide BI rebuild | Dashboard showing time to first value, activation rate, completion rate, and support contacts |
Timeline table to copy
| Phase | Duration | Milestone | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Week 1 to 2 | Problem evidence approved | Product manager |
| Drafting | Week 3 to 4 | Emails, checklist, and help articles drafted | Content lead |
| Build | Week 5 to 6 | Checklist and tracking implemented | Engineering lead |
| Launch | Week 7 | New onboarding flow live | Growth lead |
| Measurement | Week 8 | First results reviewed | Analytics owner |
How do I write the budget and resources section?
Write the budget as an argument, not a spreadsheet dump. Show the cost category, the amount, the reason, and the person accountable. NIH budget guidance, last updated December 3, 2025, says costs should be necessary, reasonable, and tied to the work described; that standard works for internal business proposals too.
Use this formula before you write the prose: total budget equals labor plus materials or software plus vendor costs plus travel or fees plus contingency. For grants, NIH also expects person-months for personnel justification and whole-dollar budget figures. For business proposals, the same idea becomes hours, roles, rates, and named cost assumptions.
| Budget line | Example amount | Why it is needed | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product manager | $0 incremental cost | Internal owner for scope, approvals, and weekly stakeholder review | Head of product |
| Content contractor | $6,000 | Draft and revise 6 emails, 3 help articles, and launch copy | Content lead |
| Analytics contractor | $4,000 | Set up 4 activation metrics and dashboard QA | Analytics owner |
| User interview incentives | $1,000 | 10 interviews at $100 each to validate current onboarding friction | Research lead |
| Contingency | $1,000 | Buffer for one extra analytics or copy revision cycle | Project sponsor |
| Total | $12,000 | Requested incremental approval for 8-week onboarding redesign | Project sponsor |
If the project is external, include payment terms and acceptance terms. If it is internal, include opportunity cost: which team members are needed, how many weeks they are committed, and what work is being deprioritized.
What does a finished project proposal example look like?
Here is a compact example for an internal customer onboarding redesign. It follows the same 7-part structure and uses real proposal mechanics: a measurable starting point, an 8-week timeline, named deliverables, a $12,000 budget, and one approval request.
| Section | Example copy |
|---|---|
| Executive summary | Approve an 8-week customer onboarding redesign to reduce average time to first value from 14 days to 7 days. The project will update emails, in-app guidance, help content, and measurement with a $12,000 incremental budget. |
| Background | New customers currently take 14 days on average to reach first value, and support tickets show repeated confusion about setup steps 2, 3, and 5. |
| Objectives | Cut time to first value to 7 days, reduce onboarding-related support contacts by 20%, and increase checklist completion to 70% within 60 days after launch. |
| Scope | Included: 6 emails, 1 in-app checklist, 3 help articles, and 1 activation dashboard. Excluded: billing flow, pricing page, mobile push notifications, and CRM migration. |
| Timeline | Discovery 2 weeks, drafting 2 weeks, build 2 weeks, launch 1 week, measurement 1 week. |
| Budget | $6,000 content contractor, $4,000 analytics contractor, $1,000 interview incentives, $1,000 contingency, for a $12,000 total. |
| Risks and approval | Risks are low interview response, engineering delay, and tracking errors. Mitigations are pre-booked interviews, a fixed checklist scope, and dashboard QA before launch. Approval needed by July 10, 2026. |
For a second benchmark, Asana’s February 1, 2026 example used a website redesign with a 20% engagement drop, a 3-month delivery window, a $25,000 budget, and an expected 30% engagement increase. The useful lesson is not the website topic; it is the pattern: current metric, proposed work, budget, timeline, and target result.
How can I write a project proposal with AnyGen?
Use AnyGen when you have the facts but need a clean, editable proposal quickly. Give it the problem, audience, budget, timeline, deliverables, and decision date; then ask for a 7-section project proposal with tables for scope, timeline, budget, and risks.
Prompt to copy
Write a project proposal for an 8-week customer onboarding redesign. Audience: VP Product and CFO. Goal: reduce time to first value from 14 days to 7 days. Deliverables: 6 emails, 1 in-app checklist, 3 help articles, 1 dashboard. Budget: $12,000. Include executive summary, background, objectives, scope, timeline, budget, risks, and approval request. Use concise stakeholder-ready language.
- Use AnyGen to turn rough notes into a first draft, not to invent numbers.
- Paste in your real budget lines, dates, constraints, and known risks before generating.
- Ask AnyGen for a one-page version and a proposal-deck version if the approval meeting needs slides.
- Review the final proposal for internal policy, legal terms, procurement rules, and stakeholder names before sending.
What should I check before sending a project proposal?
Before sending, check for decision clarity, number consistency, scope boundaries, budget logic, and next step. A proposal fails when the reader likes the idea but cannot tell what is being approved, who is needed, what it costs, or when the first milestone happens.
| Check | Pass condition | Fix if it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Approval ask | The proposal states the exact decision and deadline | Add one sentence: Approval requested by date for amount and team commitment |
| Numbers | Budget, timeline, metrics, and headcount match in every section | Search for every number and reconcile duplicates |
| Scope | Included and excluded work are both visible | Add a scope table with at least 3 inclusions and 3 exclusions |
| Timeline | Every phase has a duration or date | Replace vague words like soon with weeks or target dates |
| Budget | Every cost line has a reason | Add why needed and who owns each line |
| Risks | Top 3 risks have mitigations | Add risk, likelihood, impact, mitigation, and owner |
| Success metrics | Each objective can be measured | Rewrite goals as numbers, dates, or acceptance tests |
Read the executive summary last. If it does not mention the problem, solution, cost, timeline, target result, and approval action, rewrite it. The summary is the section most likely to be forwarded without the rest of the document.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write a project proposal step by step?
Write the approval ask first, then add the background problem, measurable objectives, scope and deliverables, approach and timeline, budget and resources, risks, and final approval request. Use tables for scope, timeline, and budget so the reader can make a decision quickly.
What are the main parts of a project proposal?
The main parts are executive summary, problem or background, objectives, scope, deliverables, timeline, budget, resources, risks, success metrics, and approval next step. Short proposals can combine these into 7 sections.
How long should a project proposal be?
A small internal project proposal can be 1 to 2 pages. A formal client, grant, IT, construction, or enterprise proposal may need more pages, attachments, signature fields, and detailed budget tables.
What is a good opening sentence for a project proposal?
Use this structure: We request approval for project X to solve problem Y by date Z, using budget A and team B, measured by result C. It tells the reader the decision, purpose, cost, timeline, and outcome immediately.
How do you write a project proposal budget?
List each cost category, amount, reason, and owner. Include labor, tools or materials, vendor costs, travel or fees, and contingency. Tie every cost to the work described in the scope so the budget looks necessary and reasonable.
What is the difference between a project proposal and a project plan?
A project proposal is written before approval to persuade stakeholders to fund or authorize the work. A project plan is written after approval to manage execution, schedule, tasks, dependencies, and delivery.
What is the difference between a project proposal and a project charter?
A project proposal asks for approval. A project charter authorizes and defines the approved project after stakeholders agree to move forward. The proposal sells the project; the charter formalizes it.
Can AI write a project proposal?
Yes, AI can draft the structure, wording, tables, and proposal deck, but you must provide the real facts: budget, dates, owners, scope, constraints, and evidence. Do not let AI invent stakeholder names, costs, or success metrics.