Your project kick-off meeting is the best opportunity for project managers to set the right tone for the weeks and months ahead. There are no budgetary or scheduling issues to address (at least for now), and no change orders to create tension or confusion. The project team and other stakeholders are excited to see the project begin, and are paying close attention to each and every word you say. Show The best way to set your project on the right course is to come to your kick-off meeting prepared with a solid agenda, and clearly communicate the information your team will need. The elements described below can help you build a framework that will make every project kick off meeting a success. Especially at the enterprise level, projects tend to involve multiple companies, business units and departments, so you can’t count on the fact that everyone knows each other ahead of time. Taking a quick moment to introduce each person during the kick-off meeting can help set the room at ease and create a more collaborative atmosphere, especially since it’s a meeting most everyone involved in the project will attend. You also can’t count on everyone in the room being thoroughly familiar with the project in advance. Executive stakeholders, if they’re participating in the meeting, likely have too many other things on their plates, and you may also have new team members who are learning about the project for the first time. Spend a few minutes early on in your meeting to give a summary of the business case for the project and the general objectives it is supposed to meet. All of your agenda items in your kick off meeting should be fairly high-level, but if you are going to get into any of the details, this is the place to do it. Be sure that everyone understands what is in and out of scope for the project, and what deliverables the project team is expected to provide at the end. Increase your business agility with Clarizen’s project management software Once you’ve covered the project goals and deliverables, identify each group, team or individual who will be working on (or monitoring) the project, and give a brief description of their responsibilities at each project phase. If everyone understands what’s expected of them, you won’t have to spend time later answering unnecessary check-in emails. A kick off meeting is usually not the time to delve into specific task deadlines or assignments, but it’s important to communicate the high-level project schedule, including any milestones or go/no go decision points. Before you bring your meeting to a close, give your stakeholders some details on the communication channels, meeting schedules and project management technology you’ll be using to manage the project. Be sure to provide any links, phone numbers or other details the project team will need in order to participate in meetings or access project information. If you need help along the way, Clarizen’s innovative project management solutions can help you manage your projects to success from the kick- off meeting to the final wrap-up.
New projects can sometimes start off a bit wonky because we dive straight into the project without getting to know the client or truly understanding some of the tacit, latent, and informal requirements which might not have been recorded, but without which we don’t fully understand what needs to be done to succeed. The project kickoff is an opportunity to establish common goals and the purpose in completing the work, whether the project is an external project or an internal one. A kickoff is critical when starting any project, whether complex and multi-faceted or simple and straightforward. Fundamentally, it’s about alignment. In this articleThis guide, along with the other articles in our series, will help you navigate the various parts, processes, and aspects. You can find the other articles here: What Is A Project Kickoff?The project kickoff is part of the project initiation phase of the project lifecycle. It’s a critical project management activity that involves preparing the team members and the client team on expectations, communication, and collaboration for the project. It informs the project planning phase of the project, and also allows your team and the client to iron out and finalize details such as project timeline, project management methodology, success measurement, and more. Most kickoffs require a series of meetings, both internal and client-side. If your project doesn’t have a client, kickoffs are still necessary and should involve all project stakeholders and project sponsors. You probably know about client kickoff meetings (which we’ll cover later in this article). They’re pretty ubiquitous. But what about internal kickoff meetings? Internal Project Kickoffs (A.K.A Team Member Kickoffs)You might think of an internal project kickoff meeting as being a quick 10-minute chat with the internal team in the meeting room just before the client walks in. If you’ve been managing projects for a while, you’ll know that this is not an ideal scenario. The purpose of an internal project kickoff is to bring the project team up to speed and properly prepare them for the official kickoff meeting with the client. As the project manager, your job is to educate them, bring the team together, set expectations for the project, and ensure a clear understanding of the project among all team members (and yourself!). There’s a lot that goes into an internal project kickoff meeting. You’ll need to prepare an agenda, gather information and details about both the client and the project, and put together some initial thoughts on collaboration, communication, teamwork, and more for the team to discuss. Read our full guide to internal project kickoffs (and download our internal project kickoff meeting agenda template) here! Once you’ve got the internal kickoff out of the way, the client project kickoff meeting is next. The Project Kickoff MeetingYou can think of the project kickoff meeting as having two parts — a pre-client kickoff meeting, and a client kickoff meeting. Here’s a little secret: you don’t want your first meeting with the client or key stakeholder to be the official kickoff meeting with the full client team and full project team. Instead, hold a pre-client kickoff meeting first — this is worthwhile for a few reasons:
Once you’ve had the opportunity to have a pre-client kickoff meeting, you’re ready to move on to the official project kickoff meeting. Of course, there’s a lot that goes into this too. In our guide to project kickoff meetings, which you’ll find here, we’ll cover the following, and more:
Project Kickoff EmailOnce you’ve met with the client for a pre-kickoff and prepped your agenda for the client kickoff meeting, you’ll need to send out that all-important project kickoff email announcing when and where the meeting will be. During the pre-client kickoff, it’s a good idea to get an idea of the client’s schedule for the kickoff meeting. Every project manager has their own strategy for scheduling meetings, but getting an idea beforehand doesn’t hurt, as you can use this to your advantage in your email. Here’s a quick overview of what you should be including in your project kickoff announcement email:
Try to send out the project kickoff email in advance, to ensure you leave the client with enough time to prepare the content and items that you asked for. Also, keep it fairly high-level — you don’t want to overwhelm the client with a lengthy email (they might not even read it!). Don’t forget to follow-up again after the kickoff meeting with an email. This one should include:
Get all our action-ready project kickoff templates and a crash course for just $10. What About Agile Project Kickoffs?Many agile enthusiasts question the value of project kickoffs for projects conducted using agile methodologies. But if done correctly, agile project kickoffs can add a lot of value and provide clarity to the team for projects that are using agile methodologies such as Scrum. The general purpose of an agile project kickoff is the same as the purpose of a project kickoff:
But trying to conduct an agile project kickoff in the exact same way that you would a regular project kickoff won’t be valuable. You’ll need to adjust your regular project kickoff meeting agenda slightly to account for this. However, there are some additional reasons why you might hold an agile project kickoff:
What’s Next?You can follow the links in this article to all our other articles on this topic — dive in! There’s lots to learn when it comes to project kickoffs. If you’re looking for even more in-depth information on project kickoffs, check out our masterclass on the subject here! |