Kick Off

Take the time to kick off a project before work starts. Define the goals and roles and set expectations for how and how often you'll communicate and collaborate. Everything you define in this phase should be documented and shared transparently in your project dashboard.

Identify stakeholders

• [ ] Determine who needs to be engaged in decision making

Document business goals and requirements

• [ ] Interview stakeholders to define their expectations for what will be created and delivered through this project or initiative
• [ ] Ask questions to understand the strategic purpose of the project as outlined by stakeholders, so you can steer projects to meet strategic intentions

Build a team and identify their roles

• [ ] Ask stakeholders which teams will need to be involved; at this stage, err on the side of inclusiveness.
• [ ] Connect with leaders from the involved teams and ask them to designate leads in each functional area for all needed work. Leads are accountable for the work that needs to be completed for their functional area

Scope effort

• [ ] Hold scoping discussions with leads to identify the steps they'll need to pursue to accomplish their work
• [ ] Keep these discussions open so leads feel comfortable airing their questions and concerns
• [ ] Dive into the details to understand edge cases

Hold kick-off discussion

• [ ] Convene project leads and team members in a live discussion
• [ ] Agree on how and how often you'll communicate
• [ ] Review the draft project scope and ensure you've identified all the work and steps that will need to happen
• [ ] Outline order of operations for needed work

Document project brief