A project kick-off involves everyone who contributes to the execution of a project, and outlines the actions needed to move forward. By the end of the session, everyone should have a shared understanding of what success looks like.
Some key things you’d want to cover in a kick-off meeting include:
Introductions of team and stakeholders
Project background and business need
Purpose and project objectives
Scope and timeline
Metrics to measure success
Defining project roles
Keep reading to learn more about project kick-offs.
A project kick-off helps set the vision and scope of team assignments. Different stakeholders often need to be involved, such as management, sponsors, project managers, and the project team. The kick-off helps establish communication between stakeholders, and finalize timelines. You can customize this template for internal team projects or external stakeholders like clients, consultants, or sponsors.
Active participation in a project kick-off meeting can ensure that expectations stay aligned. Kick-offs should help everyone get the information they need to contribute productively, help your team predict or bounce back from potential setbacks, and build confidence in forming teams and external partnerships.
Kick-off meetings can take place after initiation of smaller projects, or when planning of larger projects is complete and execution is about to start. You can hold one meeting, or schedule them at the beginning of each phase of larger projects.
The kick-off process ensures that everyone understands the project’s purpose, and takes responsibility for their role. By setting expectations from the beginning, everyone can stay motivated and collaborate on doing what’s needed to get to the project finish line.
Starting your own project kick-offs is easy. Miro’s whiteboard tool is the perfect canvas to create and share them. Get started by selecting the Project Kick-Off Template, then take the following steps to make one of your own.
Start with an icebreaker to set the tone of the meeting. Good relationships are the foundation of any successful project. Icebreakers, games, activities, questions, or virtual events get everyone comfortable, engaged, and willing to navigate potentially challenging project phases together.
Assign a note taker. Have a team member take responsibility for writing down developments, action steps, or changes that need to be implemented during the meeting. Note down questions for Q&A at the end of the meeting. Miro Visual Notes allows you to take more detailed notes if your text doesn’t fit on a sticky note or in a text box.
Define the project background, scope, and approach. Your team will need specific context to help set them up for success. This is an opportunity to answer questions like: Why was the project started? What is our goal? What will we deliver and when? Who needs to be involved? How will we measure success?
Assign team roles. Lay out everyone’s roles and responsibilities. This includes dependencies, hand-offs, and cross-functional relationships. Set some guidelines for how everyone will work together, especially for sharing processes, document versions, notes and feedback, and updates.
Set an agenda for kick-off and next steps. What does everyone need to do next? Review goals and action items. This can include making sure everyone has access to shared documents and resources. You can upload files directly on your Miro board.
Leave time at the end for Q&A. Use this time to clear up any potential assumptions or guesswork. What haven’t you told everyone? What does your team need you to know? This is also a good time to schedule a follow-up meeting with your team, or follow up with anyone who couldn’t attend.
What’s inside this project kickoff meeting template:
Before you begin your high-level overview, make sure to welcome everyone and make any introductions that are necessary. The success of your project depends on collaboration between one another so it is important to get to know each other. Provide the team with a general walk-through of the agenda you have chosen and what will be discussed.
Then, you can present a project summary that will illustrate why this project is being rolled out, what you would like to achieve, and how to make that achievement possible. Be sure to include any historical context which may add to an overall better understanding of the purpose behind the project.
Creating a clear and concise mission statement is an essential component of your project kickoff meeting agenda. It may be helpful to think about your project through the eyes of your audience or customer and what you are aiming to accomplish as a team for the end-users.
It will also be strategic for you to think about if you have competitors who are rolling out or who have completed similar projects in the past. Think about what you are offering that sets you apart from others in the industry and how you can execute your project even more effectively.
To be confident that deliverables will be on time and within budget, having a clear scope is essential to your project’s success. In this part of the meeting, get into the scope details, such as specific tasks, activities and any problems that need to be solved. This will clarify the expectations that need to be met by the end of the project.
“Your scope should outline a short description and key features or functions, inclusions/exclusions, and any assumptions and constraints, such as a strict budget or timeline… if you manage expectations and potential risks or bottlenecks early on, you can more easily manage scope creep and anticipate roadblocks.” – Liz Corrigan.
Discussing the project timeline with your team means that it is time to build a comprehensive roadmap from project kickoff to completion. Your roadmap or timeline plan derives from your scope, which means that the next step is for you to define your deliverables, resources, milestones and handoffs.
It isn’t necessary to have specific dates in a kickoff meeting, but it will be helpful to provide loose dates that can later be modified as the project begins to unfold.
If you have participated in the execution of similar projects in the past, it is always helpful to use previous timelines for new projects of similar nature. Use your project timeline to record updates, make modifications and notes as the project continues to evolve.
In the next section of your project kickoff meeting agenda, you will address the specific roles of each contributing member.
On a group, team and individual level, it is important that the roles and assignments are very clearly defined. This part of the meeting can be used for you to discuss and visualize the various project roles and assignments. You should provide an overview of each person’s responsibilities within each phase of the project. It is a perfect opportunity to set expectations on an individual and group basis.
Setting these expectations before the project begins rules out any issues of ownership and allows the members of your team to take the initiative to complete their assigned duties.
It is difficult to get all of the members contributing to a project in the same room, at the same time. Be sure to use this opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings and address any other questions or concerns that your team may have. Addressing questions now will eliminate guessing or assumptions which will save time and energy that can be redirected towards the project.
Here are some other helpful pointers that you can use to close your project kickoff meeting agenda:
– Discuss the frequency of meetings for this project.
– Discuss the tools and technology that you will use to manage the project.
– Provide any documents or resources that the team can benefit from.
– Make yourself available to answer any additional questions after the meeting.
A successful project kickoff meeting will leave you and your team feeling excited and prepared to begin working on the project with a clear consensus of the vision and means for execution.
Ideas for your next project-kickoff meetings will likely surface as a result after concluding your first meeting of this nature. Make sure you take notes in order to use these ideas and perhaps the feedback of your group to improve and add value to future project kickoffs meeting templates.