How to lead
A Kickoff Meeting
Your Project Kickoff Meeting Checklist
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>>Hello, I'm Jennifer Whitt, Director, ProjectManager.com.
[Music Intro]
>>to our white board session today on your project kick off checklist. Have you ever
been to one of those meetings where the project manager was totally unprepared and everyone
was just lost on why they were there? Or even what the project was about? Well, here's a
checklist that you can use to not only get you straight before your project starts, but
also get you prepared before your kick off meeting. So what would be on this kick off
checklist?
So first of all, most project managers are dealing with multiple projects. So, we want
to first identify, "What is the project name?" and "Who is the client?" The client could
be some business unit internally, or could be an external client. You want to identify
"Who is the project manager?" That would be you. And the date. So here is some of the
things that need to be done in preparation. So there is a lot of work to be done before
you kick off.
Number one: is the contract. Making sure you have a signed contract that authorizes you,
as the project manager, to begin this project. Not only the contract for the project, but
also contracts for other vendor partners and other partners that you are going to need,
who are part of this project.
Number two: clearly identifying and documenting the client needs and the priorities. Because
as time changes throughout the project, those needs and priorities are going to change.
So you want to document what those initial base line needs and priorities are.
Number three: Then you want to have project plan documented. Probably before the kick
off we're going to have submitted that to different team members, your stake holders,
your change control board. Just making sure that it's updated and revised and finalized
before your kick off.
Then you want to be sure you identify your team member roles. So you have a register
of who is on the team. Who's on there, what organization do they represent, what role
would they be playing for the project.
Number five: The scope of the work. Identifying what's in scope, and more importantly, what's
out of scope. You want to identify the scope, maybe, if you are doing a phased approach.
What will be done in different phases.
Number six is the project schedule. The timeline, the milestones for your project.
Also, identifying the project budget. So you know how much money you have to spend on what
specific items.
Number eight is project reviews. Going ahead and having, since you have your schedule by
this point, identifying when the project reviews will be. Including the milestones.
Number nine is a big part. The project management processes. Documenting how you are going to
manage change, risk, the procurement of different items on your project, administration, any
quality assurance or quality control.
And then number 10: The project manager expectations. Each project manager are different, but you
need to identify what your expectations are. How you best work. How people can best communicate
with you. Are you best to, like if you travel a lot, is it best to reach you by mobile phone?
by texting? by email? And knowing when you are going to be available.
So these are some of the items that make an effective checklist in preparing you for your
project kick off. If you need a tool that can help your kick off, then signup for our
software now at ProjectManager.com.
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