You are likely to be a project manager in the future. The project kickoff meeting is more for the client, project team members, top management, and stakeholders to get to know each other and gain a better understanding of their respective roles in the project.
A great project kickoff meeting is a key factor in determining the success of a project. The meeting officially marks the start of the project’s life so it is important that the project manager arrives prepared.
Project managers have the opportunity to use the project kickoff meeting as a great way to:
Get approval from the client and other stakeholders for certain parts of the project
Respectfully intimate team members about their roles during the project
Make sure everyone is on the same page to avoid miscommunications
Forecast any obstacles that could hinder the execution of the project.
Project Kickoff Checklist: The Secret Weapon of the Project Manager
A project manager who is successful will quickly admit that he/she has a lot of great tools. The project kickoff checklist is the top! A good party planner will tell you that you can’t throw a great party that is talked about all over the town without a plan.
They are well-known for using color-coded organizers that include every detail of the party. The same goes for project managers.
The color-coded organizer in project management is replaced by a sound project kickoff list. This helps the project manager stay organized and ensures that he covers every aspect of the kickoff meeting.
Everyone who attends the kickoff meeting should have a clear understanding of why they are there, and what they hope to get out of it.
What’s on the Kickoff Checklist?
1 – General Information
The basic information about the project is at the top of this list. This could include the name of the client, the name of the project manager, and the title. This is especially important if the project manager is managing more than one project at a time. Next, we need to know the date and the number of people attending the kickoff meeting.
2 – The All Important Contract
Unsigned contracts are not the same thing as signed contracts, as we all know. You don’t want to waste your time planning a kickoff, so make sure you have a signed contract before you hold the meeting. This includes vendor and third-party contracts.
3 – Clients Baseline Requirements
The client’s baseline requirements should be documented by the project manager from the beginning. This ensures that everyone understands the final goal at each stage of the project. You should also remember that clients may change their needs at any point in the project.
4 – The Project Plan
This document must be distributed to all participants in the project kickoff meeting at the latest 3 days before the meeting. This is so everyone can read it and have time to ask questions. This helps team members to understand their roles and helps them to locate themselves in the larger scheme of things.
5 – The Project Budget
This information should also be documented and distributed along with the project plan. This outlines how much should be spent on each component of the project. This post by entrepreneur.com offers some useful tips on how to keep your budget in check.
6 – The Project Schedule
Project management is all about setting milestones and timelines. Too much time is given to a task.
