#Project kickoff meeting how to#

What is a kickoff meeting?īefore getting into the agenda, you need to have a clear understanding of what a kickoff meeting is. Starting a project is exciting and fun, but it also requires some hard work and intentional planning. There are a few critical components that go into a successful project kickoff meeting. So, if done right, the project kickoff meeting can contribute enormously to the success of the project.Include these items and your project kickoff meeting is sure to be a success!Īre you starting a project and are wondering what exactly you need to put in your kickoff meeting agenda? There’s no doubt a project kickoff meeting can set the course and tone for the rest of the project.

#Project kickoff meeting how to#

To sum up, The purpose of a project kickoff meeting is to introduce the client, introduce the team, understand the project background, understand what needs to be done, understand what success looks like, clearly explain who does what, and agree on how to work together effectively.Ĭonducting kick-off meeting entails enormous benefits from getting the team members familiar with each other to getting all project stakeholders on the same page. It is a great opportunity to get the entire team, client, and other stakeholders on the same page and start on a positive note.It is a good opportunity to set the stakeholder expectations.It is a opportunity for the project manager to demonstrate his authority, organizational and leadership skills.Allows all important stakeholders to know about the key milestones, expectations, risks and other summary aspects of the project.Helps team members and other stakeholders to know what is expected of them.Helps team members to understand the project objectives.We can say that, in large projects Kick-off happens during Execution phase.Ĭomplex Multi-phase Projects – Typically there will be kick-off meeting at the start of each phase. In large projects, there will be separate project management teams to do the project planning, and the rest of the team is brought in after the planning is complete, and at the start of execution. In many cases it is done after the project management plan is approved and the project execution is about to start.

Large Projects – Kick-off meeting takes place after the completion of planning and before the start of project execution. So, the earlier the kick-off meeting the better, as the team has to work together in planning. For Small projects, usually a single team performs both planning and execution.

Small Project – Kick-off occurs shortly after initiation ( during the planning process). It may occur at different points depending on the project characteristics such as size, complexity etc. When Does Project Kick-off Meeting take place ? To establish positive relationship between the client and the project team.To gain the commitment of the project team.To clearly explain the roles and responsibilities of each and every stakeholder.To ensure that all the stakeholders are familiar with the details of the project by communicating them the objectives of the project.To ensure that everyone is familiar with their team members working on the project.Project Kick-off meeting is one of the first meetings of all the important stakeholders of the project such as Customer, Project Sponsor, Project Manager, Senior Management, and all the team members. Here, kick-off signifies the start of a match. In Project Management, Kick-off meeting is something similar. In football, a match starts with a player kicking the ball from the centre spot. Summary First, What is a Kickoff Meeting ?