project kickoff meeting presentation pdf

Guide to Project Kickoff Meeting [free presentation slides]

Editorial Team

The project life cycle involves several meetings with stakeholders and different parties. The main agendas revolve around issues related to the project, such as the project status, plans, deliverables, and possible changes.

All these meetings have their significance. However, one stands out-the kickoff meeting. In this article, we will look at what project kickoff meetings are, their purposes, when they take place, and any other information you may want to know.

What is a Project Kickoff Meeting?

The project kickoff meeting is the first meeting held by the project stakeholders when flagging a new project or unveiling a new phase. It is usually attended by high-level stakeholders such as the management, project sponsor, project manager, and a few team members.

The inclusion of the team members is to encourage the voicing of opinions. Project kickoff meetings can also occur within the project team and usually involves the project manager and the team members. When conducted between the project team, its primary essence is to allow the project managers to outline the common goals and encourage team building.

A kickoff meeting can act as a tool for motivating the team members to meet the project objectives . It prepares the team members and the client teams on expectations, communication, and project collaboration.

When Does a Project Kickoff Meeting Take Place?

The kickoff meeting takes place at different times in large and small projects. It usually occurs immediately after the initiation phase and is generally attended by all the project team members.

This is usually an opportunity for the team members to get to know each other since they will be meeting for the first time. Generally, smaller projects require only one kickoff meeting. Larger projects have a different approach.

Kickoff meetings for larger projects are normally conducted when the planning is complete and the project is on the verge of execution. Remember that most of these projects have several phases, which may call for kickoff meetings at the beginning of every stage.

Other situations also call for virtual kickoff meetings. If the project is spread across a large geographical area, it would be advisable for the team members to communicate over the internet to save time and money.

What is the Purpose of a Kickoff Meeting?

Every project kickoff meeting must have a purpose. This may differ from meeting to meeting depending on the unique needs of the given project and the project stakeholders. However, project meetings also have an overarching purpose: to set the pace for the project and lay down the framework.

The kickoff meeting plays a vital role in the project management lifecycle and the project initiation process. It gets the project off the ground and officially opens up the project work. The kickoff meeting also acts as a jumping off point for the project team and client team.

Other purposes include:

• Introducing Team Members

Most project team members will be meeting for the first time during the project kickoff meeting. It serves as an opportunity for the stakeholders and team members to interact and know about one another.

• It allows agreeing to work together efficiently.

The best way of agreeing on how to work on a project is through a joint session. Project kickoff meetings bring together project team members and other stakeholders, allowing them to decide how they will work together to realize given project objectives.

Such agreements ensure that once the project kicks off, it will move on efficiently, and any other hiccup can be solved. 

• Creating a mutual understanding

Project kickoff meetings help create a mutual understanding of what a successful project resembles, giving the project team members an idea of what to work for. Every project has its parameters of measuring success, which will be laid down during the meeting.

This meeting can also be used to create a shared understanding of the project background so that the stakeholders and team members deeply understand whatever they are working on. Knowing the project background can also act as a motivating factor.

It offers a chance to get the team, key stakeholders, and the project sponsors on the same page to efficiently execute the projects. It also serves as an opportunity for the agency tasked with delivering the project to get crucial information for the project’s success.

If there is a client involved, the project kickoff meeting can be a chance to instill confidence in the client and reassure them that they have made the best decision in choosing you and your project team. It works for different parties.

Closely related to the purpose of the project kickoff meeting are the objectives. Let’s take a look at these:

Project Kickoff Meeting Objectives

The objectives of the project kickoff meeting are dependent on the project. However, some cut across different projects. Here are some of the specific items that should be done in the project kickoff meeting:

• Agreeing on the project goals and purpose.

The project team members and stakeholders should have a sit-down and agree on the project’s goals and purposes. These should be clearly outlined to help all the parties involved understand what they are working towards.

• Setting groundwork for communication

During the meeting, the leader or project chairman should set the tone for clear communication and teamwork for the entire project duration. This will help in the efficient execution of the project objectives, allowing the team to meet the set timetable.

• Establishing roles and responsibilities

On normal occasions, the project kickoff meeting brings together the project team members for the first time. Therefore, no one should leave the conference without knowing the team’s roles and responsibilities. Everyone should know what is expected of him/ her during the onset of the project.

• Setting deadlines and deliverables

The meeting should be used to set the project timeline, deliverables, and the status update and frequency. Remember, these are things that must be decided on before the real work begins, and there is no better time to do that than during the project kickoff.

 However, it is worth noting that all these may shift during the progression of the project. Therefore, the kickoff meeting should help come up with a baseline for forward propulsion. During the meeting, parties should also discuss the detailed aspects of the project.

Some of the issues to cover include the methodology and the scope of the project. A successful meeting should set the pace and tone for the rest of the project. Therefore, leaders and organizers should ensure that it is done right since it can determine a given project’s success.

How to Conduct a Successful Project Kickoff Meeting

Now that you know the importance of the project kickoff meeting, you should always strive to get it right if you are the project manager or the organizer. The proceedings can either ensure that a given project will be successful or not.

On many occasions, large projects have both internal and external kickoff meetings. The former involves the team members and the management, with its main aim being creating an understanding of the project. The team members are prepared for meeting the client and prevented from making unnecessary inquiries.

The external kickoff meeting takes place once the internal one is done. Here, one gets to understand what is expected in a given project, clear any doubts they may be holding on to, and understand the project’s process.

These are the steps you can follow to conduct a successful kickoff meeting:

• Set the agenda

This is the first thing to consider when organizing such a meeting. The issues to be discussed should be decided on beforehand. While setting the agenda, be sure to include an introductory session. You should introduce the project, its objectives, milestones, assumptions, challenges, and have a question-answer session at the end of the presentation.

Also, ensure that you use presentations to explain your reasoning. The agenda should be sent to the attendees before the meeting is conducted for preparation and active contribution.

• Conducting the meeting

When conducting the meeting, you need to introduce yourself and ask the other attendees to do the same. Once everyone has talked, tender the agenda, explain the meeting objectives, and discuss what needs to be addressed in the meeting.

After that, you can explain the project, its objectives, a brief of the project, and every team member’s roles and responsibilities . You should also discuss the communication and reporting system to be used for the entire project duration. This can cover how to communicate with the stakeholders. Also, set the agenda to be discussed with the client and have a Q& A session.

While conducting the meeting, ensure that you explain the project charter and what it contains. Make sure that you set the expectations such as the leave procedures, work assignments, and even rotation.

Remember to discuss the critical stakeholders, their needs, and roles in the execution of the project. While on this, explain the communication and reporting system. You can specify the communication frequency and the report formats.

The final topic to cover during the meeting is the project. Explain the project to the attendees, its business needs, and why the client and the company need it. It would help if you invited the client when covering this part to make it more personal. However, make sure that the client knows in advance to prevent awkward moments.

You can also discuss any critical risks and challenges that the project may face once it is on track and how to overcome them.

• Close the meeting

A successful meeting does not end at the presentation part. The final piece, which is closing the meeting, should be done in a particular way. End the court meeting with a question-and-answer session and encourage the attendees to clear any doubt.

Also, thank the participants for coming and encourage them to reach out if they need any clarification on the project. Remember that you should prepare the meeting minutes when the meeting ends and send them to the participants and other members who could not attend the meeting.

Project Kickoff Meeting Agenda

One of the main reasons why most project kickoff meetings do not yield any success is that the organizers fail to get the agenda right. To help you come up with good agendas for your session, we have included a few notes for you:

• Introductions – The agenda should give each member time to introduce themselves and outline their role in the project. Also, remember to include a quick icebreaker to get everyone talking.
• Project Background : The agenda should include time for discussing how the project sits with the client’s high-level business strategy. This can also include any other relevant project.
• Briefing : This should be the third thing on your agenda. It should cover the project details, purpose, goals, and the problem that the project aims to address.
• Project success : This agenda deals with what makes a successful project, success measurements, key metrics, and other business parameters.
• Project management : This agenda deals with project management topics such as the plan, timelines, tasks and deliverables, methodology, risks, dependencies, reporting, and other information.
• Any other business : The AOB in the agenda deals with any different relevant topic that can be discussed. It would be best to allow the client’s team to talk about anything that they need to cover in the meeting.
• Next steps :  One of the agendas should be discussing the next steps and action items for the different teams and stakeholders.

The points to be discussed in the meeting should be clear enough and communicated before to save time and ensure project efficiency. The agenda should also be broken down to enhance easier understanding. Attendees should not ask for clarifications of the agenda.

Project Kickoff Meetings Best Practices

Here are some of the practices that will ensure that your project kickoff meeting is successful:

• Sticking to your agenda

An agenda is the most critical tool to keeping any meeting on track. It is more of a creative brief for creative projects. Therefore, to lead a successful discussion, ensure that you develop an agenda and stick to it.

The meeting serves as an opportunity to bring everyone together and on the same page about the project. It can be quite tempting to deviate and focus on trivial issues, which may eat into the meeting time, throwing everything off track.

Therefore, ensure that you stay high-level and ignore the trivial issues. The participants or project manager should stick to the meeting’s main goals, which are the what, why, how, and who. The ‘why’ is usually essential as it offers background information allowing everyone to understand why the project matters to the company at large.

• Define roles and responsibilities

One should explain how all the attendees fit into the project and what is expected from them to help everyone understand whatever they are working on. To ace, this, start by introducing everyone in the project and explain their contribution.

You can also tie the responsibilities to the project deliverables. Defining roles and responsibilities lets teams know who to approach whenever there is a problem, saving time for the project’s efficient execution.

• Ensure that you offer time for questions

The project kickoff meeting should be geared towards enhancing the understanding of the project. Attendees should, therefore, be allowed to seek clarifications on different aspects. The ultimate goal is to get everyone on the same page.

Therefore, project managers should take this time to clear any confusion or answer issues that need clarifications. However, the Q & A session must come at the end. Also, remember to encourage people not to ask questions that can be quickly addressed outside the group meeting to save time.

The questions asked should offer clarity for everyone in attendance. These can range from project goals, processes, and timelines.

• End the meeting with action items

The best way to have a productive meeting is to end it with clear action items. Everyone should leave the room with a clear idea of the next steps. Always strive to complete your session by pointing out given action items for every team and person in the project.

All the participants should come out of the meeting knowing exactly what to do and how to go about the next steps.

• Make a follow-up

Always make sure that you follow up with an email. It is understandable to expect people to take notes during the meeting, but the truth is, not everyone will. Therefore, as the project manager or organizer, you should ensure that you follow up with an email summarizing the proceedings and the necessary action items.

However, this does not mean that you should include all the nitty-gritty. Just cover the main things you feel the participants should have at the back of their minds. Making a follow-up will also give the participants a guide to refer to whenever the need arises.

A project kickoff is not a waste of time. It can ensure project success if done right. It offers a chance for parties to align their expectations and goals and lay down the framework for the project. Ensure that you implement the tips discussed in our article for a successful project kickoff meeting.  

Click  here  to download Project Kick-Off Meeting Presentation Slides Template.

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The Ultimate Guide to Kickoff Meetings

No meeting is more important when launching a project than the project kick-off meeting. That’s why you should get it right.

In this article we’ll go through all the steps. What a project kick-off is about and how to actually run a good kickoff meeting.

What is a project kickoff meeting?

• Why having a kickoff?
• Who attends a kickoff?
• How does a kickoff typically go?
• The typical agenda
• Preparing your slides
• Project kickoff template
• Tips from senior project managers

The project kickoff meeting is a meeting where the project team is introduced to a project right before it goes into execution. The host is usually the project manager. During the kick off, he will give an overview of the project goal, schedule, project organization, expectations towards team members and other critical information.

There’s usually a labor-intensive phase leading up to the kickoff. The customer, contractor and stakeholders have to find a common project goal. A project charter will be created which outlines the purpose and scope of the project. Then the project has to be properly planned, staffed and the budget has to be approved etc.

(For a complete list of steps to set up a project,  check out the  project kickoff checklist )

Only after all this work has been completed will the project kick off be scheduled.

You can think of a kickoff like of a pre-flight briefing that pilots will do with the crew before they embark on a flight.

Why having a project kickoff?

A project can only be successful if all participants have a common understanding of the project’s purpose, timeline, organization and their responsibilities. The kickoff is the event where all this information is shared with all project team members. It also gives people the opportunity to have their questions answered.

That’s why a kickoff meeting is super important.

Pooja, a program manager from Delhi summarized the value of kickoffs very well:

The kickoff meeting process and agenda ensure everyone is engaged, understands the project goals, scope, and risks, and actively takes responsibility for their roles. There is agreement upon a well defined scope and it helps everyone involved in the project alignement to a goal.

So, a kickoff is much more than just showing a few slides. It’s about creating motivation within the team and getting everyone to take over responsibility.

Skipping the kickoff because you think it’s not necessary will get you into trouble further on. You will find yourself in discussions with people who don’t want to do what you expect them to do.

You will face resistance from team members because they feel having been run over. And within weeks your wonderful project plan will fall apart. Just like a castle built on sand.

Who attends the project kickoff?

The following people should attend the kickoff:

• project manager
• project team
• key stakeholders
• management from both customer (sponsor) and contractor. By contractor I’m referring to the party that is hired to do the actual project work.

No need to explain why the project manager should attend. He’s the one who leads through the meeting. Then there’s the project team, which are staff members who are doing the actual project work. Key stakeholders could be representatives from areas or departments that are either strongly impacted by the project or whose expertise has major influence on the project’s success

(If you are not sure how to find out who your stakeholders are, I strongly encourage you to read my article on stakeholder analysis ).

Examples of important stakeholders could be Legal if your project touches legal issues. It could also be Purchasing in case you’re buying expensive goods as part of the project. It could also be HR if the project has major influence on employees, e.g. if time tracking is introduced.

Next, let’s explore how a kickoff is conducted in the real world.

How does a kickoff meeting typically go?

The cycle of a project kickoff including preparation and the meeting itself can span across several weeks or even months. It all depends on the size of the project.

Here’s the process for preparing and running a kick off:

• Scheduling the meeting – usually several weeks or even months in advance
• Preparing the meeting – creating the slides
• Conducting the meeting  – you are the showmaster
• After the meeting – sharing the presentation with your audience

Schedule the meeting

Large meetings with many participants are always hard to schedule. There are always scheduling conflicts because people have so much on their calendar. That’s why I always schedule the kickoff meeting way ahread of time, like months in advance. This way I can block a slot in everybody’s calendar and I can reserve a suitably sized conference room.

Sent out the meeting invite several weeks or even months before the kickoff date.

All you need to do is send out an Outlook invite with some text like:

‘Hi all, this is the invitation to our project kickoff meeting. Please block this time on your calendar. Attendance is mandatory. The agenda will follow. Regards, John (project manager)’ .

How long should the kick off be? Normally a kick off takes between 1.5 and 2 hours. This number may vary depending on the size of the project and the need for discussions at the end.

What if some folks decline your meeting invitation? Well, you have to accept that some people just don’t have time. They may either be traveling or on vacation. If people have a strong reason why they can’t join, I will schedule a separate mini-kickoff with them to go through the agenda. I want to make sure they still get the same information as the rest of the team.

Video: How to use the Outlook Scheduling Assistant

The Scheduling Assistant   helps you find a time slot that works for most people.

Prepare the meeting

Before you can prepare the kickoff, you need to have your project properly planned and documented. Specifically, you need to have an agreed project goal, a presentable project timeline and a chart showing the project organization.

If you don’t have those documents ready, finish this step first. For many of these documents you’ll find templates on the Internet. Also read my article on defining a project goal . For the timeline, download this project plan template .

Once you got the basic documents complete, it’s time to create the agenda:

The kickoff agenda

Every kickoff has more or less the same agenda. Here’s a good template:

• Introduction – introduce yourself and the team (15 mins)
• Project goal and background  – why was the project started? (20 mins)
• Project scope – what are you going to deliver? (20 mins)
• Project organization – who is going to be involved? (10 mins)
• Timeline – explain your approach on the timeline (20 mins)
• Roles and responsibilities – what are the roles and duties of the team members? (20 mins)
• Teamwork and organizational topics – how is the team going to work together? (10 mins)
• Next steps – what are the next activities on the timeline? (10 mins)
• Q & A – answer questions of the attendees (15 mins)

Preparing the PowerPoint presentation

Next, you have to prepare the PowerPoint slides using the agenda as a basis. I can’t tell you exactly how may slides you should include for each agenda point. Be careful with not overloading people with too much information. Better keep your slides concise and simple without going too much into the details.

People mainly want to know how the project impacts their work, what they have to do, when they are going to be involved, whether they can take their summer vacation etc. On the other hand you want to convey as clearly as possible what you expect from the team. So, create your content around those topics and you will do pretty well.

Here are some tips on what to cover in each section:

1) Project goal and background

Explain why the project was initiated and what it’s supposed to deliver. You may have to dive a bit into history and give context so that people fully understand the project goal. Here are some topics worth talking about, depending on your project:

Organization and business model:  Not everybody will be familiar with the organization and its business model. So it’s interesting for people to hear where the company is coming from, where it has offices, what its customers are and how it is making money.

Project history: Explain what attempts were made in the past to tackle the issue your project is concerned with. Learning from past failures is always helpful. And it’s probably a good idea to clarify what you’re doing differently to avoid project failure  🙂

Urgency: A common objection to projects is: Why do we have to do this now? Why can’t this project wait til next year? Share the reasons why postponing is not an option and why it has to be done now when everybody is so busy.

Project goal:  Of course you need to talk about the actual goal. What does the company expect from this project? And what other objectives does the sponsor hope to achieve as a side effect: financial objectives, sales goals, cost savings and more.

2) Project scope

Next you should talk about the project’s scope.

Project scope is the sum of things a project is going to take care of. This includes project-related tasks (e.g. write a piece of software), specific deliverables (e.g. a training plan) and defined outcomes (e.g. all staff is trained).

For the purpose of a kickoff meeting, you only need to give a high-level overview of the scope. This can be one or two slides with five bullet points each. How do you know what to write about? Think of the major parts your project is delivering. In a construction project this would be setting up a building, doing the plumbing and electrical wiring and so on. This would be the scope. Similarly you list the key scope in the kickoff slides.

At the same time you should list those things that are not in scope. Maybe you set up the building but the client wants to do the flooring and tiling by himself. Or you leave out the lighting setup. So, that would be ‘ out of scope ‘, as we say in project management. The reason why you should mention what is not in scope is you don’t want people to have wrong expectations. This will only backfire later on when somebody asks you ‘ Why isn’t the lighting installed?’ and you say ‘Oh, didn’t we agree this was not in scope?’ .

3) Project organization

In this section you give people an overview of the project team. Who is involved? What departments are on board? Who’s overseeing the project from a management level? These are the kinds of question people have. In the end, people want to know who they have to contact regarding a specific issue. The organizational overview provides the answer.

This can be one slide that shows the project org chart:

Like this template? Click here to see all templates

Generally org charts are a bit more complex than this one, but you get the idea.

4) Timeline

This is the slide that people care about most. Why? First, it gives an idea about how intense the work is going to be. The more work is squeezed into the timeline, the higher the workload. Second, people are keen to see the timeline because they get an idea of how the project impacts their professional and personal schedule.

Some people have planned a long summer vacation. And now your project jeopardizes their plans. Or maybe they have planned business trips and therefore won’t be available to full extent.

Go through the timeline from now til the end and explain the major activities and how they tie together. Also mention any special circumstances that were taken into consideration for the planning. These could be parallel projects, resource gaps, weather conditions or other external factors.

5) Roles and responsibilities

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT set of slides in your whole presentation. Let me explain why.

Here you tell people what you expect from them. What kind of work they have to do, but also how they’re supposed to work together as a team. If this point does not come across and does not fully settle in the minds of your team members, then you will face issues with delegation. People won’t be clear about where their responsibility begins and where it ends. They won’t know what team they have to work with etc. And in the end you’ll be the one sorting out the issues.

That’s why you should take as much time as needed to go through roles and responsibilities. I have a separate article about project roles and responsibilities  in case you don’t know what I’m talking about.

6) Teamwork and organizational topics

On this slide you talk about the modalities of collaboration of the project team. This includes the meeting structure, that is  how often the team is going to meet both onsite or remotely. In the same context, people may want to know whether they have to come to the office every day or if they can work from home.

Other stuff worth mentioning is where people can find and store  project documentation (e.g. in a shared drive), files they have to maintain such as an availability overview and so on. Also, if the project involves traveling, you may want to talk about upcoming business trips and travel regulations or visa requirements.

7) Next steps

The final slide in your project kickoff presentation should highlight the next steps: What are we working starting tomorrow or next week. This is good because that way you can keep the momentum that comes with launching a new project. At the start everybody is still motivated and you want to use this energy to get the first work done. Just have one slide with maybe 4 or 5 bullet points indicating what the team is working on next.

The actual meeting

It’s the big day! You may be a bit nervous before the kickoff but that’s totally normal. Make sure you check if the conference room is ready so you can start the meeting right away. Check if the A/V equipment and beamer are working fine. If you have people joining by phone, dial in a few minutes before to see if the connection is working.

Once you start the meeting, don’t jump right into the hard facts. Instead, give people a warm welcome and tell a funny story or a joke. You want people to relax and open up so that the kickoff becomes a positive and exciting experience for them.

Then, for the next 1 to 1.5 hours all you do is go through the slides. Present your information in an engaging way and always keep eye contact with your audience. You want to see if people are still with you or if you’ve lost them. Make pauses and ask ‘Are there any questions so far?’  You are presenting super important information, so you want to make sure everybody understands what you have to say.

The thing is, people are reluctant to ask questions or state their concerns in a group setting. They are afraid of looking stupid and skip their questions even though something might be unclear. Keep that in mind. What I do is say things like ‘It’s very important that you understand this, so just ask if anything is unclear. I’m happy to answer all your questions.’

Towards the end of the meeting, you start the Q & A session. This is where the team can ask whatever questions they have. It can take anywhere from 10 minutes to one hour. And it’s important to give people this opportunity, because it creates trust and you get the buy-in that’s vital for a successful project.

When there are no more questions you close the meeting. Thank everyone for attending and express your gratitude of working with such a great, high-performing team.

That’s it. Congratulations on your first kickoff!

After the kickoff

There are also a couple of things you need to take care of after the meeting. If you’ve had somebody write the minutes (which is good but not really needed for a kickoff), you need to check those before sending them out. The other, more important step is to share the meeting presentation with all attendees — and also with the people who could not attend.

I also make a comment in my email that anyone who’s got questions should contact me. As I wrote before, people generally feel uncomfortable asking questions in a group. So you can clarify their concerns or questions in a separate 1:1 meeting afterwards.

How to Make Your Kickoff a Success? Watch My Five Top Tips

Project Kickoff Template

You don’t need to create your slides from scratch. I have a simple template for you which you can download here in PPT format. It already has the agenda structure I’ve used in this article! Check out my project kickoff template .

Learn from the best! These senior project managers share their best tips on running project kickoffs

Megan o’malley, senior project manager (pmp) from ohio.

If you surprise people [with your project], they get defensive and feel blind-sided, which is not good.

Being as confident as possible will help keep you on task to lead the team.

Guy Coulson, senior project manager from South Africa

If you let people decide what or how they want something, it often brings better results than dictating how it must happen.

Roy Macaraig – Project Manager Digital Transformation

Do you have any further questions.

Do you have a question?

Have a question about this article? Need some assistance with this topic (or anything else)?  Send it in and I’ll get back to you soon. 

Hi! I’m Adrian, founder of Tactical Project Manager and Ex-Project Manager with over ten years of experience in project management. Led large-scale IT implementations and business projects. I started Tactical Project Manager to offer you a straightforward and pragmatic approach to project management, enabling you to lead any project with confidence.

Essential Project Kickoff Guide with Starter Kit

By Kate Eby | August 27, 2021 (updated October 31, 2022)

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Project kickoff meetings are vital for setting a project’s tone and expectations for clients and project teams. We’ve rounded up expert tips and the top templates, and compiled a project kickoff starter kit to help you plan your meeting.

On this page, you’ll find information on what to include in a project kickoff , how to plan an agenda , a step-by-step guide to running a project kickoff , and a project kickoff starter kit .

What Is a Project Kickoff?

A project kickoff meeting is the first meeting between the project team and the client, when you establish expectations, communication, and goals. The meeting allows both parties to define the project's purpose and what they consider a success. 

Additionally, the investor gains insight into how the money will be spent and why this project is beneficial

Purpose of a Project Kickoff Meeting

The purpose of a project kickoff meeting will depend on who is involved. An internal project kickoff meeting reviews the purpose and goals of the project, while a project kickoff meeting for stakeholders and clients enables both parties to share their perspective on project background and purpose, as well as establish a working relationship with the project team. A project kickoff meeting can also benefit Agile teams when they take on a new project or when you onboard a new team member, as it ensures that everyone is on the same page.

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What Should a Project Kickoff Meeting Include?

A project kickoff meeting should include the following:

• Introductions: Let everyone announce themselves and the role they will have in the project.
• Agenda: Reiterate the plan for the meeting, with items for discussion and time delegation.
• Executive Summary: Review the background and overall purpose of the project.
• Project Scope: Review the statement of work (SOW), goals, timeline, budget, and constraints.
• Deliverables: Define the material goals of the project or the items sent to the client.
• Define Success: Align the client and project team’s vision to ensure all parties have an understanding of the metrics for success.
• Questions: Allow ample time for questions from both parties.
• Provide Communication Channels: Give the client a point of contact, and tell the project team how they will be in communication with one another.
• Next Steps: Review any follow-up actions needed after the conclusion of the meeting.

What Is a Project Kickoff Presentation?

A project kickoff presentation is a document presenting the agenda or topics covered in the meeting. The presentation provides a visual aid for attendees and guidance for the presenter. It also helps advance the meeting and keep discussions on topic. 

A well-prepared presentation can leave a lasting impression on the client and investors, ensuring professionalism and confidence.

How Do You Introduce Yourself in a Project Kickoff Meeting?

A project kickoff meeting should start with introductions for all attendees. State your name and your role in the project, along with a small personal fact or highlight. This allows everyone to get to know each other and find commonalities. 

When addressing the group, be conscious of your body language and how you present yourself. By keeping your arms open and out to your sides while speaking and making eye contact with people, you show that you are open, listening, and engaged. Practice your introduction before the meeting — this helps ensure that you come across as confident and excited for your role in the project.

What Is Discussed in a Project Kickoff Meeting?

Hassan Osman , project manager and author of Project Kickoff: How to Run a Successful Project Kickoff Meeting in Easy Steps , shares what he feels are the most important topics to discuss in a project kickoff meeting.

According to Osman, an effective project kickoff meeting should fulfill the following three goals:

• Inform everyone of the project goals.
• Introduce stakeholders to each other so that they’re aware of everyone’s roles and responsibilities.
• Generate enthusiasm among the team members, and motivate everyone to get started on the project.

When to Plan the Kickoff Meeting

A kickoff meeting typically occurs at the beginning of the project lifecycle , before any project work begins.

How to Plan for a Project Kickoff Meeting

When planning for your kickoff meeting, it is essential to address the following questions:

• How long should the meeting be?
• Who should attend?
• What should be discussed?
• Where should it be held?
• What documents should you print?

It is also important to consider the best time for all parties involved to attend. You can do this by creating a poll for attendees to respond to or by sending out an email invite that allows attendees to suggest alternative times, if needed. Once you solidify a meeting date, send out a project kickoff announcement email to all attendees.

Project Kickoff Meeting Agenda

A meeting agenda provides an outline of the proposed meeting schedule. Meeting agendas help you keep the meeting on track and ensure the team discusses all necessary topics. When creating your meeting agenda, here are some items to consider:

• How much time do you have for the meeting?
• What do you need to communicate with the client?
• What do you need to communicate with the team?
• Who is responsible for talking about each item?
• How much time should you allot for each item?
• Do you need to answer any questions at the meeting?
• What is the intended outcome of this project?
• What resources do you need?
• Have we done similar projects before? If so, what did we learn from them?

It is also important to consider how the agenda may differ when holding kickoff meetings with your team, stakeholders, or a client. 

“The agenda is fairly similar across the different types of kickoff meetings, in the sense that the objectives are the same,” says Osman. “However, if you are conducting a kickoff meeting for a client, then the internal kickoff meeting is a bit different from an external kickoff meeting. 

“Think of the internal kickoff meeting as a dry run of the external kickoff meeting, in which you review the presentation and ensure that your team is all on the same page before the external meeting. [An internal meeting] also helps the presenters practice delivering the meeting ahead of time with a real audience and make any changes to the agenda (if needed).”

Step by Step: How to Run an Internal Project Kickoff Meeting

An internal project kickoff meeting is essential to make sure the entire project team is familiar with the project and prepared to meet with the client. Here are some helpful steps to running a successful internal project kickoff meeting:

• Introductions: Have everyone introduce themselves and their role in the project. Allowing the team to get to know each other will help create camaraderie and excitement for the project. Introductions are also a great chance to try some icebreaker games.
• Discuss the Client’s Background, Stakeholders, and Problems: Familiarize the team with the client and the problem(s) they face so that they can better understand the client’s needs.
• Discuss Project Purpose: Review the project’s purpose; this helps the team orient themselves and prepare to develop strategic solutions.
• Discuss Proposed Solutions: Discussing solutions internally will help the team prepare and present the best solution to the client. Kickstart this session with a brainstorming activity to come up with creative and strategic solutions. This is also an excellent time for mind mapping or storyboarding.
• Review Project Scope: The project scope is a vital part of the kickoff meeting, and should include a statement of work , goals, project timeline, budget, any constraints, and the completion date.
• Review Action Plan: The action plan should cover task management, how the team tracks milestones, and the work management program that the team will use.
• Discuss Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies (RAID): Communicate with the team about how you plan to address any issues that may arise. Doing so is vital for mitigating risks that may prevent the team from meeting the project deadline, budget, or goals.
• Review Collaboration and Communication Tools: Establish which communication tools your team will use to communicate with one another and stay informed of the project’s progress.
• Discuss Reporting: Discuss how each team will track their milestones and report on their progress.
• Client Kickoff Agenda: Begin the discussion of which items should be on the meeting agenda. The focus should be on topics that need to be reviewed or clarified with the client.
• Questions: At this time, have the team voice any questions or concerns before meeting with the client.

Download a Project Kickoff Template Starter Kit

Get everything you need for a project kickoff meeting in our project kickoff starter kit, which includes a project kickoff announcement, agenda, timeline, meeting checklist, meeting minutes, and presentation template in one easy-to-download file.

Download Project Kickoff Starter Kit

Project Kickoff Announcement Template

The project kickoff announcement email offers an important first impression for all meeting attendees. Use this template to send a formal and polished announcement with all the information attendees will need.

Download Kickoff Announcement Email Template - Microsoft Word

Project Kickoff Agenda Template

Use this template to create a meeting agenda. The template includes a section for each proposed agenda item and an accompanying time allotment. Some example agenda items include introductions, project background, benefits and goals, project scope, roles and responsibilities, project schedule, communications plan, issue management, regulations and client requirements, questions, and next steps.

Download Kickoff Agenda Template

Microsoft Word | Google Doc | Smartsheet

Kickoff Project Timeline Template

The project timeline is a crucial component of the kickoff meeting. Use the template to create a project timeline to help the team stay organized and easily track progress, events, and milestones.

Download Kickoff Project Timeline Template

Microsoft Excel  | Smartsheet

Project Kickoff Meeting Checklist Template

When you have a simplified list of tasks to complete, meeting preparation can be less daunting. Use this template to check off each task as you complete it.

Download Kickoff Meeting Checklist Template

Project Kickoff Meeting Minutes Template

Use this template to track what you discuss in the meeting, and write clear, brief notes under each outlined topic. Organized meeting minutes will help you recall the small details so you can focus on the big picture.

Download Kickoff Meeting Minutes Template

Microsoft Word | Smartsheet

Project Kickoff Presentation Template

Use this kickoff presentation template to create a slide deck that will set you up for success and enable you to present with confidence. This template includes slides for contents, project overview, approach and methodology, roles and responsibilities, project timeline, communication requirements, and risk management.

Download Kickoff Presentation Template - Microsoft PowerPoint

You can download a variety of free project kickoff templates by visiting our template roundup page .

What to Do After a Project Kickoff Meeting

After a project kickoff meeting, share the results with the team and schedule follow-up tasks. These tasks may include distributing notes, reaching out to the client, and scheduling a meeting with the project team.

After reviewing your notes from the project kickoff, do the following:

• Share meeting notes or a summary with all attendees.
• Send a follow-up email to the client and invite additional questions or concerns.
• Schedule an internal follow-up meeting to further discuss the meeting and project with the team.

Expert Tips for Successful Kickoff Meetings

A successful kickoff meeting will look different depending on the project, team, and client. However, you can take key steps to put your team on the track to success. Here are some expert tips on agenda keeping, note taking, communicating, and presenting:

• Keep the meeting brief, using a time limit and focused agenda. By allotting times for each agenda topic, you can help keep the discussion on track. Sticking to the time limits will ensure your meeting is brief, which helps maintain engagement and excitement. Agenda items that need more time or require more details should be discussed further in a follow-up meeting.
• Establish clarity and excitement with both the client and the project team. Presenting each agenda item and allowing both the project team and client to share their thoughts will ensure everyone is on the same page and clear on the expectations. Convey excitement with open body language, enthusiasm, and confidence. The client should have time to express their vision and why they are excited about the project, and the project team should express their excitement about their role in bringing that vision to realization.
• Date and time of the meeting
• Names of the meeting participants and absentees
• Any additions to the current agenda
• Actions taken or agreed to be taken
• Any open discussion or participation for each agenda item
• Are there any questions before we move on?
• Any thoughts before we move on?
• Does anyone have an idea they would like to share?
• Any questions, concerns, or comments?
• We would love your input.
• We appreciate any ideas or suggestions on this topic.
• Produce a communication plan for your team. Outline how often and on what platforms communication will occur with the client, both internally and externally. Implementing a system that creates an efficient workflow among teams is important to make communication accessible and optimized. A project initiation template is useful for keeping all team members and stakeholders looped into the project’s current status.
• “Be well prepared and practice delivering your presentation ahead of time, because your kickoff meeting is your main chance at leaving a positive first impression,” says Osman.
• If you can, host the kickoff meeting on your turf, so you have better control of the client’s experience and familiarity with the presentation equipment. If you are presenting in a new environment, take the time to scope it out beforehand. Note what you will need and practice using any equipment involved.

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10 Project Kickoff Templates for Meetings in Docs & PPT

Praburam Srinivasan

Growth Marketing Manager

April 3, 2024

There are times in life and business when making a decision without a second thought is the best course of action. Still, when it comes to projects, starting with a strong foundation often leads to better outcomes. Project kickoff meetings with other project-related discussions offer significant advantages to your team as they establish the framework for the project timeline and goals.

Stay with us as we examine the crucial elements of the top 10 project kickoff templates and show you how to use their potential. These templates will come in handy for laying the bedrock for success throughout different project phases. 🚀

What is a Project Kickoff Template?

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A project kickoff template provides project managers and their teams a structured framework that fosters alignment and clarity during and after a project launch. By incorporating several important elements, this tool plays a pivotal role in supporting seamless processes, including:

• Defining expectations : It establishes a clear understanding of project goals , scope, and success criteria from the get-go, preventing misunderstandings and misalignments down the road
• Outlining crucial steps : Within the template, a well-structured roadmap delineates the sequential steps and phases of the project. It offers a strategic perspective, ensuring that tasks are organized logically and in alignment with the project’s overarching vision
• Identifying task owners : The template simplifies the assignment of specific tasks to respective team members, ensuring that ownership is clearly established

A good project kickoff template should encapsulate essential information, establish clear expectations, and foster effective communication among team members. Here are key features to look for:

• Clear objectives and scope : Outlining the project’s objectives and parameters allows team members to share a common understanding
• Roles and responsibilities : Determining clear roles and responsibilities before the project begins ensures accountability and eliminates confusion regarding who is in charge of each task
• Project timeline : Including significant checkpoints and due dates offers a visual map that helps the team monitor project development and adhere to the schedule
• Communication plan : Setting steady communication channels for prompt updates, involving all stakeholders promotes smooth information flow and collaboration
• Risk assessment and mitigation : Identifying potential risks and mitigation strategies prepares the team for challenges and enables proactive problem-solving

10 Project Kickoff Templates to Use in 2024

You are prepared to begin a new project, and now is the time to meet with your team to discuss how to carry it out effectively. All participants should leave the project kickoff meeting with a clear understanding of the project’s scope and the deliverables required for its successful completion. So, you need a project kickoff template to ensure the initial session is productive.

With so many options on the market, how do you choose the right one? Check out our recommendations for the best templates to launch your project successfully! 🔝

Any project’s success depends on the success of the kickoff meeting. It provides a framework for setting expectations, discussing roles, assigning tasks, and understanding project schedules. The importance of these meetings highlights the need for effective tools to prepare for the session. ClickUp’s Project Kickoff Template does exactly that by speeding up the planning process. 

This template helps you organize and manage important project meetings . It includes custom statuses, fields, and views for better tracking. With features like comment reactions, nested subtasks, and multiple assignees, you’ll have more flexibility and control over how you manage your project meetings.

With the help of this template, you can:

• Precisely convey project objectives 
• Define attainable goals and timelines
• Maintain methodical planning and alignment throughout the project’s lifecycle ♻️

By using this template, you can easily assign roles and responsibilities to team members and clearly state the project’s objectives and goals to foster a shared vision. You can then carefully document important decisions and action items , keeping a methodically organized and forward-moving project direction. This comprehensive integration of crucial elements opens a clear path to success, enhancing the efficacy of your project management initiatives.

Crafting an adept project implementation plan helps define the project scope, establish precise timelines, outline deliverables, and more. ClickUp’s Project Implementation Plan Template makes it easier to monitor a project’s development with Custom Statuses , Custom Fields , Custom Views , and Project Management . 

Using this template, you can seamlessly devise a comprehensive scheme that spans from project initiation to its culmination. Visualizing essential tasks, deadlines, and interdependencies becomes effortless within this singular, organized hub. The transparency enables real-time monitoring of progress and resource adaptation for a seamless execution process. ⏳

In order to guarantee the project’s timely completion, this template assists in supervising essential elements like resource allocation, budget planning, and timeline coordination. Consider these six steps to create a strong project implementation plan with this ClickUp template :

• Collaborate on creating a shared Doc in ClickUp to ensure the team’s understanding of project goals
• Use the Gantt Chart feature to visually outline the project’s timeline and track progress
• Assign tasks using ClickUp to ensure team members understand their responsibilities
• Leverage ClickUp’s custom fields to input and oversee budget details and expenditures
• Strategize against potential risks and devise preparatory measures using Board View
• Facilitate progress check-ins and stay within the timeline by configuring recurring tasks in ClickUp

It can be difficult to navigate the complexities of project planning, and the solution lies in a seamlessly adaptable template that streamlines the process, fostering efficiency and transparency. ClickUp’s Example Project Plan Template combines all essential planning elements in a single platform . 

You can create detailed plans with intuitive visual aids that improve overall comprehension, effectively arrange tasks, encourage smooth communication across multifaceted teams, and track progress against predetermined objectives, ensuring the project gets completed on schedule.

With this template, creating a clear timetable becomes a breeze. You can map out tasks and important milestones with ease, ensuring your project stays on track. The template also helps you identify task relationships so you can plan more effectively and avoid disruptions . Once you share this detailed plan with your team, it brings everyone on the same page, promoting agreement and better understanding among team members. 👥

Whether a small project or a big venture, ClickUp’s High-Level Project Plan Template makes planning and managing any enterprise easier, regardless of its scope or complexity.

It lets you:

• Create a big-picture view of your project
• Organize tasks and deadlines for each project phase
• Set clear goals for your team at every stage 🎯

Using this template entails fantastic perks: 

• You’ll get a clear view of your project’s progress
• It helps you plan ahead with a straightforward timeline
• Everyone works better together because the responsibilities and assignments are visible to all team members
• You can set achievable goals that keep your team motivated and on track
• Keeping track of project progress and indicating task statuses like Deployed , In Progress , and To Do 
• You can use five custom characteristics, including Copy Stage , Approver , Project Team , Completion , and Design Stage, to preserve important project information and see progress
• Five distinct views in various ClickUp configurations, such as the Deliverables List , Copywriter Board , Graphic Designer Board , Timeline , and Getting Started Guide , make all the information accessible and arranged

Project templates are invaluable for saving time and resources during planning . They provide a structured foundation, ensuring all vital steps are incorporated into the plan and fostering clear communication among team members and stakeholders. 

This approach empowers teams to focus on the core project intricacies. ClickUp Planning a Project Template is your ally in streamlining project management . It guides you through each project stage, enabling you to grasp the project core, tailor plans to your needs, organize tasks effectively, and align team members for seamless execution.

Let’s see how you can make the most of this template:

• Use the Project Schedule View to plan when tasks should be done
• Assign tasks in the Team Members View and track progress
• Visualize the progress with the Status Board View
• Stay organized using the Task List View for tracking
• Access the Getting Started Guide View for help
• Sort tasks into statuses ( Complete, Stuck, To Do, In Progress ) for monitoring
• Keep stakeholders updated by changing statuses as tasks move forward
• Monitor and analyze tasks for maximum productivity 🔍

Meetings hold the potential to boost collaboration and productivity, yet without a clear plan, they can become a waste of time. ClickUp’s Meeting Agenda Template steps in as your meeting ally, ensuring that every gathering is purposeful and efficient. This template helps you:

• Outline meeting topics, objectives, and goals
• Break down tasks and action items for clarity
• Assign responsibilities to team members

The beauty of it lies in its versatility. It’s suitable for any type of meeting or event.

ClickUp’s Meeting Agenda Template ensures that every discussion topic is given proper attention, leaving no subject overlooked. It provides participants with a thorough overview of the meeting’s key points , assisting in effective preparation. The meeting also gets a sense of structure and order, which significantly increases its overall effectiveness.

Most importantly, an agenda template promotes active participation from all attendees , leading to more interesting and fruitful discussions. ✨

The main objective of project, resource, and operations managers is to ensure that projects follow schedules and produce successful results. No matter how carefully a project is planned, timely completion with positive results can be challenging.

ClickUp’s Project Deliverables Template defines project phases and milestones comprehensively to offer a clear picture of each team member’s role and set attainable deadlines. Each deliverable, whether a task, product, or service, gets its timeline, associated responsibilities, and anticipated outcomes. The template extends its value to encompass budget allocation , essential milestones, and a contingency strategy should challenges arise.

Having these components at your disposal empowers you to ensure accountability in your team, enabling meeting deadlines and achieving successful outcomes.

The Project Deliverables Template elevates project management by aligning expectations, managing resources, and steering projects in the right direction . 🏆

When it comes to efficient project management, having a well-crafted Statement of Work (SOW) is a game-changer. The SOW outlines project goals, timelines, and deliverables, creating a shared understanding between your company and clients or contractors. 

ClickUp’s Statement of Work Template helps you effortlessly create a comprehensive SOW , define project specifics with precision, and keep all stakeholders aligned throughout the project journey.

The project’s scope and each participant’s role are clearly laid out, setting realistic expectations. It also determines a clear timeline regarding the completion, which helps with planning. By making responsibilities clear from the beginning, you can avoid misunderstandings among team members. Most importantly, it helps lower the chances of things going off track or not getting done right, which makes the whole project more likely to succeed.

You can take advantage of this template by:

• Creating tasks and assigning them to team members
• Using Goals to gauge and monitor progress toward objectives
• Employing the Gantt Chart to craft deliverable timelines, ensuring punctual completion
• Leveraging Milestones for tracking progress and setting payment deadlines 🚩

With ClickUp’s Statement of Work Template, you can ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and with the desired outcomes.

The comprehensive PowerPoint Project Kickoff Meeting Agenda Template by SlideTeam is a robust collection of 23 slides designed to facilitate the initiation of new projects . The deck encompasses vital elements such as project description and scope, core team details, project management team composition, rapid communication plan (RACI), project management cycle, work breakdown structure, project cost estimate, Gantt chart , communication plan, and tracking plan, among others.

This template empowers users to effortlessly build a presentation that covers all aspects of launching a new project. Its versatile nature allows easy customization of every element, ensuring presentations can be customized quickly to specific project requirements.

The template expands its usefulness to project agenda presentations , making it easier to communicate the project core, methodology, and organizational structure. It helps in outlining milestones, the project’s history, its business requirements, and its importance to stakeholders and the company. 💼

Essentially, this template acts as a complete toolkit for project managers and teams , enabling them to clearly communicate project details, involve stakeholders, and prepare for productive meetings. 

If you want to streamline your corporate planning efforts, the PowerPoint Corporate Project Kickoff Template by SlideTeam can help you with it. This presentation template comes with two pre-designed slides that seamlessly integrate into any presentation format, allowing you to make the most of your valuable time. The pre-made slides are a simple way to organize the agenda for your project kickoff meeting.

With this template, you can effortlessly polish your presentation, engage your audience, and ensure a successful corporate planning kickoff. This presentation covers all key components of a project kickoff meeting agenda designed for corporate planning.

It seamlessly opens in PowerPoint , offering you the flexibility to tailor it to your exact requirements. Easily eliminate any unnecessary text and replace it with your desired content. Modify colors and adjust layouts in a few clicks. 🙌

Your Project Kickoff Toolkit for Seamless Starts

Planning complex projects requires thorough preparation and close collaboration with your team members and clients. These templates provide the complete toolkit for team leaders organizing a project launch or kickoff meeting. By leveraging these tools, you can set clear objectives, boost effective teamwork, and reach positive results, regardless of your project’s scope and demands. 💫

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The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Project Kickoff Meeting

One of the best ways to do this is with the DACI framework. For each major milestone or portion of the project (i.e. planning, wireframes, design, testing, etc…) assign people into four categories:

• Driver: This is the person responsible for moving the project forward (most likely the project manager or team lead).
• Approver: This is the person or group responsible for making key decisions.
• Contributors: These people offer input and opinions during parts of the project but don’t control the final outcome.
• Informed: Lastly is anyone who needs to be informed of the status of the project/task (such as a stakeholder).

Here’s an example of how you might communicate this to your team (as well as clients and stakeholders):

Run an internal team meeting before meeting with clients or stakeholders

Finally, a team kickoff meeting should take place before you meet with stakeholders or clients. This way, you have time to work out the kinks, hear any concerns from your team (which you can work into your pitch), and get everyone on your team ready to move forward.

If you’re running this meeting before starting an external project, you can include a few other client-specific elements, such as:

• Reporting: How are you going to track progress and communicate it to the client (and when)?
• Approval process: Who has the final say on each section of the project and how will you go through that process?
• Collaboration: How will you work with people at the client’s company? What collaboration tools will you use?
• Assets: What do you need from them to get started?

2. Sponsor kickoff meeting agenda: Getting buy-in from your project stakeholders

Depending on the size of your team, company, and project, you might want to run a separate kickoff meeting with your main sponsor and any project stakeholders . This is an opportunity to get buy-in and set expectations around communication and success metrics.

Rather than focusing on the scope and potential issues like you did with your team, this kickoff meeting should focus on the high-level vision, communication plan, and company-level risks and issues.

Sample of a sponsor or stakeholder kickoff meeting agenda

You’re probably sick of hearing it, but context is key. At this point, your team should be briefed and ready to start but your stakeholders might need a bit more handholding. A typical stakeholder kickoff meeting should follow an agenda like this:

• Project history & vision statement: Why are you here? (5 minutes)
• Scope and deliverables: What are you building? (10 minutes)
• Success metrics: How will you measure success? (5 minutes)
• Approval process: Who has decision-making power throughout the project? (5 minutes)
• Communication plan: How will progress be tracked and reported? (5 minutes)

The focus here is on all of the places where a project stakeholder can either help or hurt your project (approval, communication, the definition of done, etc...). To make sure you’re not missing anything important, here are a few best practices to follow.

Make sure everyone’s clear on what success looks like

The most important thing you can do before you start a project is know where you’re supposed to end up. When meeting with project stakeholders, it’s important to clarify that you’re pointed in the right direction.

During the kickoff meeting, take a few minutes to make sure you have answers for the following questions:

• What’s your “ Definition of done ?”
• What success metrics are you tracking?
• Who ultimately decides if the project was a success?

Bring up the RAID: Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies

Project stakeholders often have a different perspective on your company or project goals than you do. During this kickoff meeting, it can be good to go through some of the things that are outside of your control but might impact your ability to get things done.

As you go through the project’s scope and deliverables, use the RAID model to help identify problem areas such as:

• Risks: What could happen that would affect the quality, timing, or budget of the project?
• Assumptions: What assumptions have you made while building your project plan ? Are there ones that might change during the project?
• Issues: What issues have happened recently that may adversely impact your project?
• Dependencies: Are there other projects or deliverables that need to be done or provided in order for your project to be a success? Look at your project timeline and ask your stakeholders if they can see potential issues with dependencies or other projects on the go.

Again, these are powerful things to add to your risk management plan. To keep them even more organized, move each into an issue in Planio so you can see your risks alongside tasks and deliverables.

Learn more about tracking risks in Planio with our Guide to Risk Management

Make sure your stakeholders are happy with your communication plan

The less uncertainty your project stakeholders have about what you’re doing, the less they’ll get in your way when you’re working.

A project communication plan outlines who gets what update, when they go out, and how they’re sent. Are you doing daily stand-ups? Will you be creating a project Wiki or knowledge base ? How will you communicate progress to your stakeholders?

While nobody likes a meeting about another meeting, quickly going over your communication plan ensures that you can move quickly later on.

3. The client project kickoff meeting agenda: Getting buy-in and setting expectations with your client

Last up is an entirely different beast: The client project kickoff meeting.

While the stated purpose of a client kickoff meeting is to introduce everyone and get on the same page, the unstated purpose is to set expectations. Every time you start work with a new client they come in with their own project management baggage that you’ll need to uncover and, at times, change.

Sample of a client kickoff meeting agenda

This kickoff meeting is all about preparation and presentation. Someone already did the hard work of getting you in this room and now it’s time for you to remove any lingering doubts or concerns your client might have before you get started.

• Project summary and client goals: Why are you here? (5 minutes)
• Introductions: Who’s here? (10 minutes)
• SOW review: What are you building? (10 minutes)
• Success metrics: How do you know if this project is a success? (5 minutes)
• Collaboration: How will progress be tracked and reported? (5 minutes)
• Assets: Do you have access to everything you need? (5 minutes)

The client kickoff meeting is a delicate balance between pitching and project management. Here are a few best practices to follow to help you hit both successfully.

Do your prep work on the client, team, and project

A client kickoff meeting isn’t the time for uncertainty or insecurity. Before you start, make sure that you’ve prepped across all of your responsibilities:

• Client information: Company background, products, key executives, competitors and their recent releases, customer personas, etc...
• Team information: Roles and responsibilities, relevant background, industry experience, etc...
• Project information: Main goal, end-users, sponsors and stakeholders, tools you’ll be using, communication plan, etc...

Take your time with introductions

Teamwork makes the dream work. If you and your clients don’t know each other and get along, it’s going to be harder than it needs to be to make this project a success.

Start by setting the stage. Give some initial context and outline the client’s high-level goals.

Next, introduce your key team members. Make it personal and share a bit of their background and experience. Why are they the best person for this job? Let people speak for themselves but prep them beforehand with some key talking points.

This is also your first real chance to build rapport with the people you’ll be dealing with on a day-to-day basis. Ask them about themselves and their background. But remember, the most important part of effective communication is listening.

Everyone’s busy and has a million things on the go. That’s why one of the most effective things you can do is to give someone your full attention and make it clear to them that you’re hearing what they’re saying.

Pay attention to the person you’re talking to and give them visual cues that you’re listening. Nod along. Repeat what they’re saying back to them to quiet your inner mind. And encourage them to go on with open-ended questions.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

Focus on success metrics (while also getting a sense of their risk tolerance)

Take this opportunity to show your client a vision of a positive end result. Instead of focusing on risks and issues (you did that already as a team), talk about success metrics and make sure everyone knows what a good result is.

As part of this, you can also try and get a feel for how the client handles change requests or uncertainties. Don’t just come out and ask (i.e. “Do you have any extra budget if issues come up?” ) Instead, ask how they’ve dealt with these scenarios in the past.

How have they managed similar projects in the past?

Were there any issues that have come up before?

How did they deal with scope creep or changes?

This will help you understand how they respond to risk and where you should be most mindful throughout the project’s lifecycle.

Make sure you have everything you need to get started (assets, approvals, etc…)

Lastly, don’t forget the little things that can derail your progress.

Do you have all the content and design assets you need to get started?

Do you have log-ins or credentials for their CMS, repos, etc…?

How do you handle invoicing?

This also means understanding the nuts and bolts of how you run projects. At a minimum, make sure you establish the following:

• Your approach and project management process
• The communication tools you’ll be using
• Timeline and expectations around feedback
• How you’ll deal with change requests or increases to the scope
• What the client can expect from you in regards to delivery, availability, and response time

Keep it light, but make sure you both leave feeling confident that you can pull this off in the best way possible.

What happens next? How to follow-up on your kickoff meeting and keep your project moving

A project kickoff meeting is an important step in any project. But what’s more important is what you do next.

To keep up the momentum and positive energy, send a follow-up email covering what you went over and what happens next. Make sure everyone has access to your project management tool (like Planio !) and start assigning tasks.

If there any issues, get them out of the way now so you have a clear map to success from the beginning.

More articles about Project Management:

How to Run An Effective Sprint Retrospective (Plus 7 Examples and Templates)

The ultimate guide to estimating projects: how to use time tracking (and experience) to set better estimates.

How to Write Better Meeting Notes in 5 Steps (With Free Meeting Notes Template!)

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Home Blog Business Quick Guide to Project Kick Off Meetings

Quick Guide to Project Kick Off Meetings

Every project beginning is exciting; all the members will have different expectations and feelings about the required results. Therefore, rapport is crucial to establish commitment and generate a sense of accountability for everyone when beginning a project. The first meetings must be a presentation that can set up the milestones, generate agreements over the scope, and define the tasks. 

The Project Kick Off Meeting provides the opportunities mentioned above, so this article will explore the steps to perform a smooth project start and a seamless kick off meeting.

What is a Project Kick Off Meeting?

Let’s begin imagining this simple scenario: people from very different backgrounds (let’s think IT and Marketing) will be starting a project together. Joining these two groups will also be members of the management team, financial experts, and even a project manager who will be in charge of making it all come together. The vision of all these very diverse teams must become aligned for the sake of the project. 

Depending on each project needs’, there has to be a clear definition of roles, and everyone will want to know what is expected from them. Having that sense of direction will establish a project flow that will come in handy when there is a need for flexibility. 

The project kickoff meeting is the first meeting that will happen between the project team and stakeholders. Regardless of whether they are all internal or external, it’s essential to make sure that the right people are in the conversation, and by right, we mean the ones who will push the project to success. You can find affordable kickoff meeting agenda templates for presentations in our website.

Now that we have cleared that out let’s jump into what makes a project kick off meeting great. 

How do you do a Project Kick Off meeting? 

The contents of the project kick off meeting can be relatively varied. However, a recommended structure exists to keep everyone on track. This meeting is fundamental not just in the human aspect but mainly as a planning tool where everyone knows who is involved, establishes an initial relationship, and defines a group pledge. 

Before the project kick off meeting 

Planning the project kick off meeting can be of great help for a smooth start. In your first steps to preparing your kickoff deck presentation, it’s important to consider where you need to allocate your resources. 

Define the impact of the project along with and metrics that state how the project will succeed. Remember to use SMART Goals : specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely. This way, you will ensure that your project does not stray away from the vision and that all the project members are on the same page about timeframes, reach, and capacities. 

Identify the key players to attend the project kick off meeting

Once you have these logistics in place, have a one-on-one chat with the Project sponsor to align expectations. Also, it’s a good time to ask them to prepare some words about why this project is relevant to the organization. 

Ensure you additionally identify the Project Leader, facilitator, core team, and relevant stakeholders during this time. At this point, for your internal tracking and your eventual presentation during the meeting, you can use the RASCI model that will allow you to identify who is  R esponsible,  A ccountable,  S upportive,  C onsulted, and  I nformed roles. You can iterate over this model during the meeting if you need changes or have the different players define their roles. 

Project Kick Off Meeting Agenda 

By this point, you have met and identified top stakeholders, and it’s time to take care of some meeting basics. Begin by setting up 1-2 dates and hourly options that can be more convenient for everyone in the team. If you’re working remotely, take into account time zones, and if you’re local, check if there is a meeting room or space available at the given times. As soon as you can, ideally at least a week before, send out all meeting invites and ad reminders for everyone. 

Now it’s time to define the project kick off meeting agenda; remember this is not information debrief only, but a get-together where you will level with all parts to make sure agreements are established. 

Now let the project kick off meeting begin!

All the required team members show up on time; we notice some of the marketing team members share comments of excitement about the project and ask some first exploratory questions to the IT team. It’s time to start. 

Start by welcoming everyone, and then move forward to the project kick-off principles: collaboration is required to generate more reliable results, find as much data possible to have a shared understanding, open up to possibility, and share a positive mindset. 

Good practices in the Project Kick Off Meeting Start 

If you want to go the extra mile, this is a great opportunity to showcase the Project Charter , including the goals, team, timeline, and scope to understand visually. During the meeting, you can even send out the Project Charter as a pdf for everyone to keep and even print at will. 

Also, you can structure the first minutes of the kickoff presentation as a simplified elevator pitch to establish the problem and solution upfront. 

Remember that in SlideModel.com we have a wide array of templates you can use for your project planning business presentations, you can check out the Project Management Pack PowerPoint Templates which is one of our most comprehensive templates.

Structuring your Project Kick Off Meeting

As we’ve seen until this point, the project kick off meeting is important meeting and eventful. Therefore we want to recap what your meeting agenda should include. 

1. Introduction 

In every concurred meeting with people from different teams, it’s a good idea to consider not everyone knows each other. Begin with a brief round of introductions. As a protip, provide them with a little script that includes name, team, and role to keep it short and candid, i.e., ¨My name is Donald, and I’m the Development Lead¨

2. Project Background 

It’s good for all parties to know where the project is coming from and share essential lessons from similar projects like it or similar stakeholders. 

3. Reason or purpose of the project: Why are we doing it? 

This is a perfect moment to introduce the Project Sponsor as they will want to share the project’s vision and why its execution is vital to the organization. Their intervention can either happen as the first item on the meeting. It can happen after the introduction or even after the project charter, but the sponsor’s short speech is a must. 

4. Project Scope: Where we begin and end? 

The project’s beginning and end are conceptually closer than we might think. As Stephen Covey said ¨start with the end in mind¨, is a great tip for this moment because while discussing and defining the project scope, everyone can get aligned and know what is expected from the final product ahead.  

5. Action plan and milestones: What’s the playbook? 

The project charter might come in handy here, as it will help build a general comprehension of what the project must look like. It’s essential to have an action plan with actionable steps to allow everyone to know what tasks must be done. Eventually, this can become the project backlog and can serve as a playbook to revise in retrospectives. 

6. Role definition: Who does what? 

Even though everyone will come to the meeting with certain expectations, it’s recommended that you and the project sponsor are clear on who will perform which task. This way, accountability can be established since the first encounter, and responsibility can be provided to each in their area. 

7. Collaboration: How are you going to work together 

Regardless of whether the tool is physical or virtual, it’s a great idea to show the team where all the information will be set. There are several tools out there that are great for project management. However, a tool like Trello, for example, will allow you to create Kanban boards that will allow a clear ¨to do¨, ¨in process¨and ¨done¨ methodology that includes high visibility. Afterward, you can convert those Trello Boards into presentations that can be used in daily meetings or other relevant project meetings. 

8. Success: How does it look like 

Along the way, many opportunities will show up. However, it’s great to know the true north of the project. Ensuring everyone knows what success looks like in this project will ensure that all the people in the project have the same goal and won’t be stuck in analysis paralysis. Ensure that there is absolute clarity about this last step and what are the final results expected. 

Key concepts about the project and establishing rapport 

In your role as a presenter, you have delivered vital information about the project, introduced the project sponsor, and everyone now knows the project’s vision. It’s time to get people interacting to know each other, break the ice and get ready to work in synchronicity.

At this point of the meeting, you want all attendees to take ownership of the project and establish their working agreements. To do this, a simple but yet effective ice breaker can be a great way to go. Share the Vision, Mission and Mission tests that the Project Leader has created and start with the activity. 

Separate your attendees into 3 groups: Vision, Team Mission, and Team Mission tests. They don’t have to be together with people of their specific area (i.e., Marketing, IT, etc.); this can be random to mix people so they can meet each other. Give each mini-team 20 minutes to refine the initial statements and define any specific they have to improve the project. 

How to finish the Project Kick Off Meeting Closing and Next Steps 

The first steps have been completed. To close the meeting, provide some minutes to your Project Sponsor for the last hype to your team. The upcoming weeks or months will be full of tasks to complete, and in the end, that same team you gathered today will have completed a successful new solution. 

After the meeting is over, make sure you set up the next steps, including the kick-off meeting, setting up planners and software, and preparing materials for all the involved. Remember to set up Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) so that all the objectives will be measured timely for the best results. 

Final Words 

Congratulations, you have conducted your first Project Kick Off Meeting! However, it’s not time to lay back and relax but actually to keep the momentum going. Your team had the information to begin, but now there needs to be a solid follow-up to ensure the tasks will be done as per the previous agreement. 

Hopefully, the first meeting will have set up the event tone, and all the parts are equally invested in the new project to come. 

1. Project Management Super Pack Templates for PowerPoint and Google Slides

With this super pack Project Management Template you can find the essential tools you might need to do kickoff presentations for your project, including agendas, roles setting, timelines, project charter, heatmaps, teams, and more. 

Use This Template

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What is a project kick-off? A project kick-off meeting is the first meeting with the project team and the client of the project where applicable. This meeting is the time to establish common goals and the purpose of the project.

Starting a project without a kick-off meeting is like setting off on a trip without any concrete plan. You are likely to see some cool things along the way, but you will probably end your vacation with some weary travelers and a fairly sparse photo album. A good project kick-off meeting sets the course for a successful and smooth project collaboration.

As the first meeting between the project team members and possibly the client or sponsor, the project kick-off is the best time to set expectations and foster strong team morale. Usually, the kick-off takes place after the statement of work or project poster has been finalized and all parties are ready to go. 

Your kick-off is an opportunity to orient the team to the work at hand, decide how everyone will work together, and establish common project goals and check-ins. Think about discussing things like how you will communicate, how often you will meet, what the timeline is, and what could slow the project down.

A project kick-off meeting should not be an information broadcast. If you need to share background information in advance, do it on a shared document like a Confluence page. Project kick-off meetings should actively involve the team and anyone else who is a stakeholder or whose work will be affected by the project.

Set up a meeting agenda to keep the meeting streamlined and efficient, try making a list of questions you want to ask your team. Prepare some answers based on questions you think your team might have.

For client work, your project kick-off meeting will include introducing the team working on the project, talking the client through the project stages, and agreeing on how to effectively work together to successfully deliver the project. It’s a chance for your team to get a stronger contextual grounding in the project, to show their understanding and enthusiasm for the project, and set the stage for a positive working relationship with your client.

This template will be helpful for project managers when discussing a new project with their team members. You can specify in detail the deadlines for the completion of work at each stage and determine the responsible employees for this process.

Startup executives can use this template when preparing to meet with potential investors. You can present a plan for implementing your idea using the slides in this template.

Project Kick Off is a professional and modern template that contains six stylish and fully editable slides. If necessary, you can change all elements of the slide in accordance with your corporate requirements. This template will be useful for project managers, company executives, startups, sales managers. The Project Kick Off template will seamlessly complement your presentations and will be a great addition to your collection of professional presentations.

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• 10 steps to supercharge your project k ...

10 steps to supercharge your project kickoff meeting

You’ve put a lot of effort into getting your project off the ground—yet so often, it can feel like a project is off track before it even begins. That’s because every project team member and stakeholder brings different knowledge, expectations, and priorities to a project. If you don’t provide a chance for them to get on the same page before the work begins, the rest of the project will be an uphill battle no matter how much you try to course correct. Luckily, there’s a better way: project kickoff meetings.

What is a project kickoff meeting?

A project kickoff meeting is a chance to meet with team members and stakeholders before the project starts to align on key details and get buy-in on critical milestones. Plan to host your project kickoff meeting after you've gotten your  project charter  approved and created your project plan, but before you've actually started working on the project. When you host a kickoff meeting, you’ll outline your project purpose, goals, plan, and more—while also making time for team members to ask questions and clarify any next steps. At the end of a kickoff meeting, the entire team should have a shared understanding about what you’re working on, why, and how the work will be accomplished.

What is the purpose of a kickoff meeting? Do I really need one?

In a word: yes. Kickoff meetings are an invaluable way to communicate key project information to your team and give them an opportunity to ask questions live. Unlike sharing these details in a project plan or over email, hosting a project kickoff reduces the odds of miscommunication and ensures everyone is starting the project from the same place. Without a kickoff meeting, team members and stakeholders could have misaligned project expectations, which leads to  scope creep  and, in the worst-case scenario, project failure.

That doesn’t mean you need to host identical kickoff meetings for every project. Some projects, like customer-facing work or complex initiatives, will benefit from a formalized kickoff with significant prep—like a robust presentation or even a demo, depending on the project type. Other projects, like those that involve fewer stakeholders or are more straightforward, could have a less formal kickoff meeting without a deck or a presentation.

Types of kickoff meetings

Not every kickoff meeting looks the same. In general, every type of project kickoff meeting should include most of the same ingredients—but knowing the various types of project kickoffs can help you decide how formal or informal the kickoff meeting needs to be.

Internal project kickoff meeting

This is the project kickoff in its simplest form. The goal for an internal project kickoff meeting is to get the project team aligned and on the same page, and to provide an opportunity for them to ask questions before the project has started. Like any kickoff meeting, prepare materials in advance, but don’t worry about polishing your meeting.

Example projects:

Product marketing launch

Web production

Usability testing plan

Required materials:

A project plan  that outlines key details of your project, including success metrics, project schedule, stakeholders, etc.

SMART project objectives that capture what you will achieve by the end of your project.

A defined project scope  to set clear boundaries on what work is and isn’t part of this project.

A visual project timeline with any relevant project milestones to identify when key work will be completed.

In addition to sharing these materials during the project kickoff, plan to store project information in a central work management platform. That way, every team member has easy access to key project documents.

Executive sponsor project kickoff meeting

If your project or program has executive sponsors, you’ll likely want to host a higher-level kickoff meeting to get all executive leaders on the same page. In this type of kickoff meeting, plan to focus heavily on the project’s purpose and goals, as well as how the project will impact company objectives.

During this kickoff meeting, you shouldn’t spend too much time on individual milestones or details about the project. You’ll likely still want to hold an internal project kickoff meeting for your project team.

Product roadmap

Marketing campaign (without an agency)

Software or systems deployment

A clearly-articulated project purpose, which connects the business impact of this project to company goals.

If applicable, the business case  you created for this initiative.

Succinct project objectives to show stakeholders what you will achieve by the end of your project.

A   project plan  that outlines key details of your project, including success metrics, project schedule, stakeholders, etc.

A project roadmap , which should serve as a high-level timeline of important project blocks.

An executive summary  with all of this key project information. Plan to present the high-level version of the executive summary, then share the document with stakeholders so they can read more details after the kickoff.

A formal presentation or deck.

External or client-facing project kickoff meeting

If you’re working on a client-facing project, you’ll need to host a kickoff meeting between your project team and key stakeholders on the client side to align on project goals and deliverables. This should be the most polished version of your project kickoff meeting.

This type of project kickoff is your chance to set expectations and develop a shared understanding of the project goals. During this kickoff meeting, plan to spend some time introducing the project team, aligning on how frequently you and your client will be communicating, and clarifying what effective collaboration looks like. Make sure you and the client understand when they should be looped in to review your work or how you should communicate project progress.

Marketing campaign (with an agency)

Event planning

A   project brief  or creative brief , depending on the type of work.

A clearly-defined project scope  to set clear boundaries on what work is and isn’t part of this project.

A project roadmap , which should serve as a high-level timeline of important project blocks and include any relevant

  project milestones .

A list of project stakeholders  with their respective roles.

Where your team will communicate (e.g. Slack, email, Asana), as well as how you’ll share project status reports .

Agile project kickoff meetings

Most  Agile teams  run their projects in sprints, which are two- or four-week cycles of work. You don’t need a project kickoff for every sprint—in fact, doing so would slow your team down. But you should plan a project kickoff meeting at least once a year to ensure everyone on the team is aligned. Additionally, if your team starts a new project or if you onboard a new team member, you should host a project kickoff meeting to get everyone up to speed.

The Agile project kickoff meeting is a chance to make sure your team have everything they need during a sprint, so you can use your  sprint planning  and  sprint retrospective  meetings to focus on continuous improvement.

Success criteria, including what “done” means for your team.

Formalized team roles, especially if your team runs Scrum .

A list of which team ceremonies you host and when they take place.

A clear communication plan of where and how your team should communicate (e.g. Slack, email, Asana).

Your team’s daily standup meeting  agenda.

10 steps for a successful project kickoff meeting

As the project manager of a key initiative, it’s your responsibility to plan and present during the project kickoff. Similarly, if you’re running a  larger program  and planning a kickoff for that body of work, you’ll likely be the person driving the meeting—though you can count on the individual project leads to present their information.

If you’ve never planned a kickoff meeting—don’t worry! Here are 10 steps to hosting a successful kickoff meeting.

1. Prepare for the meeting

The first step to hosting a project kickoff meeting is to decide who needs to be there and how long the meeting should be. The level and detail of preparation will depend on how formal the kickoff meeting needs to be—are you inviting executive stakeholders or external partners? Or is this an informal kickoff with your core project team? As you prepare for the meeting:

Finalize the invite list. By now you should know what type of project kickoff meeting you’re hosting, which should inform who attends the meeting. Before you send that meeting invite, make sure to go over the attendee list one more time to ensure you’ve included all relevant project stakeholders .

Schedule a time (and duration). Make sure to save time for questions.

Assign a note taker. Make sure someone other than you is taking notes in case there are stakeholders who can’t make the meeting. If you’re meeting virtually, consider recording the meeting as well, so team members who are unable to attend can catch up later.

Create a meeting agenda. By sending out a meeting agenda ahead of time, you can ensure everyone is prepared for the project kickoff. Your meeting agenda is also a great chance to share any materials, like the project plan and timeline, that you’d like attendees to review before the meeting.

Example project kickoff meeting agenda

2. Make introductions

If this is the first meeting with the project team, there’s a chance some people on the team haven’t worked together before. Start the meeting with some introductions or  icebreaker questions  to help everyone get to know each other.

3. Start with the project’s purpose

The most important thing to align on during the project kickoff meeting is what you are working towards, and why this work matters. According to a  recent study , only 26% of employees have a very clear understanding of how their individual work relates to company goals. Without this clarity, team members don’t know what work to prioritize or  how to manage shifting priorities .

When you share your project purpose, take some time to explain how the project connects to broader business and organizational goals. Answer the questions “Why are we working on this?” and “What are we working towards?” Later in the meeting, you’ll have a chance to dive into project details and specific workflows, but sharing the project’s purpose at the onset of the meeting is the best way to get everyone on the same page.

Project purpose example

The purpose of this project is to increase brand awareness in NAMER and EMEA through a digital brand campaign in Q3.

4. Share the project plan

Ideally, you’ve already shared the project plan in the meeting agenda so team members had the chance to read it over before the meeting. During the project kickoff meeting, you don’t need to go over every little detail of the project plan—instead, focus on key information like the project timeline, important milestones, or key deliverables.

Example project plan

5. Outline the project scope

One of the most important things to discuss as a group is what’s in scope—and equally as important, what’s out of scope. Make sure everyone has the same expectations going in, so there aren’t any last-minute surprises or changing deliverables as the project goes on. Clarifying the project scope early and often is the best way to prevent  scope creep , which can delay or even derail your project.

Project scope example

Project Objective:  Launch display and video ads in Q3 to increase brand awareness in NAMER and EMEA.

Brand design team (six people), 15 hours per week for four weeks

$50,000 media spend budget

Deliverables:

Landing page design

Display ads (two variations for A/B testing), sized according to display spec sheet

Video spots (6 and 30 second spots), sized according to video spec sheet

Creative requirements:  Display

Shows logo and CTA throughout animation

Both static and HTML5 banners are needed

Features branding within first 5 seconds

Includes voiceover

Landing page

Ads and landing page should create a consistent visual experience

Out of scope:

Translating brand campaign assets

6. Establish project roles and responsibilities

You might not have to do this for a straightforward internal project, but if your project team has never worked together before or if you’re working with an external partner, make sure everyone is aligned on roles and responsibilities. Who is the main point of contact for the project? Does this project have a sponsor or executive leader? Is there an approver—or a group of approvers?

Different stakeholders need to be looped in at different stages of the project. If your project team isn’t clear on roles and responsibilities during the kickoff meeting, consider creating and sharing a  RACI chart  as an action item.

Example project roles

Responsible: Daniela Vargas

Accountable: Kabir Mandan

Consulted: Kat Mooney, Ray Brooks

Informed: Avery Lomax

7. Share where you’ll track project data and real-time updates

The average knowledge worker spends  60% of their time  on work about work like chasing information and searching for documents. All of this work about work means your team has less time to focus on their high-impact work.

To reduce work about work and empower your team to be effective, make sure you have a central source of truth for all key project work. When all of your project information is in one easy-to-find place, your team can quickly locate project documents, get real-time project updates, check on relevant project milestones, and stay updated on  project deliverables .

8. Make time for questions

After the kickoff, your project team may have questions about something you presented, like the scope of the project or certain task expectations. Make sure to leave plenty of time at the end of the kickoff meeting to answer any questions. Remember: the goal of the project kickoff is for everyone to leave the meeting on the same page and ready to get started.

9. Outline next steps

The last part of your project kickoff meeting should answer the question, “What comes next?” At this point, you should clarify where this work is being documented, and go over any action items that were captured in this meeting. It might also help to quickly outline what your team will be doing first.

Moving forward, clarify where and how you’ll share project status updates. Having too many meetings was one of the  top three barriers to productivity in 2021 . Instead of scheduling in-person or virtual status meetings, consider sharing  project status reports  virtually through a work management system. That way, team members can continue to efficiently align and connect over any new changes.

10. Post-meeting to-dos

Congratulations—the meeting is over! After you wrap up, ask the note taker to share any meeting notes in your shared project. If you met virtually, make sure to share the meeting recording and/or transcript as well. Finally, if there were any action items from the meeting, make sure those are captured and assigned to the relevant team member.

After the kickoff meeting... what's next?

Once you’ve held your project kickoff meeting, you’re ready to get started on your project work. The best way to maintain alignment and clarity after your project kickoff is to maintain a central source of truth and collaboration—like a  work management tool . By sharing all of your work, status updates, and messages in one place, you can not only get team members on the same page—you can keep them there.

Learn more about how  Asana  can help you organize work so your team knows what to do, why it matters, and how to get it done.

Related resources

How to use a feasibility study in project management

How to track utilization rate and drive team profitability

How to accomplish big things with long-term goals

Smooth product launches are simpler than you think

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Nailing your project kick-off

Your ultimate guide to starting a project on the right foot

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What is a project kick-off? A project kick-off meeting is the first meeting with the project team and the client of the project where applicable. This meeting is the time to establish common goals and the purpose of the project. Starting a project without a kick-off meeting is like setting off on a trip without any concrete plan. You’re likely to see some cool things along the way, but you’ll probably end your vacation with some weary travelers and a fairly sparse photo album. A good project kick-off meeting sets the course for a successful and smooth project collaboration.

Why should you have a project kickoff?

As the first meeting between the project team members and possibly the client or sponsor, the project kick-off is the best time to set expectations and foster strong team morale. Usually, the kick-off takes place after the statement of work or project poster has been finalized and all parties are ready to go. 

Your kick-off is an opportunity to orient the team to the work at hand, decide how everyone will work together, and establish common project goals and check-ins. Think about discussing things like how you’ll communicate, how often you’ll meet , what the timeline is, and what could slow the project down (and how to avoid that).

Planning your project kick-off meeting

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail, they say. There’s nothing worse than showing up to a meeting with someone who hasn’t taken the time to prepare for it. Make sure you avoid losing face by planning your project kick-off meeting well.

A project kick-off meeting shouldn’t be an “information broadcast.” If you need to share background information in advance, do it on a shared document like a Confluence page . Project kick-off meetings should actively involve the team and anyone else who’s a stakeholder or whose work will be affected by the project.

Set up a meeting agenda to keep the meeting streamlined and efficient, try making a list of questions you want to ask your team. (Even better, send those questions to them ahead of the meeting so they’ll have time to think about their answers.) Prepare some answers based on questions you think your team might have.

Structuring the meeting

How you structure your meeting agenda depends on the project, but key elements should include the 5 W’s, or who , what , where , when , why and how : 

Introductions

• What’s the background of the project
• Why are you doing it 
• What is the project scope 
• What’s the action plan 
• Who’s doing what 
• How are you going to work together
• What does success look like 

Make sure you also cover what the agenda for the kick-off meeting with your team will look like and if there are any questions or anything that hasn’t been discussed.

What’s the difference between a project kick-off meeting with your team and with customers or clients?

It could be that the project you’re about to kick-off is internal, such as a new document management system rollout or the build of a new design feature . Or you’re about to start an external project for a client or customer. In both cases, the initial kick-off meeting has the same basic function; it’s a meeting to set the tone, style, and vision for the project as a whole, and to establish common goals, tasks, and timelines with your project team.

For client work, your project kick-off meeting will include introducing the team working on the project, talking the client through the project stages, and agreeing on how to effectively work together to successfully deliver the project. It’s a chance for your team to get a stronger contextual grounding in the project, to show their understanding and enthusiasm for the project, and set the stage for a positive working relationship with your client. 

What’s involved in a kick-off meeting?

So you’ve done your preplanning and you’re ready to start your kick-ass project kick-off meeting with your team. You’re so organized! Every project is different, but we recommend to trying to cover off these topics in your meeting:

Get the ball rolling. Don’t assume everyone knows each other, so let everyone introduce themselves, their role in the project, and what they’ll be delivering. Bonus points if you can think of a fun and quick icebreaker.

Statement of work, project scope, timeline, and deliverables

Out of everything you’re discussing during the project kick-off meeting, this is one of the most important parts. It solidifies what’s involved in the project and whether or not everyone is on the same page. 

The statement of work you submitted to the client describes the work you’ll deliver and by what deadline. 

The project scope includes a detailed description of project deliverables and the work needed to accomplish them. 

The project timeline is an overview of what is expected to be delivered and when. This can be as detailed as needed for your project. 

Deliverables are the actual items you will send to your customer or client, and they’re usually noted on the timeline.

Tracking progress/milestones and communicating them

During your kick-off meeting, establish a baseline for how you plan to share progress with your stakeholders or client. You can use a status report to show how the project is tracking on budget, tasks, milestones, and timeline. The status report should be available to all stakeholders and anyone whose work might be affected by the project, to make sure everyone is aware of the progress (or delays). For client projects, it’s important that your client agrees with the level of detail they will receive in the status reports to ensure easier invoicing and payments.

Tools and methods

Put together a set of collaboration tools you’ll be using during the project and decide with your team how you’ll be using them to communicate. How will you be sharing your status reports and other files? Aligning on these things early on will help to keep the project’s communication streamlined. It’s also helpful a to make sure your team or client can access whatever tools you decide to use to keep informed about the project. Some project tools you may use include:

• A work management system to track items in progress. Examples include Jira, Basecamp, or Asana.
• A shared document system to make sure everyone (including your client) has access to important project documents and information. Examples include Microsoft docs, Google docs, or you can use a document management system that has built-in hierarchy and organization tools like Confluence.
• A communication tool like email or Slack so that the teams can stay in touch about any questions or needs that emerge. 

For client work, there may be other tools you’ll need access to before you can started. Think design assets like logos, fonts, or style guides, templates, databases, logins (to CMS, social, analytics, etc), access to your client’s intranet, and the correct details for invoicing.

Risk and issue management

Communicate with your team (and with the client) how you want to identify and respond to issues together. Even with the best planning, sometimes unexpected things pop up on a project. Good project risk management for both internal and external client projects means that you and your team will be continuously identifying, analyzing, prioritizing, and mitigating risks that could get in the way of delivering a project on time and on budget. This can include team members keeping a close eye on their billable hours and keeping on top of upcoming software updates or changes to technical tools used during the project.

It’s also a good idea to ask in your client kick-off meeting what their attitude is toward change, for instance when it comes to wiggle room in the budget.

Document your project kick-off

If you’re keen to get cracking on your own project kick-off, but you’re not quite sure where to start, a project kikcoff template in Confluence can guide you in the right direction. Give our free project plan template a try to help you to define, manage, and track your next project, and keep stakeholders in the know.

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Kickoff Meeting

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When it comes to a project, getting off to a good start is very important. For this reason, the first meeting or kick-off meeting of the boss with his workers to present and organize the project must have everything to lead the project and the company itself to success. Prepare your kick-off meeting with this Google Slides and PowerPoint template. The style you'll find among the slides is very modern, with colorful geometric shapes. In addition, we have included the key sections that will make your project and success synonymous.

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Project kickoff meeting agenda powerpoint presentation slides

Conduct a successful product launch meeting with the help of our content ready Project Kick-off Meeting Agenda PowerPoint Presentation Slides. The meeting for starting new project PowerPoint complete deck comprises of 23 slides including project description and scope, core team, project management team, responsibility assignment matrix, RACI- rapid, project management cycle, work breakdown structure, project cost estimate, project management Gantt chart, communication plan, work priority allocation, tracking plan etc. Additionally, all elements of given templates are fully customizable. This allows users to create a presentation very quickly. Furthermore, you can use the project agenda presentation deck to explain your understanding, methodology and to show the structure of your organization, milestones list, etc. Explain the project, its background, business needs and why it is important for stakeholders and company using this initial project agenda presentation deck. Download project management kick-off meeting PPT visuals to showcase project communication and reporting system. Generate intense faith with our Project Kickoff Meeting Agenda Powerpoint Presentation Slides. Heighten the belief in your commitment to deliver.

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Presenting this set of slides with name - Project Kickoff Meeting Agenda Powerpoint Presentation Slides. All slides are completely editable and professionally designed by our team of expert PowerPoint designers. The presentation content covers all areas of Project Kickoff Meeting Agenda Powerpoint Presentation Slides and is extensively researched. This ready-to-use deck comprises visually stunning PowerPoint templates, icons, visual designs, data-driven charts and graphs and business diagrams. The deck consists of a total of twenty three slides. You can customize this presentation as per your branding needs. You can change the font size, font type, colors as per your requirement. Download the presentation, enter your content in the placeholders and present with confidence.

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Content of this Powerpoint Presentation

Slide 1 : This slide introduces Project Kick-off Meeting Agenda. State Your Company Name and begin. Slide 2 : This slide shows Table of Content of the presentation. Slide 3 : This slide presents Meeting Agenda as- Discuss Project Background, Identify Stakeholders, Review Project Objectives. Slide 4 : This slide represents Project Description including- Project Objective, Target Audience, Project Scope. Slide 5 : This slide displays Project Scope describing- Project Acceptance Criteria, Project Scope Description, Project Exclusions, Project Assumptions, Project Deliverables. Slide 6 : This is Core Team slide with names and designation. Slide 7 : This slide showcases Project Management Team covering all those people who would be responsible for project implementation. Slide 8 : This slide shows Responsibility Assignment Matrix - RACI describing the four types of association for a role to a task. Slide 9 : This is another slide continuing Responsibility Assignment Matrix – RACI. Slide 10 : This slide presents Responsibility Assignment Matrix - RAPID describing the five types of association for a role to a task. Slide 11 : This slide displays Project Management Cycle describing- Conceive, Develop, Execute, Finish. Slide 12 : This slide represents Work Breakdown Structure defining the Action Plan of Roles and Responsibilities as per the Tasks or Phases. Slide 13 : This slide showcases Project Cost Estimate to measure the productivity and the cost of projects, through out the project lifecycle. Slide 14 : This slide shows Project Management Gantt Chart covering the entire work plan of the project split across different months. Slide 15 : This slide presents Project Communication Plan in tabular form. You can change the data as per needs. Slide 16 : This slide displays Work Priority Allocation in tabular form for assigning project tasks with the scale of prioritization. Slide 17 : This is another slide for Work Priority Allocation with a milestone chart to manage the timescale of project activities. Slide 18 : This slide represents Project Tracking Plan with four common KPI objectives to keep a track of overdue tasks. Slide 19 : This is About us slide to show company specifications etc. Slide 20 : This is a Comparison slide to state comparison between commodities, entities etc. Slide 21 : This is a Bulb and Idea slide to state a new idea or highlight information, specifications etc. Slide 22 : This slide is titled as Post It. Post your important notes here. Slide 23 : This is a Thank you slide with address, contact numbers and email address.

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Project Kickoff Template

Use this free Project Kickoff Template for Word to manage your projects better.

The project kickoff can get deprioritized in all the hard, upfront initiation work, but don’t overlook this important step towards the successful completion of your project. Our free project kickoff template helps you fully communicate all the essential information to your project team and clients. Get started by downloading our free project kickoff template for Word today.

What Is a Project Kickoff?

The project kickoff is where the entire project team is gathered and the details of the project are communicated to them. This is an internal project kickoff meeting. For an external project kickoff, the client is also usually in attendance with sponsors and stakeholders. The purpose of a kickoff meeting is to make sure that everyone is on the same page and understand the goals and objectives of the project.

Kickoff occurs during the project initiation phase and the process is led by the project manager. We’ll get into what is discussed in specifics a bit later, but one of the main thrusts of the project kickoff meeting is to introduce the project team to one another. This is done to ensure everyone is clear on their duties, potentially avoiding any conflicts later that could cause slowdowns in the work. During the meeting, the project manager should be open to questions from the team and their feedback.

Why Should You Use a Project Kickoff Template?

Having a project kickoff template is helpful in that it ensures that you’ve covered all your bases because they’re already outlined in the template. Our free project kickoff template is completely customizable, so you can add agenda items that are specific to your project.

In terms of the project kickoff meeting itself, let’s reiterate that it introduces the project team to one another. They are the ones who will be executing the project and will have to work together. The project kickoff is one of the first team-building activities they’ll engage in, and it’s essential to build those bonds that create productive teams.

The kickoff template will deliver a shared knowledge of the project background, why the project is being implemented and their roles and responsibilities within the team. Therefore, thanks to the template, they’ll all share a mutual understanding of what the successful project will look like and what needs to be done to achieve that goal.

The project management software used for the project will also be determined at the project kickoff. For your next project, consider ProjectManager. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software with powerful planning, tracking and reporting tools your whole team can use. ProjectManager serves as a collaborative platform too, where teams can share files, but also comment at the task level, anytime and anywhere. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

When Should You Use This Project Kickoff Template

As noted above, a project kickoff takes place in the initiation stage of the project. That’s the first stage of any project. The project kickoff, though, is usually the last thing that is done in the project initiation phase. It ends that phase and leads into the next, which is the project planning phase.

Therefore, this project kickoff template for Word should be used before work begins on the execution of the project. Kickoff usually begins after the statement of work has been completed and everyone is ready to get started with the next phase of the project.

The project manager should be using this project kickoff template earlier in the initiation stage. They can attach the relevant documents as they’re completed, so they’re all at hand when the project manager leads the kickoff meeting. Those documents can also be disseminated to the project team so they have the pertinent information.

How to Use this Project Kickoff Template for Word

Once you’ve downloaded the project kickoff template for Word, you’ll find a blank outline of what you’ll need to discuss and pass on to the project team. As stated earlier, the template can be changed to address anything you want to include but is not currently laid out in the project kickoff template.

We’ve included a section at the top to define the project name, project manager, date of the project kickoff meeting and the date when the project starts. Underneath that is a section to list all the attendees of the meeting. They can also sign off after the name and position in the project for a committment to what was discussed at the kickoff meeting.

Following that is the agenda . We’ll go over each of these items, which can be attached to the document, but should be summarized by the project manager.

Project Background

Here in the kickoff template, you explain the why, where and how of the project. Provide the team with some background, the research that went into defining the project and led to its approval. This provides context for the project team so they’re not executing tasks in a void. Instead, they can see their part in the larger picture. Share the data that was part of the project proposal , which was approved by the project stakeholders.

Project Scope

Next, you’ll discuss the project scope , which is a detailed description of all the work necessary to complete the project. This work will be defined by the timeline and budget for the project. Here the project team will gain an understanding of the objectives and requirements for the project. The project manager will also give them an idea of the deadline for their deliverables and the costs associated with the work. This allows the project team to have a firmer grasp on the constraints on the project.

Project Timeline

The project timeline illustrates the duration of the project and chronologically lists all the project deliverables. This is a roadmap that the project team will follow and lays out the foundation for the larger project schedule, which will include milestones, tasks, dependencies, due dates, resources, costs, etc. The project timeline is important for the project team to know intimately because they’ll be responsible for getting those deliverables done.

Risk Management

Risks, both good and bad, are inevitable. While a risk is an unexpected occurrence, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be planned for. The project manager will create a risk management plan to identify risks, their impact and likelihood of happening as well as potential responses. Risks will be prioritized and assigned to team members so they know how to respond to them if they occur.

Roles and Responsibilities

Everyone on the project team has specific roles and responsibilities. To avoid conflict down the line, the project manager needs to make these roles and responsibilities explicit. Everyone on the project team should understand what their part in the project is before they leave that project kickoff meeting. Think of it as a job description that outlines what they have to do, who they report to and the organizational structure of the project.

Related: Free RACI matrix template for Excel

Methods and Tools

Here, the project manager will explain which project management methodology will be used to manage the project. There are many, ranging from the more traditional and structured, such as waterfall, to those that are iterative and incremental, like working in an agile environment that is open to change. The methodology chosen will inform the project management software used, as different approaches require different tools. There might be training involved depending on the experience of the team, but all this will be discussed in the kickoff meeting.

Who Should Use This Project Kickoff Template?

The project kickoff template will be first used by the project manager . They are the one who leads the meeting and will define the agenda. The project manager often conducts two project kickoff meetings, an internal one for the project team and then an external one for the project stakeholders, sponsors, etc.

The project team is in attendance for the kickoff meeting, but they often leave with a copy of the project kickoff. It’s an important set of documents that define and direct the project. Therefore, it’s a valuable resource for the people who will be executing the project. However, they can always seek guidance from the project manager if they have further questions.

Related Project Kickoff Templates

The project kickoff template is but one of dozens of free project management templates for Excel and Word that you can download from our site. We have free templates that cover every phase of the project, from initiation to close. Here are a few that are related to the project kickoff that you can download for free right now.

Project Charter Template

Our free project charter template for Word documents the high-level information of the project. It includes everything you need, from the executive summary to the project plan. There’s also sections of project organization, project scope, deliverables and much more.

Project Plan Template

After the project kickoff comes the planning phase of the project. Use our free project plan template for Word to capture your project scope, milestones and detail all the phases. You’ll also be able to create a schedule, budget and risk management plan.

Project Budget Template

The project budget is an important part of the kickoff meeting. Use our free project budget template for Excel to get an accurate estimate of your project costs, from labor to materials and even travel, equipment and more.

How ProjectManager Takes Your Project Kickoff Template Further

These templates can help you during the initiation phase of the project and with the kickoff meeting, but once you move into the planning, execution, control and monitoring phases then a static template will become frustratingly limited. Project management software, though, can give you the effectiveness and flexibility you need to deliver success. ProjectManager helps you plan, manage and track project work in real time. Let’s look at some of the features that schedule and monitor your project’s progress and performance.

Schedule Projects on Powerful Gantt Charts

Why spend all that time creating a timeline and identifying deliverables in your project, when you can organize all that and much more on our Gantt chart ? We link all four types of task dependencies to help you avoid costly delays. You can filter for the critical path without having to go through complicated calculations and quickly identify essential from non-essential tasks. Then, when you have scheduled the project with resources and costs, set a baseline to track schedule and cost variance in real time to help you stay on track.

Monitor Progress and Performance on Real-Time Dashboards

Once you’re executing the project, you’ll want to keep track of what your team is doing without getting in their way. Our real-time dashboard automatically tracks progress and performance once you set a baseline in the Gantt chart, so you always have a high-level view of the project whenever you want. Unlike lightweight tools there’s no time-consuming set up. Just toggle over to the dashboard and get live data on time, cost, workload and more displayed in easy-to-read graphs and charts.

Related Project Kickoff Content

If you’re not ready to upgrade, but you’re still hungry to learn more about project kickoff, then check out some of the related content we have published on our site. ProjectManager is more than great project management software, we’re an online hub for all things project management, with multiple blogs posted weekly, tutorial videos, guides, eBooks and, of course, free templates. Here are a few project kickoff-related content.

• The Only Project Kickoff Checklist You’ll Ever Need
• Project Kickoff Meeting: How to Write a Kickoff Meeting Agenda
• 10 Project Meetings to Guide Your Project Management Team

ProjectManager Turns Kickoff Meetings Into Successful Projects

Download our free project kickoff template for Word and make sure you start your project off right. Then use ProjectManager to manage tasks, resources and risks to keep your project on schedule and delivered without overspending. Use our automated workflows to streamline your processes and task approvals to ensure quality. Plus, keep stakeholders informed with our customizable reports. Get started today with ProjectManager.

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