Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme, Sixth Edition

Conducting the Project Kick-Off Meeting

The Project Kick-Off Meeting is the formal announcement to the organization that this project has been planned and approved for execution. This meeting happens only once on each project — at the beginning of the project, after the project plan and project itself have been approved but before any work has been done. It is not only a get-acquainted meeting for the team members, but it's also your opportunity to get the project off to a good start.

The meeting signals the start of the project. It has the following two major parts.

• The sponsor-led part
• The project manager–led part

Sponsor-Led Part

The first part is basically a show-and-tell for the organization. Selected senior managers and other interested parties are invited to this brief meeting. It should last no more than 30 minutes. The project sponsor provides a brief overview of the project, why it is being done, what it will accomplish, and what business value will be derived from it. The Project Overview Statement (POS) is a good outline of what this briefing might include.

Project Manager–Led Part

The second part is an initial working session for the entire project team. This part will last for the remainder of the day. Except for small projects, the team members may not know one another, or they may have worked on the same projects but did not directly interact with one another. The project team comprises not only the development team members but also the client team members. In ...