3 Project Kick-Off Meeting Agenda Templates
This is part of our series on meeting agenda templates. You can edit these project kick-off meeting agendas in Google Docs or Word or print them out.
Meeting Agenda Templates > Project Management Agendas > Project Kick-off Meeting Agendas
I ran a small marketing agency for six years. We were so small (~8 people) that I was the head of operations and head of client accounts. The dual position taught me a lot about how to run a good kick-off meeting – both internal and external (clients).
In this article, you’ll find the real project kick-off meeting agendas we used (after rounds of revisions). Click on a link below to jump to one of these three project kick-off meeting agenda templates:
Internal Project Kick-off Meeting Agenda
Access the free agenda in Docs | Download all 50 for $47
Purpose: To get the key people on the same page at the start of a new internal project.
Kick-off Meeting Agenda Template:
- Attendees: Everyone who will be working on the project (or managers all of all teams working on the project)
- Frequency: Adhoc
- Duration: 1 hour
Agenda:
- Project Overview (10 minutes)
- Presentation of the project’s origins, goals, and purpose
- Roles & Responsibilities (10 minutes)
- Introduction of all team members
- Clarification of responsibilities for each team member
- Project Plan & Timeline (15 minutes)
- Review of the project timeline and phases
- Discussion of key tasks, milestones, and deliverables
- The first set of deadlines
- Systems (5 minutes)
- Overview of the project management tool to be used, Slack channel, other software tools that will be used
- Questions (15 minutes)
- Open Q&A
- Discussion of potential roadblocks and ideas
- Next Steps (5 minutes)
- Immediate tasks and responsibilities that need to get done
- Booking of the next meeting
New Client Kick-off Meeting Agenda
Access the free agenda in Docs | Download all 50 for $47
Purpose: To officially start a new project with an external client.
Template:
- Attendees: Company point person (or people), client point person (or people)
- Frequency: Adhoc
- Duration: 1 hour
Agenda:
- Team & Introductions (10 min)
- Quick round-table introductions to acknowledge each team member
- Discussion of roles specific to this project and areas of responsibility
- Project Overview (15 min)
- Presentation on the project’s goals, scope, and significance
- Explanation of how the project aligns with broader organizational objectives
- Systems (15 min)
- Overview of the tools and systems that will be used in the project
- Discussion on access, training needs, and integration with existing systems
- Meetings (5 min)
- Establishment of meeting schedule for the project duration
- Agreement on recurring meeting times, formats, and essential participants
- Timeline (10 min)
- Detailed review of the project timeline with key milestones and deadlines
- Identification of critical dates and scheduling constraints
- Next Steps (5 min)
- Assignment of initial tasks and responsibilities to team members
- Confirmation of the date and time for the next project meeting
Agile Project Kick-off Meeting Agenda Template
Access the free agenda in Docs | Download all 50 for $47
Purpose: To start a new project at a company that uses the Agile Project Management methodology.
Template:
- Attendees: Everyone who will be working on the project (or managers all of all teams working on the project)
- Frequency: Adhoc
- Duration: 1 hour
Agenda:
- Project Overview (10 minutes)
- Presentation of the project’s origins, goals, and purpose
- Roles & Responsibilities (10 minutes)
- Introduction of all team members
- Clarification of responsibilities for each team member
- Scope & Roadmap (10 minutes)
- Refresher/overview on the specific agile methodology being used (e.g., Scrum, Kanban)
- Overview of the project scope
- Presentation of the initial product roadmap
- Release & Sprint Planning (15 minutes)
- Discussion on release planning strategies and schedules
- Agreement on sprint length, recurring sprint meetings (daily standups, sprint reviews, retrospectives)
- Questions (10 minutes)
- Open floor for team members to ask questions or clarify doubts regarding the project or agile processes
- Next Steps (5 minutes)
- Immediate tasks and responsibilities that need to get done
- Booking of the next meeting
Tips for a Successful Kick-off Meeting
If you want to have a successful project kick-off meeting, most of the work will come before the meeting. If everything about the project is dialed in beforehand (and communicated beforehand), the meeting can be a quick review with lots of good questions/discussions. If you aren’t prepared, the meeting will turn into an on-the-fly, all-hands project planning session. You don’t want that.
Here are my tips for running a successful kick-off meeting:
Before the Meeting
- Complete the agenda, goals, scope, etc.
- Set up all software systems (and invite people)
- Assign out all first tasks (if they don’t require discussion first)
- Book recurring meetings
- Invite everyone who will be working on the project
- Send an agenda before the call
During the Meeting
- Make sure roles are clear
- Make sure one task or responsibility area is assigned to one person only
- Screenshare to show where the project will be managed
- Have specific tasks that people need to do next
After the Meeting
- Assign out any additional tasks that were decided during the meeting
- Send a summary of the meeting
- Remind people when the next meeting will occur
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