Project Kickoff Workbook
This guide will help you to understand the responsibilities of Project Management on a Tech Fleet project
Before your project starts
Meet with your project coordinator and co-lead to discuss first steps
Select team leads in collaboration with your project coordinator
Work through your “Project Lead Pre-Kickoff Checklist”*
Set up an introductory meeting with your team’s leads, either whole group, or in pairs
Support your leads in selecting their apprentices and working through their “Team Lead Pre-Kickoff Checklist”s*
*Your project coordinator will provide customized checklists for your project
Introductory Leads Meeting Agenda
Items you may want to include in your first leads meeting:
Icebreaker/getting to know each other
Share goals, strengths, communication styles, and/or support needs
Check-in about pre-kickoff checklists
Ensure everyone is able to log in to Gmail, Notion, Zoom, and Figma
Check-in about the apprentice hiring process
Co-create team working agreements
Discuss sprint ritual and meeting schedules
Decide whether sprints will be weekly or bi-weekly
Decide timing and formats for Sprint Planning, Demo, and Retro
Decide timing and format for stand-ups**, cross-team syncs, etc.
Ensure that everyone is signed up for the team calendar
Ensure that everyone knows how to properly create and name Zoom meetings
Choosing a format for “Stand-Ups”
When working cross-functionally in Agile, it’s important to have a structured way for individuals and teams to regularly and succinctly share what they are working on with others. Here are some formats to choose from:
Liason Format:
A “liaison” is chosen from each team to attend the meetings of the other teams so that they can report back to their own team with relevant notes in their team’s Slack channel
Advantages:
The liaison will filter the notes through their perspective of their given discipline, in order to share what is most relevant for their own team
The liaison is also present in meetings to represent their team and answer questions (or bring them back to the team) as needed
Greater understanding of other team’s work, which improves collaboration
Traditional Format:
A representative from each team attends a daily whole team meeting in which they give an update on their individual team’s work
Advantages:
There is an opportunity for teams to have face-to-face communication on a daily basis
Daily check-ins may increase accountability and speed up work
Disadvantages:
Team representatives may not have the answers to the other team’s questions, especially if they are apprentices
Team representatives may not know what types of updates would be most relevant to the work of other teams, and will give updates biased towards the perspective of their own discipline
Async Format:
A representative from each team posts a daily update for their team in the general team Slack channel for the entire team to view
Advantages:
Easier to fit into everyone's schedules than meetings
Disadvantages:
Updates are often less detailed than they would be in the other two formats, and it can be harder for members of other teams to gain clarification
Team representatives may not know what types of updates would be most relevant to the work of other teams, and will give updates biased towards the perspective of their own discipline
Discuss these advantages and disadvantages with your team leads to choose a format to begin with, but be open to revising and trying a new format if you notice that your original choice is not working for your team.
Project Kickoff
Check that all leads and apprentices have read through all available project documentation
Encourage all team leads to conduct an icebreaker/connector for their team
Set up a Q&A meeting with your project’s client and all of your leads
Meet with your product strategy team leads to begin roadmapping and establish roles and responsibilities.
Send out a LettuceMeet/Doodle to schedule a weekly leads meeting
Set up a whole team icebreaker/getting-to-know-you event
Send out a LettuceMeet/Doodle poll
Plan activities and discussions, keeping in mind differences in communication styles, extroversion level, cultural backgrounds, etc.
Discuss communication plan, team charter and establish team culture.
During the Project
Meetings and Rituals to Lead and Manage
Schedule team-wide meetings for all sprint rituals and send out reminders in Slack
Upload meeting recordings to a shared folder, or set up an automation
Share meeting notes and action items in Slack after meetings as needed
Schedule and lead a weekly meeting for team leads
Decide whether apprentices and shadowers are welcome in this meeting, with bias towards transparency
Decide whether this meeting will be recorded, in part or in whole
Ensure that all teams are keeping up with the stand-up format agreed upon
Schedule bi-weekly client meetings and ensure Client Q&A doc is up-to-date
Lead Demos
Coordinate scheduling with client(s) and team
Set up demo slides
Ensure that slides are completed by teams and ready to present on time
Lead Retros and distill discussions into action items, or delegate to product team
Schedule a mid-project check-in with leads to get feedback on how the project is going and how you can support them further.
Regularly offer 1:1’s with apprentices and leads throughout the project
Teamwork Facilitation
Send reminders of working agreements as needed, and instigate discussions if issues arise or revision of the agreements might be beneficial
Remind teams to update their Notion pages as needed
Encourage cross-team collaboration at all times to avoid information silos and duplicating efforts.
Check in regularly with team leads and apprentices to help problem solve any issues, and encourage apprentices to check in with you as needed
Celebrate the successes of your team, both in meetings and in Slack
Conflict Resolution
How to approach conflicts within your project team:
Acknowledge the Conflict: First, acknowledge that there is a conflict. This might involve directly addressing the parties involved or noticing signs of tension within the team/project. Depending on the severity of the conflict Project Manager can choose to acknowledge it during project wide meeting or as mentioned in the next step.
Private Conversations: Project Managers should have private, one-on-one conversations with the individuals/or teams involved to understand their perspectives and gather information about the conflict. This is very important to gain information from all angles to get to the bottom of the conflict.
Active Listening: Actively listen to what each party has to say without judgment. Ensure they have the opportunity to express their concerns, feelings, and viewpoints. This will make them feel heard and can encourage to open up more.
Stay Neutral: As a Project Manager, it's crucial to remain neutral and not take sides. Your role is to mediate and facilitate, not to pass judgment or get involved in the conflict itself.
Identify Underlying Causes: Try to uncover the root causes of the conflict. Sometimes, what may appear as a surface issue could have deeper underlying reasons, such as miscommunication, differing expectations, or personal friction.
Mediate a Team Conversation: If appropriate, facilitate a team discussion where the conflicting parties can openly address the issue. Ensure that the conversation remains respectful and focused on finding a resolution.
Establish Ground Rules: In team discussions, set ground rules for constructive communication. Encourage the use of "I" statements (e.g., "I feel" rather than "You did"), and emphasize active listening.
Brainstorm Solutions: Encourage the team to brainstorm potential solutions to the conflict. This can help team members take ownership of finding a resolution. This can be done in a workshop session as well where all teams bring their perspective on the issue and prioritize using "Impact Effort Matrix".
Agree on a Resolution: Once possible solutions have been discussed, work with the team to reach a consensus on the best course of action. The goal is to find a resolution that all parties can accept.
Follow Up: After a resolution is agreed upon, follow up with the individuals/teams involved to ensure that the conflict has been fully addressed and that the agreed-upon actions are being implemented. If the conflict is task-based, add agreed resolution action points to your Kanban Board to track progress made.
Confidentiality: Ensure that any sensitive information shared during the conflict resolution process is kept confidential to build trust within the team.
Continuous Improvement
Use the conflict as an opportunity for the team(s) to learn and improve. Discuss what could be done differently in the future to prevent similar conflicts.
Live & exemplify the five Scrum values (Commitment, Courage, Focus, Openness, and Respect) in your own behavior and decision-making. Encourage team members to embrace and live these values as well.
Establish regular feedback loops to gather insights on how the team is functioning and what can be improved. Use retrospectives to reflect on the team's performance and identify areas of growth. Provide the opportunity for anonymous feedback such as a Google Form or similar
Acknowledge and celebrate the team's successes, no matter how small. This builds morale and reinforces the positive aspects of working together. This can be done on Slack channels, during Retros or other meetings.
Project Wrap-up
Schedule and lead final demo and retro
Consider a closing celebration or ritual with your entire team, perhaps a remote “happy hour”
Collect feedback from team members
Wrap up Client Q&A, making sure all answers are documented
Handoff documents
Consider implementing a team-wide format
Ensure that each team has created a handoff doc
Revise all docs and offer feedback
Ensure that they are placed in an easy-to-find location in Notion
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