Tier 4

project_initiation

Launch projects with clear charter, stakeholders, and success criteria

Usage in Claude Code: /project_initiation your question here

Project Initiation

Overview

Launch projects with clear charter, stakeholders, and success criteria

Steps

Step 1: Understand the opportunity

Clarify what the project is about and why it matters:

  1. Meet with the sponsor to understand:
    • What problem are we solving or opportunity are we capturing?
    • Why now? What’s the urgency or driver?
    • What happens if we don’t do this?
    • What’s the vision of success?
  2. Gather existing information:
    • Business case or proposal documents
    • Related project outcomes
    • Market research or customer feedback
    • Strategic plans that reference this need
  3. Understand the strategic context:
    • How does this align with organizational strategy?
    • Which strategic objectives does it support?
    • What are the expected business benefits?
  4. Identify initial constraints:
    • Budget envelope (if known)
    • Timeline expectations or deadlines
    • Resource availability
    • Technology constraints
    • Regulatory or compliance requirements

Step 2: Identify stakeholders

Map everyone who has interest in or influence over the project:

  1. Brainstorm stakeholder categories:
    • Sponsor and funding authority
    • End users and customers
    • Project team members
    • Functional managers providing resources
    • Technical experts and advisors
    • Regulatory or compliance bodies
    • Partners or vendors
    • Affected internal groups
    • Executive leadership
  2. For each stakeholder, document:
    • Name and role
    • Interest in the project (what do they care about?)
    • Influence level (high/medium/low)
    • Attitude (supporter/neutral/resistor)
    • Communication needs
    • Key concerns or requirements
  3. Create stakeholder map:
    • Power/Interest grid: who needs most attention
    • Identify key decision makers
    • Note relationships between stakeholders
  4. Identify potential conflicts:
    • Competing priorities
    • Conflicting requirements
    • Political dynamics

Step 3: Define success criteria

Establish how we will know the project succeeded:

  1. Define outcome-based success criteria:
    • What business outcomes must be achieved?
    • What user/customer outcomes matter?
    • What organizational capabilities will be created?
    • Use SMART format: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
  2. Define delivery success criteria:
    • Scope: what must be delivered?
    • Timeline: when must it be delivered?
    • Budget: what cost constraints apply?
    • Quality: what standards must be met?
  3. Define stakeholder-specific success:
    • What does success look like to the sponsor?
    • What do end users need to consider it successful?
    • What do team members need for their success?
  4. Prioritize success criteria:
    • Which criteria are must-have vs. nice-to-have?
    • What tradeoffs are acceptable?
    • If we can only achieve some, which matter most?
  5. Establish measurement approach:
    • How will each criterion be measured?
    • When will measurement occur?
    • Who is responsible for measurement?

Step 4: Draft project charter

Create the formal document authorizing the project:

  1. Project overview:
    • Project name
    • Project manager (if assigned)
    • Sponsor
    • Start date and target end date
    • Charter date and version
  2. Background and justification:
    • Business problem or opportunity
    • Strategic alignment
    • Expected benefits (quantified if possible)
    • Consequences of not doing the project
  3. Objectives and scope:
    • Project objectives (SMART)
    • High-level scope description
    • Major deliverables
    • Out of scope items (explicitly stated)
    • Key assumptions
  4. Success criteria:
    • Measurable success criteria from Step 3
    • How success will be verified
  5. Constraints and risks:
    • Known constraints (time, budget, resources)
    • High-level risks identified
    • Key dependencies
  6. Organization:
    • Sponsor and authority
    • Project manager and authority
    • Key team members or roles
    • Governance structure
  7. Resources:
    • Estimated budget range
    • Key resource requirements
    • Funding source
  8. Approvals:
    • Required signatures
    • Approval conditions

Step 5: Review and approve charter

Obtain stakeholder buy-in and formal approval:

  1. Review with key stakeholders:
    • Share draft with sponsor first
    • Incorporate sponsor feedback
    • Review with other key stakeholders
    • Address concerns and questions
  2. Resolve conflicts:
    • Identify disagreements on scope or approach
    • Facilitate discussions to resolve
    • Document decisions and rationale
    • Escalate if needed
  3. Refine charter based on feedback:
    • Update objectives if needed
    • Clarify ambiguities
    • Add missing information
    • Ensure consistency
  4. Obtain formal approval:
    • Schedule charter approval meeting if needed
    • Present final charter
    • Obtain sponsor signature
    • Obtain other required approvals
    • Document approval date
  5. Communicate approval:
    • Notify stakeholders of approval
    • Distribute approved charter
    • File in project repository

Step 6: Plan kickoff meeting

Prepare for an effective project kickoff:

  1. Determine kickoff scope:
    • Who needs to attend? (core team, stakeholders, extended team)
    • How long should it be? (1 hour to half-day depending on complexity)
    • What format? (in-person, virtual, hybrid)
  2. Create kickoff agenda:
    • Welcome and introductions (5-10 min)
    • Project overview and context (10-15 min)
    • Objectives and success criteria (10-15 min)
    • Scope and approach (15-20 min)
    • Roles and responsibilities (10-15 min)
    • Timeline and milestones (10-15 min)
    • Communication and governance (10 min)
    • Q&A and discussion (15-20 min)
    • Next steps and actions (5-10 min)
  3. Prepare materials:
    • Kickoff presentation deck
    • Project charter (executive summary version)
    • Team roster with roles
    • Initial timeline or roadmap
    • Communication plan overview
  4. Logistics:
    • Book meeting room or set up virtual meeting
    • Send invitations with agenda
    • Prepare any team-building activities
    • Arrange refreshments if in-person
    • Test technology for virtual attendees

Step 7: Conduct kickoff meeting

Execute the kickoff to align and energize the team:

  1. Set the stage:
    • Start on time
    • Welcome everyone and thank them for their commitment
    • Have sponsor speak to importance of project
    • Facilitate introductions (name, role, fun fact)
  2. Present project overview:
    • Share the “why” - business context and importance
    • Present objectives and success criteria
    • Review scope - what’s in, what’s out
    • Show how this connects to organizational strategy
  3. Explain approach:
    • High-level methodology or approach
    • Major phases and milestones
    • Key deliverables and timing
    • Dependencies on other work
  4. Clarify roles and responsibilities:
    • Project governance structure
    • Key roles and who fills them
    • Decision-making authority
    • Escalation paths
  5. Establish working agreements:
    • Communication norms
    • Meeting cadence
    • Tools and systems to use
    • How to raise issues or risks
  6. Address questions and concerns:
    • Open Q&A session
    • Capture concerns for follow-up
    • Ensure everyone can voice thoughts
  7. Generate commitment:
    • Summarize key points
    • Confirm next steps and immediate actions
    • Express confidence in team
    • End on energizing note
  8. Document outputs:
    • Capture questions asked and answers given
    • Note concerns raised
    • Record any decisions made
    • List action items

Step 8: Post-kickoff follow-up

Ensure kickoff momentum continues:

  1. Distribute materials:
    • Send kickoff presentation to all attendees
    • Share project charter
    • Provide links to project repository/workspace
  2. Address open items:
    • Follow up on questions that couldn’t be answered
    • Schedule discussions for concerns raised
    • Assign owners to action items
  3. Establish project infrastructure:
    • Set up project workspace/repository
    • Create communication channels (Slack, Teams, etc.)
    • Configure project tracking tools
    • Schedule recurring meetings
  4. Begin detailed planning:
    • Transition to detailed project planning
    • Assign first planning tasks
    • Set deadlines for planning deliverables
  5. Send kickoff summary:
    • Key decisions and agreements
    • Success criteria confirmed
    • Immediate next steps
    • Where to find information

When to Use

  • Starting a new project of any significant size
  • Formalizing an initiative that has grown organically
  • When multiple teams or departments will collaborate
  • Projects with external stakeholders or customers
  • When budget or resource allocation requires approval
  • Initiatives with strategic importance
  • When accountability and governance must be clear
  • Projects that will span multiple months

Verification

  • Project charter is complete and approved by sponsor
  • All key stakeholders are identified and analyzed
  • Success criteria are SMART and prioritized
  • Kickoff meeting was conducted with key participants
  • Team understands objectives, scope, and their roles
  • Project infrastructure is established
  • Transition to planning phase is clear

Input: $ARGUMENTS

Apply this procedure to the input provided.