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👋 By ‣, Sr. Strategy Consultant at Part and Sum. This article outlines the basic steps of setting up a project plan prior to the first meeting with any client. This article will continue to be developed and refined as we build out our psOS resources.
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🎉 Getting Started
“Hey Mary, I have a new project for you!”
So you get a slack, call, random meeting invite and 🎉SURPRISE🎉 you’re leading a new client project. Congrats! Leadership has likely been talking to the client for weeks, and perhaps relays the information verbally or shares some notes.
You’re asked to get started, but where do you...start?
✔️ Checklist
- [ ] Request and review SOW. This is the clearest articulation of the project, and it is your responsibility to ensure your work delivers on it.
- [ ] Ask leadership for hunches. They’ve been thinking about the problem for longer and may have an idea of how to approach.
- [ ] Reference past work (if applicable). Mine for best practices from how past teams have approached similar projects. Learn from their wins and losses.
- [ ] Build a project plan. See below!
- [ ] Establish support needed. Make sure you have deliverable-level alignment with the senior person on your account.
- [ ] Client kickoff! Where we’ll finalize deliverable dates based on client needs.
- [ ] Adjust project plan (if needed). Sometimes kickoff can change the plan a lot, and that’s okay. What’s important is that you implement their feedback to land on a final plan—and do your best to stick to it.
🤨 Why Project Plan?
Project plans are an important project management tool, and increasingly essential for more complex and long-term projects.
🧮 Project Plan Use Cases
- To build a client-facing timeline.
- To act as a roadmap for internal statuses.
- To look ahead and anticipate future roadblocks.