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Project Kickoff Meeting Template

Start your projects with clarity and alignment using this comprehensive kickoff template.


📋 The Template

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# Project Kickoff: [Project Name]
**Date:** [Date]
**Attendees:** [Team members, stakeholders]
**Duration:** 60 minutes

## Project Overview (10 min)
**Project Name:** [Name]
**Project Goal:** [What we're trying to achieve]
**Success Criteria:** [How we'll know we succeeded]
**Timeline:** [Start date] to [End date]

## Why This Project? (5 min)
- Business problem we're solving
- Expected impact
- Alignment with company goals

## Scope (10 min)
### In Scope
- [Feature/deliverable 1]
- [Feature/deliverable 2]
- [Feature/deliverable 3]

### Out of Scope
- [What we're NOT doing]
- [What we're NOT doing]

## Team & Roles (10 min)
- **Project Lead:** [Name] - [Responsibilities]
- **Team Members:**
  - [Name] - [Role]
  - [Name] - [Role]
  - [Name] - [Role]
- **Stakeholders:** [Names]

## Timeline & Milestones (10 min)
- **Week 1-2:** [Milestone]
- **Week 3-4:** [Milestone]
- **Week 5-6:** [Milestone]
- **Launch:** [Date]

## Communication Plan (5 min)
- **Status Updates:** [Frequency and format]
- **Team Meetings:** [When and where]
- **Tools:** [Slack channel, project board, docs]

## Risks & Dependencies (5 min)
### Risks
- [Risk 1] - Mitigation: [Plan]
- [Risk 2] - Mitigation: [Plan]

### Dependencies
- [What we need from other teams]
- [External dependencies]

## Questions & Discussion (5 min)
- [Open questions]
- [Concerns to address]

## Next Steps
- [ ] @[Name]: [Action] - Due: [Date]
- [ ] @[Name]: [Action] - Due: [Date]
- [ ] @[Name]: [Action] - Due: [Date]

💡 How to Run a Great Kickoff

Before the Meeting

  • Create project brief - Share 48 hours ahead
  • Invite the right people - Core team + key stakeholders
  • Prepare visuals - Timeline, org chart, scope diagram

During the Meeting

  • Set the tone - This is exciting, not scary
  • Encourage questions - Better to surface concerns now
  • Get buy-in - Make sure everyone agrees on scope and timeline

After the Meeting

  • Share recording and notes - Within 24 hours
  • Create project workspace - Slack channel, shared docs
  • Schedule recurring check-ins - Lock in the calendar

✅ Pro Tips

  • Celebrate the start - Make it feel like a big deal
  • Be realistic about timeline - Add buffer for unknowns
  • Define "done" - What does success look like?
  • Assign a DRI - One person owns each deliverable

🚀 Skip the Note-Taking

Potato joins your kickoff meetings and does work while you talk. Questions answered in 30 seconds, documents created live. Decisions and actions are captured automatically.

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