Initiation
Ownership transfers to the Projects Coordinator and the Project Manager (from New Work or Account Management). Project setup and planning: the project becomes operationally real. Roles are clarified, the project team is appointed, resources are booked in, and the approach to Discovery (and possibly the whole project) is agreed.
Roles
- Phase owner: Projects Coordinator (operations) + PM (delivery)
- Informed: Sponsor, AM, Design Lead, Dev Lead, Support Point of Contact, Finance Team
- Primary Client contact: Project Manager
Typical activities
- Review of proposal and contract, assumptions, and risks
- Project administration (document set-up, Harvest codes, Rocket channel etc) and coordination with other projects
- Budget + Finance setup
- Final Resourcing: Full team composition and roles assingments. This includes PM, Project Sponsor, Support Point of Contact, Backlog Steward and rest of Delivery Team roles.
- Project kick-off (internal and/or client)
- Planning the Discovery approach and cadence (sprint length, checkpoints, required deliverables: needs doc, journey map, tech analysis, estimate)
- Risk register
- Decision register
- Draft project KPIs (budget, timeline, client satisfaction, maybe scope stability)
- Statement of Work reviewed by PM + delivery team and signed off by client
Deliverables
| Deliverable | Owner | Shared With | Format | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project admin in place (Harvest, docs, repo) | Projects Coordinator | PM | Harvest, Google Docs, Gitlab | Before kick-off |
| PM onboarded | Projects Coordinator | PM | Internal project initiation meeting template | Day 1 of initiation |
| Risk register in place with known risks documented | PM | Project team + Sponsor | Risk Register template | By end of initiation |
| Decision register | PM | Project team | Statement of Work template | By end of initiation |
| Project resourced (roles confirmed) | Projects Coordinator | PM + Sponsor + Leads | Internal project initiation meeting inc Support | Before kick-off |
| Project Plan | PM | Project Team | Project Management Sheet | Internal kick-off |
| Statement of Work signed by client | PM | Project Team + client | Statement of Work | Before Discovery phase |
| Discovery Phase defined | Discovery Lead | Project Team + client | TBC | Before Discovery phase |
Templates
| Template | Owner | Audience |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of Work | PM | Both |
| Project Management Sheet | PM | Internal |
| Internal project initiation meeting | Projects Coordinator | Internal |
| Client K-O meeting | PM | Both |
| Board templates (Gitlab; other) | Projects Coordinator | Both |
Tools and Platforms
- Harvest — project codes, time tracking
- Google Docs / Project Drive — project documentation and shared workspace
- Rocket — project channel
- Slack — if relevant for client
- GitHub / GitLab — repository setup
- [Other backlog tool — backlog setup]
- Google Meet / Zoom — kick-off meetings
Checkpoint
-
Core project roles are assigned and accepted (Sponsor, Discovery, Design, Development, Backlog Steward, Support) ↳ Required output: Role confirmation documented in project workspace (project management sheet)
-
Statement of Work is signed by client ↳ Required output: Scope and timeline are agreed and signed off
-
Internal kick-off completed ↳ Required output: Internal K-O meeting notes recorded; project documents updated
-
Budget and timeline for Discovery are agreed ↳ Required output: Documented in project management sheet
-
Project infrastructure is in place (repo/backlog, tracking, comms, docs) ↳ Required output: Checklist signed off by PM
-
Known risks are logged and visible ↳ Required output: Risk register created and accessible by client
-
Client understands what Discovery will and will not cover ↳ Required output: Discovery Plan document confirmed in writing or via kick-off notes
-
Project plan signed off ↳ Required output: Project plan includes phase with high-level estimates and timeline (currently in project management sheet)
If any of these is unclear, we resolve them before beginning Discovery.
Handover
| From | Projects Coordinator + Project Manager |
| To | Discovery Lead + Project Manager |
| Mechanism | Internal handover meeting. PM remains on the project; the Discovery Lead is formally introduced and confirmed. |
| Projects Coordinator | Confirm resourcing is in place and the Discovery Lead is booked. Share the full project admin pack (risks, decisions, SoW, infrastructure). |
| PM | Brief the Discovery Lead on the proposal, scope, risks, client context, and agreed Discovery approach. Ensure the project workspace is ready. |
| Discovery Lead | Attend handover, confirm scope of their involvement, and take ownership of the Discovery plan. |
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