The Importance of the Kickoff Meeting

Everything anyone ever wanted to know about the project is revealed at the kickoff meeting! It lays the groundwork for what lies ahead for the team. Working through the agenda, the project manager explains the IPM procedures to be used to execute the project. The team will learn that the project is a collaborative venture: They will all participate in project planning and share in achieving good communication within the project, and they will learn that their expertise will be needed in creating the project plan. They also will learn that in creating the plan, each team member can support the project by going beyond his or her personal knowledge to query subject matter experts within their organization, by asking for help in developing the information they bring to planning meetings. Because it is important that every team member fully understand these points at the beginning of the project, every-one on the team must attend this meeting!

To assure mandatory attendance, during team recruitment, the project manager must set a date when all team members are able to attend. Although it is always desirable to hold the kickoff meeting as soon as possible, it is more important to start with all team members present, even if this means delaying the meeting a day or two.