Project Kick-off Brief for Professional Services

# Project Kick-off Brief - Professional Services

## Purpose
Prepare and distribute before every project kick-off meeting to align the team and set the project up for success.

## When to Use
A one-page project brief for kick-off meetings covering objectives, scope, team roles, key milestones, communication plan, and success criteria.

## Instructions
1. Review the template below and familiarise yourself with the structure
2. Replace all [bracketed placeholders] with your professional services business details
3. Customise the tone and formatting to match your brand
4. Save in your preferred tool (Notion or Asana)

---

# Project Kick-off Brief

**Project Name:** [Project Name]
**Client/Sponsor:** [Client Name or Internal Sponsor]
**Project Lead:** [Name]
**Start Date:** [Date]
**Target Completion:** [Date]
**Budget:** $[Amount] (ex. GST)

---

## 1. Project Objective

[Two to three sentences describing what the project aims to achieve and why it matters. For example: "This project will implement an automated client onboarding workflow that reduces manual data entry by 80% and ensures every new client receives a consistent, high-quality welcome experience within 24 hours of signing."]

---

## 2. Scope

**In Scope:**
- [Deliverable 1]
- [Deliverable 2]
- [Deliverable 3]
- [Deliverable 4]

**Out of Scope:**
- [Item 1 that will NOT be included]
- [Item 2 that will NOT be included]

---

## 3. Team and Roles

| Team Member | Role | Responsibilities |
|-------------|------|-----------------|
| [Name] | Project Lead | Overall delivery, client liaison, risk management |
| [Name] | [Role, e.g. Developer] | [Key responsibilities] |
| [Name] | [Role, e.g. Designer] | [Key responsibilities] |
| [Name] | Client Contact | Approvals, feedback, providing required assets |

---

## 4. Key Milestones

| Milestone | Target Date | Dependencies |
|-----------|-------------|-------------|
| Project kick-off | [Date] | None |
| [Phase 1 deliverable] | [Date] | [Any dependencies] |
| [Phase 2 deliverable] | [Date] | [Any dependencies] |
| Client review and feedback | [Date] | Phase 2 completion |
| Final delivery / go-live | [Date] | Client sign-off |

---

## 5. Communication Plan

- **Status updates:** [Frequency, e.g. "Weekly on Fridays via email"]
- **Team check-ins:** [Frequency and format, e.g. "Daily 15-minute standup at 9:15 AM"]
- **Client meetings:** [Frequency, e.g. "Fortnightly via Zoom"]
- **Primary channel:** [e.g. "Slack #project-[name]"]
- **Escalation path:** [Name] (Project Lead) then [Name] (Director)

---

## 6. Success Criteria

This project will be considered successful when:
- [Measurable outcome 1, e.g. "Onboarding time is reduced from 3 days to under 24 hours"]
- [Measurable outcome 2, e.g. "All integrations pass quality assurance testing"]
- [Measurable outcome 3, e.g. "Client signs off on all deliverables"]

---

## 7. Risks and Mitigations

| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|-----------|--------|------------|
| [Risk 1] | [High/Med/Low] | [High/Med/Low] | [Mitigation strategy] |
| [Risk 2] | [High/Med/Low] | [High/Med/Low] | [Mitigation strategy] |

---

**Prepared by:** [Your Name] | **Date:** [Date]

---

**Complexity:** intermediate | **Setup time:** 15 minutes | **Tools:** Notion, Asana, Slack

Note: This template has been tailored for professional services businesses in Australia. Adjust terminology and compliance references to match your specific context.