What is a Kick Off Meeting?

A kick off meeting is an important communication tool for you to communicate

with your project stakeholders. If managed properly, this meeting can help you
execute the project with minimal obstruction and you will be able to complete
your project successfully.

A kick off meeting is the first meeting among the project stakeholders. This
meeting can be held among the high level project stakeholders such as the
project sponsor, management, and the project manager.

When Does the Kickoff Meeting Take Place?

At the project level, if the project is small, the kickoff meeting takes place after the
initiation process (in the planning process), and this includes all team members,
as the same team is involved with the planning and execution. In small projects,
you usually conduct only one project kickoff meeting. This may be their first
meeting together since most of the team members are new.
If the project is large, the project kickoff meeting takes place when the project
planning is completed, and you are about to execute the work (in the execution
phase). In a multiphase project you may have the kickoff meeting at the beginning
of each phase.

If the project is complex and spread out across a large geographical area, the
meeting will be a virtual kickoff meeting where all participants can communicate
with each other through the internet.

What is the Purpose of a Kick Off Meeting?

A kick off meeting is the first meeting with the project stakeholders, so you can
simply say that it is a get to know kind of meeting.

It is true that one objective of the kick off meeting is to get to know each other,
since all of the project team members are new and don’t know each other, it is
important to have a familiarization session.

This meeting can be an opportunity for team members to meet each other and
also help to improve feelings of trust and promotes a mutual understanding and
agreement among team members.

The other objective of a kick off meeting is to make all members aware of the
project objectives, assumptions, constraints, deliverables, challenges,
methodologies, procedures, plans, working environment, etc.

A successful kick off meeting ensures that all project stakeholders are on the
same page and understand the project objectives well. This will help them
complete the project more efficiently. It helps them to reach an agreement on how
to work as a team.
How to Conduct a Kick Off Meeting
The following are a few steps for conducting a successful kickoff meeting.

Set the Agenda

This is the most important step. You should clearly decide what items you are
going to discuss in the meeting.

For example, you can include the introduction session, introduction to the project
and its objectives, milestones, assumptions, constraints, and finally the question
and answer session.

You can use a presentation to explain your understanding, methodology, or show

the structure of your organization, milestone list, etc.

You should send this agenda to all attendees in advance so they can prepare
themselves for the meeting. You should also distribute it just before the meeting
starts.

Conduct the Meeting

As a project manager you will have to conduct and lead the meeting(the key
person).

You will introduce yourself and ask others to follow suit. Afterwards you will
discuss the agenda and tell attendees what you are going to discuss in the
meeting.

You will explain the project charter and its content, such as project objectives,
high level project assumptions and constraints. Tell them since this is the initial
stage you will need their help to develop the detailed project management plan.

Set the expectations clearly. For example, explain to them how many days they
will have to work, about the rotation, and how leave will be granted.

Explain the communication and reporting system. For example, in what format
you need the reports and how often meetings or communication should happen.

You can discuss who the important stakeholders are for your project, and their
roles and responsibilities.

Closure of the Meeting

At the end of the meeting, you will hold a question and answer session. Here
participants can ask any question they may have about the project.

Finally, You will thank all participants and ask them to contact you to clarify any
doubts or for further questions.
Once the meeting is ended, you will prepare the minutes of the meeting and send
it to all attendees for their review. You will also try to communicate with any
important stakeholder who did not come to the meeting. You will send them the
minutes of meeting and try to have a one-on-one meeting if necessary.

Benefits of a Kick Off meeting

The following are a few benefits of a kick off meeting:
 It helps team members to get to know each other.
 It demonstrates the project manager’s authority and leadership skills.
 It helps team members understand the project objectives.
 It helps the project manager gain support from all stakeholders.
 It gives the opportunity to all attendees to ask questions and get clarity.
 It brings all stakeholders to the same platform.
 It helps team members understand the project’s milestones, risks,
assumptions, and constraints.

Summary
The kick off meeting is an important tool for the project manager to get to know all
team members and motivate them to achieve the project objectives. This is the
first meeting for the project and mainly performs the task of kick starting the
project. A kick off meeting is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your abilities
to lead and direct the project; therefore you must plan and manage this meeting
carefully.a kick off meeting done in the planning process before start execution
phase .

) Task no.12 ( ‫مهام مدير المشروع في مرحلة التخطيط‬

 ‫انصح بقراءة هذا الملف قبل اختبار ‪. PMP‬‬ ‫‪‬‬
‫يوجد ف االختبار اكثر من ‪ 3‬أسئلة على اجتماع انطالق المشروع ‪Kick Off Meeting‬‬ ‫‪‬‬
‫تم تجميع هذا الملف من مصادر متعددة وتم إضافة النقاط المتعلقة من مهام مدير المشروع والبمبوك اإلصدار السادس‪.‬‬ ‫‪‬‬
‫ملحوظة هامة جدا ( مهام مدير المشروع هي نفسها إلصدار الخامس ال يوجد اى تغيير )‪.‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫بالتوفيق للجميع ان شاء هللا‬

‫م‪ /‬السيد محسن‬
‫‪PMP,PMI-RMP,PMI-SP‬‬