With the many project management software and tools now available, starting a new project can be simple. Project management templates provide an easy path towards project kick off, and are effective in standardizing and organizing the key details so you and your team can get started.
Beginning a project without a solid plan can see your team facing more problems than necessary. For instance, being unclear on the project’s purpose could cause it to steer in the wrong direction, and not preparing for easily conquerable problems could waste considerable time and money.
In this article, we will give you a step-by-step guide on how to use project templates for your project’s kickoff. Further down, we will discuss the benefits of templates and some overall tips on successfully launching your new project.
Looking for the perfect template to kick off your project? Check out Tech.co’s project management template to get you and your team started.
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What is a Project Management Template – and How Can it Help?
A project management template is a document or tool that helps businesses effectively organize and manage a project. They come pre-designed and aim to cover all angles from budgeting to risk management, aiming to keep businesses as productive as possible in a project’s early stages.
On the whole, businesses waste about 12% of their valuable resources due to poor project management. When starting a project, planning and finalizing the key elements using templates ensures all the essential boxes are ticked.
Here are some ways project management templates can help businesses:
- Guided brainstorming tool – Project management templates can guide you in the right direction when approaching a new project. You won’t need to worry about whether you’ve covered all bases, as a high-quality template will guide you on what to consider for success.
- Early organization – Getting organized is key in the early stages of a project, particularly with details such as team member names and roles, client expectations, and potential stakeholder information. Having this information on hand allows your team to organize themselves from the get-go.
- Quicker onboarding – Should there be a change or addition of new personnel throughout the project, templates could be useful in getting them up to speed on the project’s main purpose and its progress.
- Providing structure – With an early template, you and your team members have a better idea of where the project is going and the steps to completion. This will help the team predict what is coming next and help them prepare for it.
How to Kick Off a Project With Templates: A Step-by-Step Guide
Here are some steps to make sure your project hits the ground running.
1. Define the project
In the early stages, it’s important to give details about why the project is being carried out and the possible problem it’s aiming to solve. This will give you and your team a strong understanding of the project’s goals and main objectives, and help you coordinate your project effectively. Therefore, treat this as your opening statement. Write out the goals, objectives, and any other background information your team should know.
2. Identify the key players
On our template, there’s space to write out each member of your team, any external clients or shareholders, and the role they will play in the project. This will allow you and your team members to become familiar with who does what, which could help later down the line with delegating tasks and approaching specific problems.
When finalizing your list, we would recommend encouraging the members of your team to express their strengths and what they are hoping to bring to the project on the project template. Encouraging a communicative and positive team dynamic is essential to a project’s success.
3. Create a timeline
Having a goal can be overwhelming, particularly if your team is undergoing a long-term or complicated project with many different stages. Creating a clear timeline breaks down the project’s overall goal into key periods, and gives your team manageable goals to strive for, rather than focusing on the bigger picture.
monday.com’s single project template. Image: Tech.co
4. Dish out responsibilities
It’s now time to break things down into actionable tasks that each team member can start to work on. We would recommend using the timeline as a basis for this, and breaking down each milestone into separate tasks.
Once those have been recorded, you can begin to assign each task to team members, based on their roles and levels of expertise. Our template has these mapped out in a table where members can tick off a task once it has been completed, and where deadlines for tasks can also be input. However, many templates offer different structures to help you track task progress.
Interactive page elements become particularly helpful here, especially if you want your team’s project management template to reflect the ongoing process. Monday.com’s free project management template stood out in particular for its easy-to-grasp interactive elements in our roundup of the best free project management templates.
5. Mitigate potential risks
A big part of running and participating in a project is being agile, and having the foresight to predict any risks or problems that may affect the project’s timeline. Make a note of any problems that may occur from the beginning of your project to completion, and add ways these issues could be overcome or prevented.
Try to cover every possible issue. For example, will a team member’s planned absence influence how quickly a task is finished? Or could the project’s budget be reached before its end, which is what the Smartsheet template below aims to address. Being prepared to tackle these problems by listing them out and adding solutions in your template will provide clarity and assurances for yourself and your team.
A key part of mitigating risks is listing any resources, tools, and support that are available to the team throughout the project. They could be as simple as important files and documents, or a more in-depth and easy-to-use project management software.
This will give each member guidance on where to go should they encounter any difficulties.
Smartsheet’s project budget template. Image: Tech.co
6. Hold your first meeting
There are plenty of project management templates out there to prepare you and your team for your initial kickoff meeting. They ensure that the project manager provides a solid background on the project and has clearly specified the project’s timeline and scope. We would also recommend sharing the project management template you have curated so far with the rest of your team.
The first meeting is also an opportunity for your team members to interact and understand the project. By allowing your team to access the first template, they can refer back to various points throughout the project when they need some clarity.
7. Follow-up
After the meeting, continue to catch up with your team and ensure they are all aware of their tasks and any deadlines. Scheduling progress meetings can help your project stay on track, and also allows your team members to report on any changes or concerns that could affect the project’s outcome.
The life cycle of project management carries on beyond your first follow-up, however, and your team should be consistently keeping up to date with each other and referring back to the project’s original purpose and goal.
Benefits of Using Templates for a Smooth Project Kickoff
The initial kickoff can affect the tone of the entire project. Templates are an effective way to make sure you and your team are staying on track, are aligned with the project’s main elements. Below, we’ve outlined some more benefits of using project management templates:
- Organization and general time-saving – On average, workflow management templates help employees save 498 hours per year. With all of your project information in one place, employees can quickly access important documents or tools without the burden of digging through files.
- Consistency across team members – Templates ensure that everyone has access to the same information, and that the information is presented in an easy-to-read and standardized format.
- Increase in productive communication – Teams using interactive project management templates have reported a 52% increase in team communication. With team members’ roles and strengths clearly outlined, employees can contact each other intentionally and quickly.
- Smooth day-to-day operations – Templates within project management software will give your project a centralized hub to carry out all of its daily operations, such as task tracking and scheduling regular meetings.
Tips for Successful Project Kickoffs
Getting off to a good start sets the tone for the rest of the project. Here are some tips to make your project kickoff a great one:
- Be clear on the key details – This includes the goals, objectives, and purpose of a project, which will provide a solid backbone for your team to begin to plan. Being unclear on these points early on could mean your business loses its focus down the line.
- Establish a strong team environment – This can be done by understanding each member of your team and how they will contribute to the project. Encourage people to highlight their strengths and share their expectations, creating an open environment where people feel they can work productively.
- Have clear expectations on where the project is headed – Having a roadmap to success will guide you and the members of your team and signpost pivotal moments within the project.
- Outline next steps – Even though we’re focused on the initial kickoff, knowing where the project is going after that is going to help your team start making progress. Have an understanding of what comes next, whether that be by setting up a regular catch-up meeting or giving out new responsibilities.
For more helpful information, check out our guide on Vital Project Management Tips.
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Verdict
On the whole, kicking off a project has never been easier with the numerous project management templates available to businesses. By using a standardized format that covers every aspect of a project’s kickoff, your team can ensure they are covering every base and setting a project up for success.
Project management templates can also improve processes until the project’s completion. They can simplify and streamline the sharing of information, contributing to an organized and communicative working environment.
Better yet, continuously working with templates across multiple team projects creates a consistent project procedure and assures all of your team’s projects start strong.