102 KiB
| created | updated |
|---|---|
| 2024-02-21 14:01 | 2024-03-28 15:59 |
Project checklist
In the Creative Process, we can use a feedback loop to create some Intermediate Packages that we can reinvest into the current or future projects.
Kickoff
We can give a little structure and run a kickoff checklist at the beginning of a project, so it's easier to start and we can reuse previous work.
Example of a checklist:
- Capture my current thinking on the project (brainstorm).
- What do I already know about this project?
- What don’t I know that I need to find out?
- What is my goal or intention?
- Who can I talk to who might provide insights?
- What can I read or listen to for relevant ideas?
- Review folders (or tags) that might contain relevant notes.
- Search for related terms across all folders.
- Link relevant notes to the project folder.
- Create an outline of collected notes and plan the project.
Other steps we can include:
- Answer premortem questions: What do you want to learn? What is the greatest source of uncertainty or most important question you want to answer? What is most likely to fail?
- Communicate with stakeholders: Explain to your manager, colleagues, clients, customers, shareholders, contractors, etc., what the project is about and why it matters.
- Define success criteria: What needs to happen for this project to be considered successful? What are the minimum results you need to achieve, or the “stretch goals” you’re striving for?
- Have an official kickoff: Schedule check-in calls, make a budget and timeline, and write out the goals and objectives to make sure everyone is informed, aligned, and clear on what is expected of them. I find that doing an official kickoff is useful even if it’s a solo project!
Completion
This is an important habit, in this step we can gather the project information to allow our future self to reference more easily and reuse it. Without this step, the kickoff checklist would be far more difficult to make.
Example of a checklist:
- Mark project as complete in task manager or project management app.
- This is done first to be sure the project is actually complete and there are not lingering tasks.
- Cross out the associated project goal and move to “Completed” section.
- Take a moment to reflect on the project goals, A massive team endeavor might justify hours of in-depth analysis, while a small personal side project might deserve only a few minutes of reflection.
- Review Intermediate Packets and link them to other folders.
- Move project to archives across all platforms.
- If project is becoming inactive: add a current status note to the project folder before archiving.
Other steps we can include:
- Answer postmortem questions: What did you learn? What did you do well? What could you have done better? What can you improve for next time?
- Communicate with stakeholders: Notify your manager, colleagues, clients, customers, shareholders, contractors, etc., that the project is complete and what the outcomes were.
- Evaluate success criteria: Were the objectives of the project achieved? Why or why not? What was the return on investment?
- Officially close out the project and celebrate: Send any last emails, invoices, receipts, feedback forms, or documents, and celebrate your accomplishments with your team or collaborators so you receive the feeling of fulfillment for all the effort you put in.
I’ve been amazed that by being honest with myself about when a project has stalled and taking these few minutes to download my current thinking on it, I can often pick it back up months or even years later with minimal effort. It’s very empowering to realize you can put a project in “cold storage” and let go of the mental toll of having to keep it in mind. It’s tremendously comforting to know that I don’t need to make constant progress on everything all the time.
Tiago Forte, “Building a Second Brain”, p. 210
Since you don’t know for sure that any of this material will ever be useful again, you should minimize how much extra time and attention you invest in it. No more than 10 or 15 minutes to grab any stand-alone materials and insights.