1. Vision / Scope deck. I put slides that capture the vision, the scope, the goals, the deliverables, the timeline, the budget, the key measures, and the execution plan. This helps give people a sense of the journey, and confidence we can get there. I also think of a working tag line, a brief elevator pitch to easily remember how the world will be different when I’m done. This can take an hour to several days.

2. Mind Map the project. I get with the team to co-create an overall map of the project. It’s really a top level Work Breakdown Structure. By creating with the team, everybody gets a sense of who’s doing what. This typically takes 20 minutes to an hour. It’s really a fast dump of the types of activities people will be doing, so people get a good sense of the work and help remind each other of the overall work for the project.

3. Analysis and design workshop. I get everybody together for a week of focus up front, where everybody is immersed. We identify the stakeholders, the top pains and needs, the desired outcomes, and most importantly, the top risks. We quickly test ourselves against our top risks through quick prototypes or deep diagloues or whiteboard sessions. A great output, is a deeper work breakdown structure by the people that will do the work. I shoot for 4 consecutive days. It’s like a bootcamp.

Between those three things, you end up with a lot of clarity, you know your big risks, you go through team bonding faster (forming, storming, norming, performing), and you know the work that needs to be done.

One additional tip is to think of yourself as the director and your job is to set up each actor to bring out their best on the stage you are creating.

And grab How to Run Successful Projects III, by Fergus O’Connell. It’s full of great project management advice, key success factors, example work breakdown structures, and proven practices for project management skills like reporting status, stakeholder management, getting on track, etc.