--- title: How to Set Your Project Kick-Offs Up for Success description: Before you kick-off the project with your team you need to get clear on the project details so you’ll have what’s needed to ensure it's long-term success. image: https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/hubfs/Alicias%20Blog%202024%20resize%201.png --- # Helping "Future You" - How to Set Your Project Kick-Offs Up for Success Posted by Alicia Seguin - September 16, 2024 - [**](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/how-to-set-your-project-kick-offs-up-for-success) - [**](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/how-to-set-your-project-kick-offs-up-for-success&title=&summary=&source=) - [**](https://twitter.com/home?status=) - [**](https://plus.google.com/share?url=https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/how-to-set-your-project-kick-offs-up-for-success) - [**](mailto:?&subject=https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/how-to-set-your-project-kick-offs-up-for-success&body=https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/how-to-set-your-project-kick-offs-up-for-success) ** ![header-picture](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/hubfs/Blog%20Images/Project%20kickoffs/Alicias%20Blog%202024%20resize%201.png "header-picture") Being on a creative training team means I have worked on some crazy cool L&D initiatives. eLearning, animations, video series’, stand-up training, even a card game! You name it, we’ve created it. And in that time, I’ve learned that while no two learning experiences are identical, they *all *have ways they can be set up from the start to help “future you” when things go sideways (which let’s be honest, happens). Get Your Ducks in a Row…and by Ducks I Mean Details Before you kick-off the project with your team (even if you’re a team of two, or even one!), you need to get clear on the project details so you’ll have what’s needed to hit the ground running once the project begins. Start with the basics and answer these questions: - **Who is the target audience?** - Company-wide, specific area, external-facing, time in role (new hires, incumbents, contractors), etc. - It’s important to identify your audience and their time in role so you can get a basic understanding of who they are and the level of detail you will want to include in the training. - **What are we trying to achieve with this training? What needs are being addressed?** - Think about not just the what, but the **why** of the training - are you looking to inform on a new or updated process, introduce a new skill, welcome people to your organization, something else? - Conducting a [Needs Assessment](https://www.td.org/content/atd-blog/the-what-why-and-how-of-needs-assessments) and/or Needs Analysis can be beneficial to get quantifiable data to back up the need for your training initiative. - Have you identified your subject matter expert(s) for the project? - SMEs will bring your training to life through their real-world experience (you might even say they are the [superheroes of your training!](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/unsung-hero-sme)), so it’s critical to connect with them as soon as possible. - You should consider including the SMEs in your kick-off as well, so they have an overall awareness of the project goals and expectations for involvement. - **How will you obtain source materials to start building out the training?** - The information you need might be in documentation, presentation decks, various PDFs, or maybe even in someone’s brain! - **What modality will be utilized for the training?** - In-person (Classroom, On-the-Job, Workshop) - Online (E-Learning, Animation, Video, VILT, Virtual Webinar) - Blended - Self-paced - Game - Whatever else you can dream up! - **Who is going to be involved in the project?** - Identify the roles of each person involved along with their responsibilities and expectations. The answers to these questions may require you to reach out to other teams. It’s good to get these initial questions answered at least a week or two before the kick-off.   Create Documentation That Points the Way The project kick-off is one of the few times you have all key players together at once with their *undivided *attention. Use that time to your advantage by creating documentation that will guide your kick-off agenda AND that you can refer back to if you feel the project is straying from its original purpose. For this you can create a creative brief, high level outline, or detailed outline. You’ll notice we have both “brief” and “outline” in the titles. These documents should be straight and to the point; easy to digest; no more than 1-2 pages. Let’s dive into these useful documents! - **Creative Brief** - This document clearly states the facts of the initiative, including: - Project Details (title, roles designations, contact info, etc.) - Overview / Learning Objectives - Launch Date - Seat Time / Length - Audience - Tone / Messaging **We created a Creative Brief resource to get you started, **[you can download it here!](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/creative-brief-download) - **High Level Outline** - The high level outline shows the overall framework for the training, so you can organize the flow of information and then share it to get buy-in or revise as needed. - Think of it like how you’d write a term paper in school - using main bullet points and sub-bullets to note the content that is being included in the order it should be presented. - **Detailed Outline** - This takes the high level outline a step further by adding more details to your bullet points – gathering all the source you have in one place before the writing/development starts. - By gathering your source information in this document, you will see exactly where you may have gaps so you can determine what else you need and get to work on finding it. You can create one of these formats, or use all 3! The main idea is that you use them during the project kick-off, and then also refer back to them throughout the project lifecycle. You can even share them after the fact as a reminder for those involved! This way, everyone can stay aligned on the original intentions for the training and stay true to what you set out to accomplish.   It’s Time to Kick-Off! Use the momentum you build at the kick-off to set a positive tone, that will then be carried through in every other aspect of the training event. By incorporating these steps into your next project right at the start, you are beginning the project with success in mind – and that will give “future you” a better chance at completing the project successfully, too! What other things do you incorporate into your project kick-off planning - share your ideas with us! ***Don't forget to download our Creative Brief template!*** [![Download](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/462737/interactive-180546691931.png) ](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLQtA%2B%2BNRCxIqxvTNcGwaTSJuw8g8e8%2Bb7bF9JyHujG9fRv0fxV%2FhcglqLZERw%2F%2BFuDINKYUsklMdVR7uwh2NByUyZF6s%2BN8GZUQMh1SGrdkG0jSjcJMxC2SdM8nMEzASst%2ByAK1BFFfrJLN8YQ4oIoMn8QFK12zIJ8lKDaeA69rDC%2Bx%2BLNIVxF9BVlZiSg%2FtF1mpZMwbn6yTfg9gw%3D&webInteractiveContentId=180546691931&portalId=462737) Topics: [eLearning](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/topic/elearning), [training and development](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/topic/training-and-development), [leadership and development](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/topic/leadership-and-development) --- ### Recent Posts #### [By Alicia Seguin - April 07, 2026 How to Set Up a Learning & Development Review Process in Four Steps](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/how-to-set-up-a-learning-development-review-process-in-four-steps) [![read more](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/hubfs/IMG-TurboSodium/Sodium%20v2/blog/arrow-recent-blog-post.png "read more")](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/how-to-set-up-a-learning-development-review-process-in-four-steps) #### [By Liesl Christle - March 09, 2026 What L&D Can Learn From the Unique Challenges of Seasonal Hiring](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/what-ld-can-learn-from-the-unique-challenges-of-seasonal-hiring) [![read more](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/hubfs/IMG-TurboSodium/Sodium%20v2/blog/arrow-recent-blog-post.png "read more")](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/what-ld-can-learn-from-the-unique-challenges-of-seasonal-hiring) #### [By Liesl Christle - November 10, 2025 How Communities of Practice Can Build (And Sustain) a Learning Culture](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/how-communities-of-practice-can-build-and-sustain-a-learning-culture) [![read more](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/hubfs/IMG-TurboSodium/Sodium%20v2/blog/arrow-recent-blog-post.png "read more")](https://www.reflectionsoftware.com/blog/how-communities-of-practice-can-build-and-sustain-a-learning-culture) --- ### Our Reflections Stay up to date with the latest learning and development industry trends! 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