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Core project team identification

Identify the core project team members and hold a core team kickoff meeting.

Core project team members:

  • represent their functional area (for example digital design and production, strategic communication, and subject, program or policy areas)
  • make project decisions based on their field of expertise
  • request support from the extended team
  • participate in all project phases
  • attend all key project meetings

On this page

When to use

Do this activity as early as possible during the project.

Having a core team with key functional areas represented ensures:

  • timely decision making
  • leadership in key functional areas
  • continuity throughout the project
  • alignment with Government of Canada and CRA messaging and priorities

The purpose of a core team kickoff meeting is to:

  • introduce core team members to each other
  • describe the roles and responsibilities of core team members
  • ensure core team members have a shared understanding of the project (for example, the project background, objectives, timelines, scope, risks, assumptions and constraints)

Who is involved

Lead
Project team lead (for example, product manager or project coordinator)
Others who may help identify core team members include
  • Other product managers or project coordinators in PAB Digital Design and Production Directorate (DDPD)
  • Account managers or communication advisors in PAB Strategic Communications Directorate
  • Partner subject matter experts (SMEs)
  • Management stakeholders, project sponsor or relevant committees

How to do it

There are 4 steps for this activity.

  1. Identify core functional areas required throughout the project

    Start by reviewing and noting the major issues that were prioritized in the activities under the objective Identify the problem area.

    Then determine what expertise is required to address the major issues. Consider:

    • digital design and production expertise in
      • product management/project management
      • content quality (may include translation)
      • UX research and design
      • information architecture
      • search optimization
      • web production
      • content strategy
      • content design
      • web analytics
    • strategic communications expertise in the
      • branch or region for the account manager
      • program or topic for the communication advisor
    • subject matter expertise in
      • program areas
      • policy areas
      • technical areas
      • areas in direct contact with target audience (for example call centres)

  2. Determine who will represent the core areas

    For each functional area identified in step 1, consider who

    • has the required expertise
    • is available for all project phases

    Consult the following to help determine who will represent those areas:

    Confirm their membership on the core team by reaching out directly to them, their managers, or to executive management supporting the project.

  3. Record the names and brief information for each core team member

    Record the list of names of core team members identified in step 2. Record this information wherever you are recording project artifacts. This could be a tool such as a Product log (for example, using the "Team" tab in the Product log template ) or a Pulse ticket (for example, filling in the sections for "Requestor/partner" and "Internal stakeholders"), or another tool.

    Include the following information for each core team member:

    • team designation as “Core”
    • project role (their expertise or the functional area they are representing, for example, Content strategist or UX researcher or Strategic communications advisor or SME)
    • role notes (for example, lead or supplemental support or observing)
    • title (job title) 
    • branch, directorate, division
    • key meeting attendance as mandatory
    • availability (when/how long they are available to work on this project)

  4. Hold the core team kickoff meeting

    Finish this activity by holding a core team kickoff meeting.

    Before the meeting

    Plan the meeting

    • schedule and send a placeholder (save the date) meeting invitation as early as possible to ensure all core team members will be able to attend
      • consider the time zones of the invitees
      • advise invitees that an agenda and any materials will be sent in advance of the meeting
      • ask invitees to confirm their attendance
    • review the project details and business drivers (for example, ensure the partner area has filled out the Web content objectives template)
    • create a meeting agenda to keep the meeting focused
      • assign time to each agenda item
      • put priority items first on the agenda to ensure time for discussion
    • distribute the agenda prior to the meeting to allow attendees to prepare for the meeting
    • include any materials that may be helpful for attendees to review in advance of the meeting
    • follow-up with invitees who have not confirmed their attendance

    Items to consider for the agenda

    • introductions
      • team lead, members of the core team
      • role and responsibilities for each core team member
    • project overview, plan and status
      • brief history/background of project
      • intended target audience and their needs
      • problems that need to be solved
      • whether there is any current data related to pages (existing statistics or research)
      • timelines/deadlines
      • business goals from the different stakeholder areas
      • whether the top “problem statements” for each partner area are in alignment with one another (high level issue each partner area feels is a cause for concern)
      • business, user, or technology constraints (high-season volumes, planned release cycles, accessibility, standards, etc.)
      • technical limitations that need to be dealt with (and that are known at this point)
      • plans to assemble the extended project team
    • next steps
      • anticipated frequency of core team meetings
      • summary of decisions and action items
      • next items in project plan
    • feedback and questions
      • allow time for feedback, questions, concerns, suggestions for future discussion

    During the meeting

    If you are the meeting host, arrive early and greet participants upon their arrival.

    • Start the meeting
      • refer to the meeting agenda
      • advise attendees that time has been allotted at the end of the meeting for any additional feedback or to raise additional questions
    • Continue the meeting
      • follow the agenda to keep the meeting focused
      • stick to times assigned for agenda items (as much as possible)
      • record meeting decisions and action items
      • ensure there is time at the end of the meeting so that everyone has the opportunity to provide additional feedback or raise additional questions
    • End the meeting
      • summarize what you have heard, giving attendees the opportunity to clarify
      • summarize key decisions and action items
      • advise attendees what the next steps are
      • show genuine appreciation and thank attendees for their contributions/participation
      • invite participants to contact you (the team lead) directly if there are any additional comments, questions or concerns about anything that was discussed during the meeting

    After the meeting

    As team lead, do the following after the meeting:

    • inform invitees who were not in attendance of any urgent matters requiring their attention
    • update attendees who arrived late on important items they missed at the beginning of the meeting
    • circulate meeting summary including meeting decisions and actionable items
    • follow-up on action items

Next steps

Once you have identified and recorded the core team members and held a core team kickoff meeting you are ready to

Deliverables and artifacts

When you're done, you should have:

  • a list of core team members including key information about each member recorded in a Product log spreadsheet or a Pulse ticket 
  • a core team with shared understanding of the project
  • a meeting summary (that may include actionable items)

Tools and templates

Reference material

This activity is part of the:

Go to all the phases of the user-centred design process.

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