Sample kick-off week agenda

Introduction

60 minutes

The vendor team meets agency staff responsible for the project.

Attendees: Active project members only. Consider inviting a senior executive to kick off the meeting to signal the importance of the project and how invested the agency is in its success.

Contract logistics

30 minutes

The contracting officer goes over contract administration items such as invoicing, delegation of duties, etc.

What the agency knows or has learned so far

60 minutes

Recap discovery phase findings.

QASP and deliverables

90 minutes or less

Review the deliverables and associated quality indicators or QASP elements. Create a schedule for when to revisit the quality indicators or QASP (and when to update it, if needed).

Group alignment exercise

60 minutes

Surfaces risks, hopes, and fears from the development team, including the product owner, technical lead, and contracting officer representative. Some exercises include Assumptions and Risks, or Hopes and Fears.

Vendor asynchronous time

half to full day

Gives the vendor time to read over materials and prepare questions for future sessions.

User research findings

60 minutes

For review of any user research already conducted, including methods and user groups who’ve already been contacted, and to begin discussing how findings from the user research should inform the future build.

Technical overview of constraints and architecture

60 minutes

Describes the agency’s technical landscape and any limitations that the development team may encounter. May also include an overview of the Authorization to Operate (ATO) process and other compliance requirements.

Write team charter

60 minutes

Government and vendor team discuss how they want to work together and make decisions.

Open working session

60 minutes

Allows the vendor to select the topic area and lead this session.