3D Project Kickoff Best Practices – PLUS: Free Agenda Template

If you are a project leader working on a strategic 3D initiative, this is for you.

3D project kickoff meeting best practices

An effective 3D project kickoff meeting aligns senior leadership, project team members, and external partners on project details and objectives. Follow these best practices for a successful kickoff meeting.

1. Set a clear purpose

The purpose of a 3D project kickoff meeting is to generate excitement while also ensuring team alignment.  Be sure that everyone understands what the meeting is about and why they are there.

2. Encourage excitement

3D projects are viewed as transformational and are a great opportunity for employees to make their mark. Encouraging excitement will help with buy-in later.

3. Share detailed information

There will be internal project team members who may not have been involved in the process. Use the kickoff meeting to explain the WHY behind the project, what the project entails, how their role fits, and what is expected of them.

A lack of understanding of the motivations of a project can impact project delivery. It is important to ensure your vision is clear and well-understood by the team at the outset.

4. Provide a kickoff agenda

A crisp agenda can help to focus the meeting and ensure that it meets the goals of alignment on project definition, objectives, roles and responsibilities, and so on. To ensure that you cover all necessary topics, you can use this sample agenda as a starting point.

Sample 3D kickoff project agenda

Team Intros – 5 minutes

Project Background – 10 mins

• Why we are doing this project
• Strategic significance

Project Details – 15 minutes

• Goals
• Scope
• Timeline
• Success metrics
• Risks

Roles and responsibilities – 10 mins

Ways of working – 5 mins

Next steps – 5 mins

Q&A – 5 minutes

Preparing for the 3D project kickoff

Years ago, I had a leader and mentor share with me her framework for meeting preparation. She was an incredible executive who knew how to gain (and keep) stakeholder buy-in and team engagement and really foster a personal commitment to any initiative she led. I have incorporated this framework in my own personal process, especially for a project kickoff.

• Why are they/we calling this meeting?
• What is their objective?
• What do they want out of the meeting?
• What is our objective?
• What do we want out of the meeting?
• What’s in it for them?
• Who else do we need to get in the loop? (supporters)

Key topics to cover during 3D project kickoff

Project kickoff meetings typically include the following content:

• Welcome and team introductions
  • Friendly introductions and a warm welcome can set the tone for the relationship.
• Executive summary and project background
  • Senior leadership should provide context and communicate the why behind the project and the strategic importance of the endeavor. If you’ve written a 3D business case, use it as a reference for this part of the agenda.
• 3D project details
  • The project scope defines the focus of the project and what is expected at the time of delivery. If you’ve crafted a 3D project charter, use it as a reference for key features and functionality that are important to the project’s success.
  • Timeline: You may have a high-level timeline ready to share, or you may have just a few dates for initial milestones & deliverables. If there are known project constraints (e.g., we want to launch these 3D product configurators at the same time as the release of our Spring collection), make sure this is known by the team.
• Roles and responsibilities
  • Convey expectations on roles and responsibilities, both for your internal team and that of your 3D vendor.
• Ways of working
  • This is an opportunity to discuss and align on things like sprint schedules, planning & reporting needs, and communication protocols.
• Next steps
  • Detail the actions and future meetings that will take place to keep the project on track. Assign tasks to stakeholders and let them know when their next inputs are expected.
• Q&A
  • Provide an opportunity for team members to ask questions.

The 3D Cloud approach

In everything we do at 3D Cloud, we put customer value first. We handle everything from project kickoff agenda and regular check-ins to final delivery and quarterly business reviews. Here’s an overview of our process.

• New client onboarding
  • In preparation for the official project kickoff, we meet with partners to listen and learn. We aim to understand the end-users, existing processes, business objectives, and stakeholders. We also share what the client can expect in terms of the resource and time commitment leading up to delivery.
• Steering Committee mid-project check-in
  • 1-2 months ahead of the initial launch, we regroup with our clients to communicate project status, confirm alignment on the value proposition and KPIs, and make any necessary support requests of leadership.
• Monthly executive summaries 
  • Monthly performance summaries are generated to report app health and provide our partners with an asset they can incorporate into their internal reporting.
• Business reviews
  • We hold quarterly business reviews with client leadership to review app performance, discuss opportunities for improvement, and align on the roadmap.
• Training
  • It doesn’t stop with the kickoff! The 3D Cloud customer success and training team is comprised of professional interior designers, change management experts, and deep experience with tech rollouts in retail environments. Application launches are supported by live and/or virtual training, practice exercises, a custom knowledge base, and video resources.
• Best practices
  • We have an extensive tool kit of proven best practices to maximize the value of each product.

Free template: 3D project kickoff agenda

We have prepared a kickoff meeting agenda template to help you prepare for your 3D project kickoff meeting.

Make sure to leverage other project artifacts that have been developed up to this point (e.g., 3D business case, 3D project charter, etc.).

Download the 3D PROJECT KICKOFF AGENDA

Download PDF Template
Download Word Template

Once you’ve planned your 3D project kickoff meeting, what’s next?

Now that your kickoff meeting is planned, things will start to get really exciting. Within a few months, you’ll have breathed life into a new 3D initiative, and you’ll go from project planning to project promotion, maintenance, optimization, and measurement.

For a complete guide to launching a 3D project, visit our 3D Project Planning Resource Center or contact us to request a 3D project consultation.