Do a project checkup

Healthy projects tend to share a few things in common—like, concrete goals, agreed-on deadlines, and clearly defined roles. But when you’re busy with work, it’s easy to forget these basic ingredients. We recommend inviting your team to do a project checkup during kickoffs, halfway through long projects, or whenever you notice things getting offtrack. Here’s a sample invitation:

--

Hey team,

I’d love to do a quick “project checkup” to make sure we’ve got everything we need to make this project successful. Would you mind reviewing the project checkup worksheet so we can discuss it in a short meeting together? Thank you!

--

After you’ve kicked off your virtual meeting: 

• Pull up the project checkup worksheet (below) on your screen. 
• Go through each question and have your team use reactions in Zoom to vote. (If you don’t use Zoom, have them give a thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or thumbs-sideways in the camera.)
• When you’re done, discuss: Where is our project especially healthy—or not so healthy? Did anything surprise or challenge you?

After you’ve discussed your test results, decide what you’ll do about questions where you scored “not so much” or “kind of.” For example, you could tackle these together as a team, or assign someone to take a stab at them after your meeting. Here are some next steps to consider: 

• Are your goals squishy? Try to set FAST goals.
• Unclear on everyone’s roles? Make a DACI.
• Is your team feeling stressed? Do a team wellbeing checkup.
• Can’t quite get to the bottom of it? Root out the problem.

More resources