Template
Feature kickoff template
Before work starts on a feature: everyone who will build, test, launch and support it hears why it matters, what done looks like, and what is deliberately left out.
The agenda, with a time for each part
- Why we are building it7 min
- Which customer problem does this solve, and how do we know?
- What done looks like10 min
- How will we know it worked, a month after launch?
- The design and the plan13 min
- What will we build first, and in what order?
- What is out8 min
- What are we deliberately not doing this time?
- Questions and owners7 min
- What is still unknown, and who finds out?
How the notes read afterwards
A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.
Why. Managers spend about an hour a week copying hours into payroll.
Done. Half of managers use the payroll export within a month.
Out. Payroll providers outside the top three; editing hours after export.
Unknown. Whether the largest provider limits how often we can send data. Leo finds out by Wednesday.
Running it well
- Start with the customer problem, not the solution. Engineers who understand why make better trade-offs when the plan meets reality.
- Agree the success number before the work starts. Deciding afterwards what success looked like always makes it look like success.
- Write down what is out, and say it out loud. Most scope creep is a reasonable request nobody said no to at the start.
Ways to change it
When to skip it. For a small fix whose purpose is obvious from the ticket.
Questions
What is a feature kickoff meeting?
A meeting at the start of work on a feature, where the team agrees why it is being built, what success looks like, the plan, what is out of scope and the open questions.
Who should attend a feature kickoff?
Everyone who will build, test, launch or support the feature: product, design, engineering, QA, and the people who will talk to customers about it.
What should come out of a kickoff?
A shared goal, a success measure, a first plan, a list of what is out of scope and owners for the open questions.
What happens in the room
Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.
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