Scope and plan the engagement
32 primitives in this stage — 31 skills · 1 agent. Concept-stage catalogue, kept vendor-agnostic.
Stress-test the resourcing model against bench availability →
“The resourcing model looked fine until we checked the bench — half the seniors we'd earmarked are already rolling off another engagement at the same time.”
Decompose the presenting problem into a logic tree of sub-problems →
“I need to know whether we're solving three separate problems or one — before we pick a single method.”
Map interdependencies and sequencing constraints between sub-problems →
“We can't run those two workstreams in parallel — one feeds the other, and we need to say so now.”
Match analytical frameworks and methods to each workstream →
“I want to know which frameworks we're actually using and why — not a generic toolkit, a specific choice for this engagement.”
Identify and assess data sources for each method →
“The method is fine on paper — but if we can't get the data, the whole workstream collapses.”
Draft the documented methodology rationale →
“Anyone picking this project up in six months should be able to read one document and understand exactly why we approached it this way.”
Choose the deliverable form and format mix →
“The output format isn't cosmetic — if we're building towards a 150-page report when the client needs a one-pager for the board, we've wasted the whole project.”
Sketch the answer architecture and argument spine →
“I want to know the shape of the answer before we start the work — every slide slot needs a question it's answering.”
Critique the approach for logic gaps, method risks, and missing workstreams →
“I'd rather find the hole in our approach now than at the mid-point review.”
Reconcile review feedback into a revised approach →
“Some of the critique was fair, some was off-base — I need this sorted into changes we're making and things we're consciously not addressing.”
Decompose the approach into named workstreams and deliverables →
“The approach narrative needs to become a list of actual things we're producing — someone needs to own each one.”
Write the definition-of-done for each deliverable →
“We've argued about whether a deliverable is 'done' twice on the last project — I want every output to have a line everyone can read.”
Assign target dates and set formal milestones →
“Setting milestones isn't arithmetic — someone needs to make a judgement call about what's realistic given this client and this team.”
Identify required inputs, decisions, and cross-workstream handoffs →
“We've had a deliverable slip by three weeks because nobody said it needed data from Workstream 2 first — I want the dependency log before we start.”
Surface load-bearing assumptions and draft the risk register →
“Every plan has beliefs baked in that nobody has said out loud — I need those named and tracked before we call this plan final.”
Draft quality and completeness criteria per deliverable →
“If we wait until the end to define what 'good enough' means, we'll argue about it when we can least afford to.”
Assign acceptance authority for each deliverable →
“We had a deliverable 'accepted' by someone who turned out not to have sign-off authority — this gets sorted before the project starts.”
Reconcile resourcing-vs-timeline disconnects →
“The plan looks clean until you lay the team over it — then you see we've got one senior doing three things at once in week four.”
Assemble the final baseline plan for internal sign-off →
“All the pieces exist — someone needs to assemble them into one document that's the project's ground truth going forward.”
Derive role-type and skill requirements from workstreams →
“Before we talk headcount, I need to know what kinds of people this engagement actually needs — not job titles, actual capability requirements.”
Consolidate overlapping role requirements into a clean catalogue →
“We've listed 'data analyst' in four different ways across five workstreams — that's one role, not four.”
Estimate person-days per role per phase →
“The effort estimate is where the commercial commitments become real — it needs a judgement call, not a formula.”
Design the senior-to-junior seniority shape →
“Staffing junior-heavy to protect margin on a complex engagement is a fast way to lose the client — this call needs to be made deliberately.”
Assign role accountabilities and escalation paths →
“We need a clear chain of accountability set up before names go in the boxes — otherwise the org model is just a vanity chart.”
Identify niche and hard-to-fill role requirements →
“If we need a regulatory specialist for this sector and don't have one, I need to know that before we're two weeks in and looking for subcontractors in a hurry.”
Draft the kickoff agenda and project-overview deck →
“The agenda isn't just a meeting schedule — it's the first signal to the client about whether we know what we're doing.”
Write the client pre-read / context document →
“If attendees arrive cold to the kickoff, we spend the first thirty minutes re-establishing context that should have been sent ahead.”
Draft the facilitation script with decision prompts →
“I want a script — not because I'll read it, but so I know exactly which agreements I must leave the room with.”
Capture agreements, owners, and open items live →
“I've been in kickoffs where everything important was said but nothing was written down — by the time the recap went out, memories had diverged.”
Draft the post-kickoff recap and agreement baseline →
“The recap is the project's first document of record — it needs to be clean, definitive, and out the same day.”
Diagnose misalignments against the SOW and prioritise them →
“The kickoff told us the client's mental model of the project is not the same as the SOW — I need those gaps named and ranked before delivery starts.”
Plan and frame the resolution conversations →
“I need to close this misalignment without renegotiating the contract — the framing matters as much as the substance.”