Launch a Customer Engagement

Steps

1. 1

   Reconcile the commercial promise with delivery reality

   Read the SOW, proposal, commitments made in sales, procurement/security terms and current customer expectations when available. Create a scope baseline separating signed deliverables, non-goals, assumptions, acceptance criteria, client dependencies and any ambiguous promise. Rank discrepancies by schedule or trust impact and direct unresolved contractual ambiguity to the responsible commercial owner; never reinterpret signed terms as settled fact. Gate: the kickoff can state accurately what has and has not been committed.

   Expected outputs
2. 2

   Identify decision rights and delivery dependencies

   Map sponsor, day-to-day counterpart, business owner, technical/data owner, workstream leads, escalation contacts and those who approve deliverables. Create a concise responsibility map using accountable/consulted roles only where supported; unresolved ownership stays explicitly open. Inventory access, data, security review, procurement, resourcing, change freezes and supplier dependencies. Identify the earliest dependency that could prevent productive work. Gate: each critical deliverable has a proposed decision owner and blockers are visible.

   Expected outputs
3. 3

   Build a realistic milestone-based workplan

   Back-plan from acceptance outcomes rather than filling a calendar with generic tasks. Define work packages, milestone evidence, dependencies, estimates with confidence, review checkpoints, and customer-provided inputs. Highlight the critical path, slack, and early-warning indicators. Distinguish contractual dates from proposed internal targets; provide options if the desired date conflicts with evidence. Use the simplest project artifact that the team can maintain. Gate: plan assumptions are explicit and the first milestone can be started with available authority.

   Expected outputs
4. 4

   Prepare and facilitate the kickoff

   Prepare an agenda that addresses outcomes, scope, responsibilities, collaboration norms, reporting cadence, acceptance criteria, change control, immediate dependencies and unresolved decisions. Present a short pre-read when useful. Capture actual customer feedback, decisions and objections rather than assuming consensus; distinguish items that require legal or commercial approval. Gate: the stakeholders understand what is expected of each side and the kickoff produces explicit decisions or defined blockers.

   Expected outputs
5. 5

   Baseline the agreed working plan

   Incorporate confirmed decisions into a versioned engagement plan. Show what changed from the proposal, who approved it, what remains contingent and which dependencies require an owner. Circulate or update systems only with authorization. Avoid manufacturing a new handoff ritual when the owner continues the work. Gate: the plan is executable, its approval status is honest, and critical ambiguities are escalated rather than hidden.

   Expected outputs