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Use the canvas as a way to guide a discussion about the project during a kick-off meeting. The visual nature of the Project Canvas makes it engaging for a group a people. In this way, you can move through the high-level details of a project with an interview partner in 30 minutes or less.įOR GROUP DISCUSSION DURING A KICKOFF WORKSHOP Reflect your notes back to the stakeholder and expand on them or iterate as needed. In a separate document/board, create a list of bullet points organized by the same headers as in the Project Canvas. Don’t accept vague answers, such as: “Our goal is to relaunch the website.” Follow up by asking “Why?” and “What’s the desired effect?” and so on.Īfter the interview, summarize your notes from the canvas. Time permitting, pry for deeper answers for each. If the conversation wonders or comes to a lull, move on to the next box to put focus back into your interview. Ask: “Who are the participants of the project?” and “What are the goals?” etc. Then start with any of the boxes on the canvas, formulating each as a question. Start by asking the motivation for the project and record that at the top. Here’s what to do:Ĭreate a new board and choose the Project Canvas For instance, if a new client calls and would like to engage you or your company, you can use the project canvas to diagnosis the overall conditions of their request.Įverything in one place as the conversation shifts. In this case, use the Project Canvas as a checklist for yourself to ask all the right questions. List the features and functions that are in consideration on the project, but also what is NOT.ĪS A CHECKLIST FOR AN INITIAL PROJECT BRIEFINGīefore a project is even initiated, you may want to determine if and how your skills can best fit to what clients or stakeholders have in mind. Time, money and other typical resources are part of all projects and don’t need to be written here. Overarching limitations on work products and processes, technology and platform constraints, and exceptional resource constraints. The key dates and events that frame the overall timeline of the project. When it is known, write down how you will mitigate them. Potential future events that can have a negative impact on the project. It should only include deliverables stakeholders or other teams will see, as well as assets that appear in a product or service that customers may see. User research, Persona development, Concept design, Wireframing, Creation of detailed mock-ups, User testing).ĭocuments that will be delivered. The key methods and approaches to be used on the project. You can regroup them by groups, such as “core team,” ”stakeholders” and “interested parties.” Also use this box to show dependencies if needed.
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The project participants, including all people involved in the project. Each goal can have its own associated success metrics written down as well. The concrete benefits for users when the project is successfully completed. This can be either a high level description, either a more detailed description. The main target groups relevant to the project. The 10 key elements of your project canvas are the: The visualization of your project allows for a better comprehension of the big picture and, as for other visual canvases, it makes the relationships project elements more visible than in lengthy written documents.
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Jim Kalbach created this methodology to help visualize projects, and to avoid deviations in the early stages of projects that can lead to exponential negative outcomes later on. This canvas helps you quickly portrait the key aspects of a design-related project accurately to increase its chance of success. However, the focus of this canvas is not on your startup strategy vision.
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This Project Canvas is inspired by Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas.
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