Engagement Planning
Created by Cheli
A comprehensive checklist to guide the planning phase of a client engagement.
Please sign in before starting payment and download.
Checklist Items (21)
Define engagement objectives
Clarify the primary business goals the engagement aims to achieve and ensure they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time‑bound (SMART).
Identify key business goals
Work with sponsors to list the strategic outcomes expected from the engagement.
Set measurable success criteria
Define quantifiable metrics (e.g., revenue increase, process time reduction) that will indicate objective attainment.
Identify stakeholders
Create a comprehensive list of individuals and groups who will affect or be affected by the engagement.
List internal stakeholders
Include executives, department heads, project team members, and support staff.
List external stakeholders
Identify clients, partners, regulators, and suppliers involved.
Scope the engagement
Clearly delineate what work is included and excluded to prevent scope creep.
Define in‑scope deliverables
Document each tangible output the team will produce.
Define out‑of‑scope items
Specify activities or results that will not be part of the engagement.
Develop timeline
Build a realistic schedule that outlines major milestones and target dates.
Create high‑level milestone schedule
Identify major phases (initiation, execution, closure) and their target completion dates.
Break down phases into detailed tasks
Develop a work breakdown structure (WBS) with estimated durations for each task.
Allocate resources
Assign the right people with needed skills and confirm their availability.
Assign team roles and responsibilities
Map each task to a role (e.g., lead analyst, developer) and designate owners.
Confirm resource availability
Check calendars and allocate time buffers for planned absences.
Conduct risk assessment
Identify potential threats to success and plan how to address them.
Identify potential risks
Brainstorm technical, operational, and external risks with the team.
Assess impact and likelihood
Rate each risk on impact (low/medium/high) and probability, then prioritize.
Develop communication plan
Establish how information will flow among stakeholders throughout the engagement.
Define communication channels
Select tools (email, video conferencing, project portal) for different message types.
Set meeting cadence and reporting format
Determine frequency of status meetings and structure of progress reports.
Plan budget
Estimate costs, secure funding, and set up tracking mechanisms.
Estimate total engagement cost
Sum labor, software, travel, and contingency expenses based on the WBS.
Obtain funding approval
Present the budget to sponsors or finance for formal sign‑off.
Define success metrics
Choose key performance indicators that will be measured to gauge engagement effectiveness.
Select relevant KPIs
Pick metrics aligned with objectives, such as customer satisfaction score or defect rate.
Establish baseline and targets
Record current performance levels and set improvement goals for each KPI.
Review and obtain approval
Consolidate all planning artifacts and secure formal sign‑off before execution.
Compile planning package
Gather objectives, scope, timeline, budget, risk, and communication documents into a single folder.
Conduct stakeholder review
Share the package with stakeholders, collect feedback, and incorporate necessary changes.
Obtain formal sign‑off
Have authorized representatives approve the plan, marking the engagement ready to start.