customer_kickoff_design v1.0.0

Customer Kickoff Design

Purpose

Design a customer onboarding kickoff that both sides sign, including a stakeholder map, milestone plan, mutual success criteria, risks, dependencies, communication cadence, and a 30 day follow through system. Use this when a new account signs, when there is no shared plan after signature, or when the first 30 days lack owners and dates.

Workflow

• Read the sales handoff and contract. Extract why they bought, promised capabilities, open risks, named stakeholders, and required outcomes. Flag gaps as unknowns to close on the call, do not assume them.
• Build the stakeholder map. For each person, record name, role, stakeholder type, contact, and priority. Types include executive sponsor, economic buyer, champion, technical lead, administrator, and end user. Mark any role that is still missing.
• Draft the Mutual Action Plan in their words. Set a go live target, first value target, and primary business metric. Use a 30 60 90 skeleton, then tailor milestones to the stated use case.
• Assign owners with RACI. One accountable person per milestone, multiple responsible contributors, with consulted and informed parties listed. Publish the matrix before the kickoff.
• Create the kickoff agenda. Cover introductions and roles, recap why they bought, confirm success criteria, walk the timeline and milestones, review risks and dependencies, set the cadence for check ins and escalations, and lock the first three next steps with owners and dates.
• Capture risks and dependencies. List each risk, severity, owner, and mitigation. List dependencies, owners, and expected dates.
• Run the kickoff. Confirm the MAP, the activation event that proves first value, and the critical path to reach it. Agree cadence, escalation paths, and the day 3 and day 7 checkpoints if needed.
• Send a written recap within one business day. Include success criteria, milestones, owners, dates, risks, and the next three actions. Ask for a written confirm or corrections.

Output Contract

• Stakeholder map table with types and gaps called out.
• Mutual Action Plan markdown with executive overview, RACI, milestone schedule, risks and dependencies.
• Kickoff agenda script with timed sections and talking points.
• Communication cadence plan with meeting rhythm and escalation path.
• Next actions list with owner and due date for each item.

Operating Rules

• No demo at the kickoff. Spend time on the plan, not on product screens.
• Success criteria must be measurable and falsifiable. Avoid vague labels like drive adoption.
• Every next step has a named owner and a date. If it lacks both, it will slip.
• Use RACI correctly. One accountable per deliverable or milestone, responsible contributors can be many, consulted is two way, informed is one way.
• If a required stakeholder is absent on day one, record the gap and close it before day three.
• Track early warning signs from kickoff: no named admin, security review discovered late, sponsor goes quiet, first milestone slips.

References

• See references/raci-guide.md for RACI definitions and rules.
• See references/kickoff-agenda.md for a worked agenda.

Websites

• GitLab Customer Success Handbook for success plan structure and milestones. https://github.com/boluo2077/deep-rag-benchmark/blob/HEAD/content/handbook/customer-success/csm/_index.md
• Yoodli customer kickoff agenda guidance. https://yoodli.ai/blog/customer-kickoff-meeting
• RACI governance and definitions. https://github.com/sevasek/orgcontext/blob/HEAD/core/governance/raci.md