What are the first steps to take when given a new project?

Question

After you've resisted the urge to run towards the door screaming, what are the first two or three things that you do to get your thoughts in order when you have been given a new project? I tend to start to think of the desired objectives and start to sketch out what I know, then develop high level plans from there, but how do others approach it?

Answer 1

My first step is usually to grab a whiteboard (or a virtual one) and start organizing my thoughts into a few simple sections before I worry about schedules, tasks, or timelines. Here are the most important sections that I start with:

Why are we doing this?

I want to understand the business problem we're trying to solve, the opportunity we're pursuing, and what is driving the project in the first place.

What is the desired outcome?

This helps me focus on the end state rather than getting lost in activities. If we can't clearly define what success looks like, it's difficult to know whether the project is actually delivering value.

Who owns what?

I start identifying the key stakeholders, subject matter experts, decision-makers, and teams that will be involved. Understanding ownership and accountability early helps uncover dependencies and potential gaps.

From there, once I've met with the stakeholders, I begin meeting with the "worker bees" or my SME's capturing assumptions, risks, open questions, and major milestones. Once I have those pieces mapped out, I can begin building a high-level plan

I've found that spending an hour whiteboarding the problem and desired outcomes upfront often saves days or weeks of rework later because it gets everyone aligned before detailed planning begins.

Answer 2

When starting a new project, the first step is to get clear on the objective. What does success actually look like? Defining the end goal early helps prevent confusion later.

Second, take time to gather what you know and identify what’s missing. This includes key requirements, stakeholders, constraints, and deadlines. At this stage, you’re building clarity—not trying to solve everything yet.

Third, break the project into high-level steps or phases. This turns something that feels overwhelming into a structured plan you can work through. From there, you can begin prioritizing tasks and creating a realistic timeline.

A common mistake is jumping straight into execution without clarity. Taking a little time upfront to organize your thoughts makes the entire project smoother and more manageable.

If you’d like help turning a real project into a clear, actionable plan, feel free to reach out.