✅ Why this step gives structure to the path ahead
Even the best ideas fail without a plan. Project Management turns insight into action.
During the Viability Sprint, you're testing feasibility across technical, market, and cost dimensions. As the sprint concludes, it’s the right moment to develop a more robust project management plan—one that transforms discovery into delivery.
This step defines how your product will be scoped, tracked, resourced, and governed. The outputs here should feed directly into timeline, investment, and specification documents, forming the basis of the delivery phase.
📘 What you’ll prepare
- A clearly structured plan for delivering the project across stages
- Key milestones, decision points, and approval gates
- Role definitions, team setup, and partner inputs
- Links to budget forecasts, stage durations, and scope definitions
- A risk-managed view of how the project will evolve
🧩 This activity connects multiple outputs from the Viability Sprint:
👉 Specification • Timeline • Investment • Define Phase
🛠️ Tools and methods
✅ Viability Sprint → Project Plan Transition
| Planning Area | Output / Format | Linked To |
| Stage overview | Timeline or Kanban of key IEN stages | Timeline & Investment |
| Milestones + gates | Decision map with approval points | Specification Sheet |
| Resource plan | Who’s doing what, when, and for how long | Investment Overview |
| RACI draft | Role clarity across decision makers + doers | Define Phase / Project Tracker |
| Risk register | Risk log with mitigation plans | Technical + Commercial Risks |
| Change control log | Early framework for change documentation | Delivery Phase Planning |
✅ This is also the time to choose or configure your project management platform (e.g. Notion, Trello, Jira, Asana) for stage-based tracking.
📋 Core Documents to Draft Now
- Project delivery roadmap (11-stage view)
- Resource matrix and key partners
- Milestone plan with “Go/No-Go” gates
- High-level budget blocks linked to investment request
- Draft status tracker or project dashboard (tool-agnostic)
🗂️ These documents don’t need to be final—but they must be structured and shareable.
⚠️ Mistakes to avoid
- Treating early PM as “admin”—it’s actually strategic planning
- Skipping risk or resource planning—these hit hardest mid-project
- Assuming teams or tools will align naturally—they won’t without guidance
- Overbuilding a rigid plan before Define stage is locked
💡 Tips from the field
“We left the plan loose—but set clear gates. Everyone knew where we’d check, pivot, or commit. That alignment saved us weeks.”– Innovation Program Manager, HealthTech Pilot
💡 Project Management is a confidence-builder. Done right, it helps clients say yes—and teams deliver.
🔗 Helpful links & resources
- Project Planning Template (Viability Sprint Version)
- Download: Risk Register Starter + RACI Builder
- Article: How to Build a Project Plan Before You Lock Your Scope
- Follow-on: Define, Timeline & Investment
✍️ Quick self-check
🎨 Visual concept (optional)
Illustration: A digital project dashboard showing the 11 IEN stages with status markers, role assignments, milestone flags, and risk highlights. Sticky notes: “Hold until DoD approved”, “Define signed off”, “Stage 3 resourced”.
Visual shows how early-stage project planning connects insight to delivery—with just enough structure to move forward.