Handing a project over to a colleague: checklist and template
The file folder does not yet explain why the team chose this solution, what it promised the client and how long it should not be missed.
Pass the context together with the tasksThe new responsible needs three levels of information
Short response
To pass the project to another employee, prepare a brief status map, up-to-date documents, decisions with reasons, immediate actions and a list of open questions. Call this card, then check your understanding and access. Recording a conversation helps to preserve nuances, and a short document - quickly find the main thing. Below is a checklist, template and example of filling.
Contents
What is usually lost on transmission
A colleague was sent a link to the folder and said, “There is everything there.” A day later, he asked what layout the last one would agree on the texts and why the previous integration could not be used. Formally, the materials are transferred, but it is still difficult to work without the former manager.
Most often, there is a lack of connection: the solution is → the cause, the task → dependence, the promise → the source. They need to be brought to the fore. The history of correspondence can be left with an application, but it should not be the only way to understand the state of the project.
In practical the Siberiax Regulation on Project Transfer Special attention is paid to the preservation of the materials of the negotiations and the acquaintance of the new leader with the customer. Within your team, the set of steps depends on the project, but oral agreements should also get a clear place in the documents.
If the task is only in the storage of records, use the Transcription Archive System. The transfer of the project further requires verification that a person understands the current work.
What to gather before the call
Assign the transmitter and receiver. Specify the date from which the main responsible is changing and who is responsible for the transitional issues. So the tasks will not hang between two people.
| Block | What to prepare | How to understand that enough |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose and boundaries | What result is needed; what is in the current stage. | A colleague can explain the task without retelling the whole story. |
| State | What is ready, what is on the check that is blocked. | Statuses coincide with relevant materials. |
| Documents | References to current versions, sources, requirements and solutions. | It is clear which file to use, and it opens. |
| People and roles | Who agrees, performs, advises and resolves controversial issues. | For the next step, the desired contact or working channel is known. |
| Promises and timelines | What is confirmed by the participants and what depends. | Every important promise has a source. |
| Risks and Questions | What is unknown; who should clarify and to what point. | Uncertainty is not disguised as the status of “in the work.” |
Check accesses separately from links. The availability of the address of the document does not mean the right to it. Give access in a full-time way, and in the map fix the system and role; passwords and secret keys in the common document do not transfer.
How to call the project
Start with the current task, not the chronology for half a year. What should the new responsible do first? What knowledge is needed to avoid error in this step?
- Show the result and the current state. Open up relevant materials.
- Take care of the next actions. Clarify the performer, the term and dependence of everyone.
- Explain the controversial decisions. Why abandoned the other option; what restrictions apply.
- Name open questions. Don’t try to come up with the missing answers.
- Let your colleague retell the plan. Let him describe the next step and the place where delay is possible.
- Fix what is left to convey. Appoint the person responsible for each gap.
If you record a meeting, agree with the participants in advance and follow the rules of your organization. During the conversation, call the documents in the words: “now the layout of the catalog, version 4 is open.” The replica “here everything was changed” in text transcription without a screen does not explain much.
Project Transfer Document Template
Copy the frame and fill in only the necessary fields. Outdated story put in the application so that the first screen remains useful for the start of work.
Project / phase: [name].
Condition on: [date and time].
Transmits / accepts: [roles or names].
Change of the main responsible: [date].
Phase result
[What should be ready and on what grounds it is checked.]
Current status
Ready: [list].
On inspection: [list].
Blocked: [task and cause].
Upcoming actions
[Action — responsible — term — dependence.]
Solutions and Restrictions
[Solution — cause — source of confirmation.]
Current materials and access
[Document / system — destination — version — access verified or requested.]
Open questions
[The question is, who to clarify, when you need an answer.]
Transition period
[Where to send clarifications; who makes urgent decisions.]
Acceptance Check
[What the receiver has already checked; what else prevents you from continuing.]
Example: transmit the release of the catalog to a colleague
Fictitious situation: the manager transmits the catalog project to another employee. Terms and circumstances are given only as an example.
The purpose of the stage. Prepare a 12-page catalog layout for the customer.
Ready. The structure is agreed, the photos are received, pages 1-8 are collected in the layout of version 4.
The Blocker. There are no descriptions for pages 9–12. The customer promised to send them on September 28; confirmation – in a letter dated September 23.
An important decision. Prices in the catalog do not include: the customer updates them separately. Do not return the price table from version 2.
The next step. The new manager on September 28 checks receipt of descriptions. After receiving the designer confirms the date of assembly of the remaining pages.
Open question. Who on the part of the customer finally checks the technical characteristics? The answer must be received before sending the entire layout.
Verification. The colleague opened version 4, found a letter with the promised deadline and explained why the total period is still dependent on the descriptions.
In this entry, the state, and the reason for the decision, and the action are visible. The phrases “the catalog is almost ready” and “wait for the client” would not give the new manager such an understanding.
How to use recording and transcription
After the call, check the document with the recording. Add missed conditions, reasons for decisions and questions of a colleague. Save the timecodes at difficult places so as not to send a person to listen to the whole conversation.
For example: “Printer format restriction – transfer recording, 18:40”. But the answer itself is still briefly described in the map. A time code is needed to check the nuance, not instead of the main content.
When there is a difference between the old document and the words at the meeting, fix the question. The oral confidence of the transmitter does not automatically cancel the previously agreed condition. Specify where and by whom the change is accepted and update the current version after confirmation.
The client usually has a separate short message: who now conducts the project, what questions to apply for and what is the next step. Internal doubts, official comments and the whole history of the team in such a message are not necessary.
Five questions to verify the transfer
- What is the nearest result to appear and who will check it?
- What should be done first and what does the deadline depend on?
- Where are the current files and are they opened?
- What important decision can not be accidentally canceled?
- What other questions are unanswered and who will help close them?
If one of the questions is not answered, the transfer may continue, but the gap should be clear. Write down its owner and the deadline for clarification. This is more useful than the formal message “everything is transmitted”, after which a person is left alone with the unknown.
Frequently asked questions
Can the project be submitted only by document?
Sometimes yes, if the condition is simple, the documents are relevant and the receiver confirmed the understanding. For a complex context, a short analysis of the issues after which the document is updated is useful.
Do I need to tell the whole story?
No. First, convey what affects the continuation of the work. Leave the full correspondence and previous versions with an accessible application with clear names.
What to do if the former employee is not available?
Gather confirmed information from tasks, documents and correspondence. List the unknown separately, specify the priority questions of the team and the client. Do not issue a renovation for a confirmed arrangement.
Does the call record replace the project map?
No. The record saves details, but a short card is needed to quickly understand the condition and the next step. transcription helps link these two materials.
Practical material for comparison: Siberiax — the transfer of the project to development. This article offers its own universal template and educational situation.
Save the nuances of the project transfer
Decipher the recording of the working call in Transkribator. Text with timecodes will help to supplement the project map with the reasons for decisions, conditions and open questions that are easy to lose in brief notes.
Convert the convocation to textCheck the important wording and timecodes for the original record before using the text.