Engagements
The flow a project manager runs.
Initiation, plan, execution, control, and close. Each phase leaves a page or a system. That is how you see where the engagement is, and when it ends.
- 01
Initiation
There is a sponsor, a decision, and a success criterion. If one of the three is missing, the engagement does not start.
Remains: A one-page charter.
- 02
Plan
Scope, milestones, risks, and what stays out. It fits on two pages. Anything that changes later is written down.
Remains: A scope plan.
- 03
Execution
The work is built by milestone. The pipeline, the agent, or the analysis stays in a repository, and each milestone can be run.
Remains: A delivery that runs, with the milestone closed.
- 04
Control
A short report: done, next, and risk. The sponsor decides whether to continue, cut, or stop.
Remains: A one-page status report.
- 05
Close
Acceptance and handover. The engagement ends when someone on the client's team operates it and can see a failure.
Remains: A close note: owner, failure, and acceptance.
What is controlled
Sponsor
One person on the client side decides the scope and the changes. Without that person the engagement does not open.
Scope and changes
What is in, what is out, and how you know it is finished. If the scope changes, it is written down and the sponsor decides.
Milestones
Each phase leaves an artifact. The next one does not start if the last one cannot be read or run.
Status report
Done, next, and risk. One page, with a date. Not a document nobody opens.
What stays out
- A project with no sponsor, no plan, or no close criterion
- A report nobody opens again
- A generic chat added to the site so you can say there is AI
- Loose hours that do not leave a system