SOP-EXEC-project-kickoff-v1.0¶

1. Purpose¶

Define the standard procedure for kicking off any new project or task — from CEO request through Monday.com creation, agent assignment, and first status checkpoint. This SOP codifies the pattern Jordan (project.manager) has been executing since v1.2 launch.

Scope: All work classified as a Project (≥2 agents, >1 day, cross-functional) or Mission (passes Section 10A.2 trigger criteria). Atomic single-agent tasks follow a lighter intake path noted in Section 6.

2. Intake Classification¶

When a new request arrives (CEO dispatch, inbox item, Slack message, Monday.com submission):

Classification	Criteria	Owner	Intake path
Mission	≥2 of 5 Section 10A.2 triggers: scope >3 sessions or >5 days; cross-functional; HIGH/CRITICAL risk; complex validation; context hazard	project.manager (Orchestrator)	Full Section 10A lifecycle
Project	Multi-agent or multi-day but not Mission-qualifying	project.manager	This SOP
Atomic task	Single agent, <1 day, no cross-functional dependency	Assigned agent directly	Light intake (Section 6)

Classification authority: project.manager classifies at intake. chief.staff reviews classification for any work flagged as MEDIUM or higher risk.

3. Project Kickoff Procedure¶

Step 1 — Task Brief (before work begins)¶

project.manager authors a Task Brief (CLAUDE.md Section 6A) within 2 hours of receiving a confirmed project request:

TASK BRIEF
──────────────────────────────
Objective:
Owner: (primary agent)
Requestor: (CEO or sponsoring exec)
Dependencies: (upstream agents or data)
Constraints: (timeline, tooling, approval gates)
Done Criteria:
Deadline:
Escalation Owner:

Brief filed at /Claude/plans/{project-slug}-brief-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md or inside the Mission folder for Mission-classified work.

Step 2 — Monday.com creation¶

project.manager creates the Monday.com item before any work begins:

Board: Tasks (standard) or Epics (Mission parent)
Required fields: Name, Owner (assigned agent), Status (Working on it), Due Date, Priority
For Missions: Parent Epic created with Mission ID in name (M-YYYY-MMDD-{slug}); feature sub-items created per Section 10A.8
Ownership verification: confirm the assigned agent matches the R&R Matrix before assigning

Step 3 — Ownership verification (Section 8A)¶

project.manager verifies the assigned agent is: 1. Listed as Responsible (R) in the R&R Matrix for the work type 2. Not already at capacity (check their active Monday.com items) 3. Active — has a current agent contract and has been kicked off

If a mismatch is found: route to correct agent and note the routing in Monday.com.

Step 4 — Agent dispatch¶

project.manager files the kickoff dispatch to the assigned agent's session directory: - File: /Claude/sessions/{agent.id}/{project-slug}-dispatch-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md - Content: Task Brief + context needed for fresh-context agent to start without asking - Slack notification per Section 9 Rule 6: post to #agent-handoffs with file path

Step 5 — First status checkpoint¶

project.manager confirms first Status Report received from the assigned agent within:

Work type	First status checkpoint
Mission feature	End of the worker's first session
Standard project	Within 24 hours of dispatch
Atomic task	On completion (single status)

If no status report received by checkpoint: project.manager pings agent via Slack and flags in CEO Daily Summary.

4. Mission Kickoff (Section 10A)¶

For Mission-classified work, steps 1-5 above apply, plus:

Validation Contract authored before worker dispatch (Task Brief "Done Criteria" expanded to numbered assertions A1, A2…)
Validators assigned at kickoff — Scrutiny Validator + User-Testing Validator identified and confirmed independent of the worker
Validator dispatch filed to validator session dirs alongside worker dispatch
Mission hook check — project.manager verifies Mission hooks are active (warn-only or enforcing) per the current rollout phase
CEO Daily Summary flag — chief.staff adds Mission to Active Missions section of daily summary from kickoff through close

Council review at kickoff (per SOP-EXEC-council-review-v1.0 — Section 2A): Validation Contract authoring where Orchestrator = sponsoring executive triggers Mandatory council review. Sensitivity tier for governance/SOP-adjacent Validation Contracts = HIGH (Ollama local). Sensitivity tier for research or feature Validation Contracts = MEDIUM.

5. Monday.com Hygiene¶

project.manager is accountable for Monday.com hygiene on every active project:

Status updated to reflect reality at every agent check-in (not end-of-week reconciliation)
Blocked items flagged immediately with a note
Completed items closed with a completion note (not just status flip)
Agent field updated when ownership changes
Handoff items linked to the Section 6C Handoff Report

6. Light Intake (Atomic Tasks)¶

For atomic single-agent tasks:

CEO or exec assigns directly to the agent (no project.manager routing required)
Agent creates a Monday.com item before starting
Agent files a one-paragraph Task Brief in the Monday.com item description
Agent completes and closes the Monday.com item with a completion note

project.manager spot-checks atomic task hygiene weekly in Monday.com audit.

Change Log¶

Version	Date	Change
v1.0	2026-04-21	Initial draft — sop.manager. Codifies Jordan's kickoff pattern established since v1.2 launch.

Owner: project.manager (Jordan) Executive sponsor: chief.staff Drafted by: sop.manager Status: Draft — pending chief.staff review + CEO approval Version: v1.0