Commerce Project Kickoff Checklist

Summary

The first two weeks of a commerce project determine whether you'll hit your deadline or spend month four explaining scope creep. This checklist covers what to nail in kickoff, before the real problems become expensive.

Kickoffs Fail Because They Ask the Wrong Questions

Kickoff meetings focus on introductions, timelines, and enthusiasm. Everyone leaves feeling aligned. Then six weeks in, you discover the client's ERP can't handle the order flow you designed for, or that the "approved" budget doesn't include the third-party integrations everyone assumed were included.

A good kickoff doesn't just confirm what's in the SOW. It stress-tests assumptions, surfaces hidden dependencies, and identifies the decisions that will block progress if left unresolved.

Use this checklist to run kickoffs that prevent the conversations you don't want to have in week eight.

Revenue Model Questions That Expose Assumptions

What percentage of revenue comes from each sales channel (DTC, wholesale, marketplace, retail)?
Which product categories or SKUs drive margin vs. volume?
Are there revenue or transaction targets this platform must support at launch? At 12 months?
How does seasonality affect traffic, inventory, and fulfillment capacity?
Is the pricing model stable, or are there planned changes (subscriptions, bundles, dynamic pricing)?
What promotions or discount structures exist that the platform must support on day one?

Who Actually Holds Power (And Who Will Slow You Down)

Who has final sign-off on scope, timeline, and budget decisions?
Who controls the existing platform and will be responsible for data extraction or legacy system access?
Are there business units or regional teams with conflicting requirements?
Who owns the relationship with key third-party vendors (payment processors, fulfillment, ERP)?
Has this organization attempted a similar project before? What happened?
Who in the organization is most skeptical of this project, and why?

Integration Debt That Will Blow Up Your Timeline

What systems must the new platform integrate with at launch vs. post-launch?
Who owns the technical documentation for existing integrations? Is it current?
Are there SLAs or rate limits on critical systems (ERP, OMS, WMS) that affect real-time sync?
What authentication or security requirements apply to system access?
Are there any planned upgrades or migrations to connected systems during this project's timeline?
What's the current state of product data? Where does it live, and who maintains it?
How are orders currently routed and fulfilled? What logic exists that we need to replicate or replace?

Data Gaps That Become UAT Blockers

Does a complete, accurate product catalog exist in a structured format?
What content (images, descriptions, specs) is ready, and what needs to be created?
Are there multiple locales or currencies? Who manages translations and regional content?
What historical data (customers, orders, subscriptions) must migrate, and what can be archived?
Who is responsible for content entry and ongoing maintenance post-launch?
What's the current state of customer data, and are there privacy or compliance constraints on migration?

Scope Rules Before Disagreements Happen

What's explicitly out of scope, and does the client's team agree?
How will scope change requests be evaluated and approved?
What's the agreed process for resolving conflicting stakeholder input?
Are there hard deadlines (product launches, contracts, campaigns) that are non-negotiable?
What decisions have already been made that we're inheriting, even if we disagree?
Is there a documented RACI or decision matrix? If not, who's creating one?

Vendor Expectations vs. Reality

Has the platform been selected, or is this project still in evaluation?
What licensing or subscription costs are included in the budget?
Are there existing contracts with implementation partners, agencies, or vendors that affect this engagement?
What level of support is expected from the platform vendor during implementation?
Are there assumptions about platform capabilities that haven't been validated?
Who's responsible for ongoing hosting, infrastructure, and DevOps post-launch?

Defining Success (And What Failure Actually Costs)

What does a successful launch look like to the executive sponsor?
What metrics will be used to evaluate the project at 30, 60, and 90 days post-launch?
What's the cost of delay, financially, competitively, or operationally?
What's the risk tolerance for launching with reduced scope vs. delaying for completeness?
What would cause this project to be considered a failure, even if it goes live on time?

How to Use This Checklist

Don't treat this as a form to fill out. Treat it as a conversation guide.

Distribute relevant sections to stakeholders before kickoff. Use the meeting to discuss gaps, conflicts, and unresolved decisions, not to collect answers you could get via email.

After kickoff, consolidate the answers into a single reference document. Flag anything that's assumed but not confirmed. Build your project plan around resolving those gaps first.

How DigitalStack Structures Kickoff Data

DigitalStack keeps stakeholder responses, system inventories, scope boundaries, and success criteria in a connected data model, not scattered across slides and email threads. When requirements evolve mid-project, the original context stays linked to architecture decisions and technical requirements.

Discovery inputs connect directly to downstream deliverables. When a scope boundary shifts, you can trace which decisions and dependencies are affected.

Next Step

If your kickoffs are generating more confusion than clarity, it's a process problem, not a people problem.

[See how DigitalStack structures discovery →]