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Client Meeting Presentation - DRAFT

THIS IS A DRAFT FOR THE SPRING 2024 SEMESTER!!! For the Fall 2024 semester, please visit this page instead: Client Meeting Presentation

Resources

Creating meaningful slides

Template Instructions

  • Create a Project Management Forum thread with the scheduled meeting date. Please use that thread for collaboration on this PPT rather than non-EDN resources, e.g., chat, texting, Google, Box, etc.
  • Copy the export:template documents/Client Meeting.pptx to a new file name
    • Name the file using a “YYYY-MM-DD-Client Meeting.pptx” convention where YYY-MM-DD is the planned meeting date. The files sort easily by date this way.
    • Save in your working copy of the repository on your PC. /working/Reports/Client Meetings. Do NOT add a file version numbers – the repo already handles that! Replace all instructions with your content
  • Update the footer with project name
    1. Insert->Header & Footer
    2. check "Don't show on title slide"
    3. click "Apply to All"

Process Instructions

  • Review the instructions for Creating Strong PowerPoint Presentations
  • Add team's content to the template file
  • Review and Edit your content! Commit to the repository as everyone edits.
  • Share your slides with your Project Engineer for review, at least 1-2 on-site meetings prior to your scheduled conference call / meeting
  • Modify your content based on that feedback
  • Email to Client at least 1 business day before call / meeting!

Typical Client Meeting PowerPoint Presentation Content

What follows is NOT an exact 'recipe', but generally appropriate for most meetings with most project clients.
Talk to your PE before making significant changes to verify your plan is appropriate.

Title

  • Update all information
    • client logo
    • date
    • name & majors
    • client and CE/PE names
  • You can reuse this slide for ALL future PPTs (change date)

Agenda

Bullets serve to introduce the upcoming material. If you adjust the slides, be sure to update the Agenda to match!

  • Update from Client
  • Project Overview (includes purpose, key needs / goals, system architecture, top 5 new/updated needs & requirements)
  • Project Status (includes Dashboard, explanation of late items, progress updates for each milestone)
  • Answers / Decisions Needed from Client
  • Next Steps and Future Work
    • Summary of work to be accomplished between now and the next call
  • Schedule or confirm date/time for the next meeting time

Update from Client

  • An opportunity for client to update team with any new information
    • Often times they have nothing to share and meeting moves on

Project Overview

  • 2-3 slides max for this section. you will have to be concise!
  • Before diving into the status, be sure to include some background/introductory material:
    • Who the client is/what they do, and why this project is important to them
    • Purpose
    • Key Needs / Goals
    • System Architecture
    • Top 5 New/Updated Needs & Requirements

It should be clear from this section who the project stakeholders are and what their motivation is for the project. The key needs and goals should capture their expected benefits. Where possible, provide measurable goals.

Project Status

  • Fill out table with Deliverables for entire semester. This should be taken from your Project Plan.
    example Project Dashboard
    • ‘Deliverables’ are the same items listed in your Project Plan. Be sure to include ALL of them. These are also your EDN milestones.
    • Keep the Legend!
    • Adjust font size to fit on one slide but maintain table layout.
    • Update colors as appropriate to indicate status of each item
    • Each semester goal should have at least one project deliverable.
    • Late items should have a forecasted completion date. If something won't be done on time, everyone wants to know when it will be done.
  • Be sure to have a separate slide with an explanation of late items shown on Dashboard.
    • Acknowledge that you are late
    • Explain what you are doing to recover from whatever made you late
  • Create slides each milestone
    • Make sure the title matches the deliverable name in the Dashboard
    • Provide slides to show technical approach, progress updates, results, demos, etc.
    • Be clear on defining the specific technical problems to be solved.
    • Be clear on defining the goals associated with each milestone and how they relate to the project.
    • Include the relevant customer needs and associated measurable technical requirements, constraints.
    • Slides must explain how you will achieve the milestone. It’s not about the team’s organization, subsystems, etc. but about how the team will achieve the milestone.
    • Explain subsystems as appropriate
    • Show the multiple concepts considered for major technical decisions and your selection criteria from your Needs and Requirements that allowed you to propose your choice
    • Your slides for each milestone should indicate the chosen core technology and your evaluation of the design's feasibility
    • Provide context, i.e., overall system block diagram(s), architecture, etc.
    • Avoid “diary mode”, e.g., we did this, this and this. Focus on results / accomplishments
    • Show rather than tell, i.e., pictures/graphs over words
    • Focus on results / accomplishments vs. “diary mode”
    • Show rather than tell, i.e., pictures/graphs over words
    • The team member who did the work should create and narrate the slide(s) showing their results.
    • OK to use multiple slides for each deliverable
    • Don't "tell" your results, "show" them!
    • Demonstrations include any “show and tell” opportunities!
      • (if possible) Pre-recorded video ensures live demo doesn't have problems
      • NO need to insert this into the PowerPoint. Just leave the PPT, show the video, and then return to PPT during meeting.
    • Be sure to include supporting evidence for all your engineering decisions! Otherwise they are only opinions.
    • List open issues

Answers / Decisions Needed from client

  • List of the items to ask client
    • (use numbered list please – easier to reference the items)
    • Make your questions "SMART" so that your client can help you
    • It is helpful to clarify why you need the information. Your client may have other relevant information to share.
  • FOR YOUR SUCCESS – Your Project Engineer should review and approve this list and the entire slide set BEFORE your client sees it! This OFTEN / USUALLY requires an in-person discussion.

Current Challenges

  • Identify things that are blocking your ability to move forward
  • Focus on technical items
  • These are neither questions nor decisions. These are items the team needs to alert everyone to.
  • Do not just list your upcoming tasks
  • Recommend the use of a table to make this easier to present and to digest. Suggested columns:
    • Challenge
    • Status
    • Planned Resolution
  • Be sure your Status indication is clear/obvious.
  • Consider adding a column for “severity” then sort by that to keep hot items at the top.
  • Is there one clear takeaway from your challenges? You can indicate that on the slide.

Next Steps

  • Summary of work to be accomplished between now and the next Client Meeting
  • Be sure to Schedule / Confirm Next Meeting time if not already done.