Use the same route every time
The exact steps vary by service, but the control points are consistent: order, payment where relevant, information, handover, kickoff, delivery start and completion.
- Confirm the sale
- Request only needed information
- Complete sales-to-delivery handover
- Book and run kickoff
- Record the completion point
Define what ready to start actually means
Write down the conditions delivery needs before it can begin: confirmed scope, relevant commercial checks, required information, access and a named customer contact. Distinguish essential inputs from details that can wait. A long questionnaire can create its own delay if nobody knows which answers block the work.
Assign an owner and completion evidence to each step. 'Welcome sent' might be evidenced by the actual message; 'access checked' requires confirming the access works. A tick against 'onboarding complete' is not useful if delivery still has to discover the missing information.
Illustrative example: hand over the promise, not just the contact
Imagine a website project sold with an agreed launch objective and specific exclusions. The handover should carry those details into delivery, together with open assumptions and the customer decision-maker. Sending only the customer's name and a proposal link leaves the delivery team to reconstruct the conversation.
At kickoff, confirm the next milestone, responsibilities and how changes will be handled. Where an assumption is disputed, record the decision and owner before the team proceeds as though it were agreed. An early clarification is easier to manage than an invisible difference in expectations.
Build a route for stalled onboarding
Set a visible waiting status when customer information or an internal decision is missing. Record what is missing, who has requested it and when the next check is due. Do not keep moving the delivery date silently while each team assumes somebody else is following up.
After the first few uses, review repeated missing inputs and questions. Remove requests nobody uses and clarify the ones that repeatedly cause confusion. Keep personal information and access credentials in approved systems rather than scattering them through a shared checklist.