A project handover passes status, decisions, risks, stakeholders and commitments to a new owner. Use the checklist below, hold one joint meeting with the sponsor, and run one status cycle together before the old owner steps back. The plan and tracker transfer easily; the reasons and informal promises are what usually get lost.
Project handover checklist
Status
- Current status against scope, schedule and budget, in plain sentences
- Open tasks with owners and due dates
- Next three milestones and what they depend on
- What is late, and the honest reason
Decisions
- Decision log up to date, including rejected options
- Open decisions listed with a recommendation
- Scope changes agreed so far, and who approved them
Risks and issues
- Risk register reviewed and owners reassigned
- Known issues and workarounds
- Dependencies on other teams or vendors
People
- Stakeholder map: who decides, who influences, who needs updates
- What each key stakeholder cares about
- Introductions made in person or on a call
- Commitments made to the sponsor, client or vendors that are not in the plan
Money and contracts
- Budget spent, committed and remaining
- Contracts, purchase orders and renewal dates
- Invoices pending
Documents and access
- Location of plan, requirements, designs and reports
- Tools and access transferred
- Meeting series and distribution lists updated
Handover meeting
- Joint meeting with sponsor
- One status cycle run together
- Date agreed when the new owner takes all decisions
- 30-day check booked
Project handover template (one page)
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Project | Name, sponsor, goal |
| From / to | Old and new owner, handover date |
| Status in three sentences | |
| Next milestones | |
| Top five risks | |
| Open decisions | |
| Commitments not in the plan | |
| Stakeholders to meet first | |
| Where everything is |
Common handover failures
- The new owner reopens a settled decision because the reason was never written down.
- A client is surprised because a verbal promise was not passed on.
- A renewal or deadline passes because it lived in the old owner's calendar.
Where Reattend fits
Reattend remembers decisions and commitments from calls, documents and chats as they happen, through a desktop app on each person's computer. A new project owner can ask what was decided about a topic and see the sources, subject to access rules. See project handoffs for more.
Frequently asked questions
What should a project handover include?
Current status against plan, open tasks and owners, the decision log, risks and issues, stakeholder map, commitments made to the client or sponsor, budget position, documents and access, and the next milestones.
How do you hand over a project to another project manager?
Hold a handover meeting with the document as the agenda, introduce the new manager to sponsors and key stakeholders, run at least one status meeting together, and set a date after which the new manager owns all decisions.
What is the biggest risk in a project handover?
Losing the reasons behind decisions and the informal promises made to stakeholders. Both live in people's heads and conversations rather than the project plan.