Workbook
Make the Mission Yours
Role: Project Manager
Use these activities to apply each principle to your current product, service, or project. These activities are a sample to get you started, not an exhaustive list. Adapt and expand them based on your team's context and needs. Capture your answers, share them with your team, and revisit them as you learn.
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Important: When Using AI Tools
When using AI-assisted activities, always double-check for accuracy and meaning each and every time. AI tools can help accelerate your work, but human judgment, validation, and critical thinking remain essential.
Review AI-generated content with your team, validate it against real user feedback and domain knowledge, and ensure it truly serves your mission and user outcomes before proceeding.
2) Break Down Silos
Coordinate cross-functional work around shared context.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 2) Break Down Silos section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐Create one integrated plan combining design/eng/QA tasks against shared milestones.
- ☐Host a 15-minute weekly dependency review with all owners; log decisions.
- ☐Replace function-specific boards with one shared board for the pilot effort.
- ☐Set one live co-work session this week to unblock a cross-team dependency.
- ☐Publish a single RACI for the riskiest epic to avoid confusion.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐When AI generates project plans or coordination structures, have cross-functional team members review them together to ensure they serve users and enable effective collaboration.
- ☐Use AI to help draft integrated plans or dependency matrices, but ensure all roles contribute their perspectives during the actual planning sessions.
- ☐Have AI analyze project communication patterns and dependency friction, then use those insights in cross-functional discussions to improve collaboration.
- ☐Use AI to help structure project collaboration sessions, but ensure human team members make decisions together about what to build and how it serves users.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐Dependencies are surfaced and resolved earlier.
- ☐One shared plan/board is used across functions.
3) User Engagement
Bake user checkpoints into delivery.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 3) User Engagement section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐Add a “user validation” checkpoint to the plan for each major milestone.
- ☐Ensure one user touchpoint is scheduled before calling a feature “done”.
- ☐Include user feedback highlights in status updates.
- ☐Pair with PM/UX to confirm which user signal will be read before exiting this milestone.
- ☐Capture one user quote per milestone and surface it in the next status.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐Use AI to analyze user feedback, support tickets, or usage data to identify patterns for project planning, but always validate AI insights through direct user engagement or observation.
- ☐Have AI generate questions for user interviews based on your project assumptions, then use those questions in real conversations with users to build genuine empathy.
- ☐Use AI to help summarize user research findings for project planning, but ensure team members review the summaries and add their own observations from direct user interactions.
- ☐Have AI analyze user behavior patterns from telemetry, then discuss those patterns with actual users to understand the "why" behind the behavior before planning milestones.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐User checkpoints appear on the schedule and are completed.
- ☐Status updates include user findings, not just % complete.
4) Outcomes Over Outputs
Report progress with outcome signals, not only percent complete.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 4) Outcomes Over Outputs section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐For each milestone, define a simple outcome metric or signal to check post-release.
- ☐Include an “outcome readout date” in the plan and track it like a deliverable.
- ☐Close the loop: after readout, adjust scope/plan based on results.
- ☐Highlight one risk in terms of outcome impact, not just schedule, and secure mitigation.
- ☐Post a short outcome recap after a release with next-step recommendation.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐When AI generates project plans or milestone definitions, define outcome metrics upfront and measure whether AI-generated project work achieves intended user outcomes, not just schedule completion.
- ☐Use AI to help analyze project outcome data and identify patterns, but have human team members interpret what those patterns mean for users and the mission.
- ☐Have AI help draft outcome definitions and success criteria for project milestones, but ensure the team validates them against real user needs and business goals before proceeding.
- ☐Use AI to track and report on project outcome metrics, but schedule human team reviews to discuss what the metrics mean and how to adjust plans based on observed impact.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐Status reports show outcome signals alongside schedule.
- ☐Plans are adjusted based on measured outcomes.
5) Domain Knowledge
Track dependencies and constraints that shape delivery.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 5) Domain Knowledge section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐Maintain a dependency map (front/back stage) with owners and risks; review weekly.
- ☐List policy/compliance constraints in the plan and confirm with owners.
- ☐Highlight critical path items tied to external systems and add contingency steps.
- ☐Review a recent incident/blocked delivery and add one guardrail to the current plan.
- ☐Confirm SLAs/OLAs with upstream/downstream teams for this sprint’s critical path.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐Use AI to help summarize domain documentation, dependency maps, or constraint requirements for project planning, but validate AI-generated domain knowledge through direct engagement with domain experts.
- ☐Have AI generate questions about domain constraints or ecosystem relationships for your projects, then use those questions in conversations with domain experts to build deep understanding.
- ☐Use AI to help draft dependency maps or constraint documentation, but ensure team members review them with domain experts to verify accuracy and completeness.
- ☐Have AI analyze past projects or domain-related issues, then discuss those insights with the team and domain experts to identify patterns and prevent similar problems.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐Risks/contingencies are tied to specific dependencies and constraints.
- ☐Owners acknowledge and act on dependency risks early.
6) The Art of Storytelling
Tell project status as a story of user value.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 6) The Art of Storytelling section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐Structure status as: user goal, what changed for them, what’s next.
- ☐Create two versions of status: one for execs (outcomes/risks) and one for the team (decisions/blocks).
- ☐Add a before/after user vignette to major milestone reviews.
- ☐Include one data point or user quote in every status to anchor the story.
- ☐Record a 60-second status clip focusing on user value and post it for stakeholders.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐Use AI to help structure or draft project status stories and milestone narratives, but refine them with real user anecdotes, emotions, and personal observations from direct user interactions.
- ☐Have AI generate different versions of project updates for different audiences (executives vs team), but ensure each version includes authentic human stories about real user impact.
- ☐Use AI to help summarize project work in status reports, but lead presentations with human stories about real users, using AI-generated summaries as supporting material.
- ☐Have AI help draft project documentation or status updates, but always include real user quotes, data points, or anecdotes that connect your project work to human impact.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐Stakeholders can retell status in terms of user impact.
- ☐Teams feel aligned on why milestones matter, not just dates.