How We Run Projects
How We Run Projects is a five-page intranet site showing Northstar’s illustrative project lifecycle, intake preparation, shared-materials guidance, and governance examples. It helps teams find the right guidance while keeping project plans and delivery in Workspace.
Every employee gets a seat — priced per employee in Communications & Intranet, quoted with this template ready.
Rolled out to every employee at AutoZone (125,000), PetSmart (50,000+), A.S. Watson and Raley's (20,000) — and at larger retailers we are not permitted to name.
Built for: Professional services · Manufacturing and frontline operations · Technology and software · Healthcare administration
Overview
How We Run Projects is a five-page intranet site template for orienting employees to project practices without pretending to be a project-management tool. Its landing page introduces the distinction between guidance on the site and project plans, collaboration, actions, and delivery records in Workspace, then links to four focused pages: Methodology, Starting a Project, Templates, and Governance.
The Methodology page lays out an illustrative sequence: define the need, assess and agree, plan the work, deliver and adapt, then review and hand over. Starting a Project turns the first conversation into practical preparation: describe the opportunity, identify affected people and an accountable role, estimate work provisionally, and confirm who can assess it. Templates explains the types of materials teams commonly prepare while making clear that the gallery example supplies no downloadable files. Governance presents sample situations, roles, and next steps while directing project-specific decisions to Workspace and the organization’s confirmed route.
Use this template when creating an orientation site for employees who need to understand a project approach and find their next guidance page. It is especially useful when teams need a stable reference rather than repeated, hard-to-find messages. Do not publish its fictional Northstar roles, practices, or timings as company policy. It is not an intake form, approval workflow, live Workspace integration, or repository of approved files. Before rollout, verify scope, ownership, decision authority, escalation, review cadence, and actual destinations; add approved materials and links through your organization’s setup.
Standards & compliance context
- The sample methodology and governance content are explicitly illustrative and do not establish company policy, approval thresholds, or regulatory compliance.
- Confirm applicable organizational policies and legal or regulatory requirements with the appropriate internal authority before publishing the guidance as operational direction.
- State the confirmed audience and location scope; the fictional Northstar example does not establish that a process applies to every employee or site.
- Use accessible heading structure and descriptive text links, and check the published pages against WCAG 2.1 AA, including keyboard navigation and contrast.
General regulatory context for orientation only — verify current requirements with counsel or the relevant agency before relying on this template for compliance.
What's inside this template
How We Run Projects
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How we run projects
A practical guide for Northstar project leads and teams across office and frontline locations. This site explains an illustrative project approach, what to prepare, and where to find shared materials. Project plans, collaboration, and delivery happen in Workspace.
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Go to the guidance you need
Choose a topic; project work itself continues in Workspace. Methodology See the example stages from defining a need through review. Starting a Project Prepare the information a project lead should bring to an intake discussion. Templates Understand where approved planning materials belong. Governance Review the example decision roles and escalation principles.
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What this site covers
Guidance here; project delivery in Workspace This Northstar example separates how we guide projects from where project teams do the work . Use these pages to understand the sample methodology, prepare for a project discussion, and find the right shared materials. Use Workspace for project plans, team collaboration, actions, and delivery records, following the destination and setup provided by your organization. The practices, roles, and timings on this site are fictional examples for the template gallery. Confirm Northstar’s actual process and which project types, locations, and employee groups it covers before treating any example as guidance.
Methodology
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A shared project lifecycle
Illustrative Northstar practice, not a configured workflow This example lifecycle helps teams agree on the need, plan the work, deliver in manageable steps, and learn from the outcome. It is a discussion guide—not an automated process or an approved company policy. Confirm that the approach fits your project type and location. Project leads coordinate project-specific plans, collaboration, and delivery in Workspace. The accountable roles and review cadence shown here are fictional sample content.
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Example stages
Teams can adapt the sequence to the work and its confirmed governance. Define the need Describe the problem or opportunity, who is affected, the intended outcome, and how the team will recognize improvement. Assess and agree Identify the accountable sponsor and affected teams. Discuss dependencies, delivery risks, and whether the work needs a governance decision before planning. Plan the work Set a realistic scope, milestones, owners, and review points with the people doing and receiving the work. Record the project plan in Workspace. Deliver and adapt Coordinate tasks and decisions in Workspace. Review progress with the agreed roles and raise changes or blockers through the confirmed escalation route. Review and hand over Confirm the outcome with the receiving team, assign any open actions, and record lessons that will help the next project.
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Ready to discuss a project?
Start by gathering the information that will help the right people assess the need. Then continue project planning and delivery in Workspace, using your organization's confirmed project destination. Use the Starting a Project page to prepare an example intake summary.
Starting a Project
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Prepare for a project discussion
For Northstar employees proposing or leading work that needs coordination across people or teams This fictional example is a preparation guide, not a live intake form or approval route. Before using it as company guidance, confirm which project types and locations it applies to and who receives project proposals. Bring a short description of the need, the people affected, the intended outcome, a rough timing and effort estimate, known dependencies, and the role accountable for the result. Do not include sensitive personal information in a general project summary.
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Example preparation and handoff
Use the sequence to make the first conversation concrete; it does not submit or approve a project. Write the opportunity In a few sentences, describe the current problem or opportunity and what would be different if the work succeeds. Name the people and impact List the teams, locations, shifts, or customers affected, and identify the role that would own the outcome. Estimate the work Give an initial timing range, likely contributors, and known dependencies. Mark estimates as provisional rather than commitments. Discuss assessment and authority Take the summary to the confirmed intake contact or governance forum. Ask who decides whether the work proceeds and what information is still needed. Continue in Workspace Once the organization confirms where project work belongs, the project lead records the plan and coordinates delivery in Workspace. This guide does not create a Workspace project.
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Use shared planning materials
The Templates page explains the sample materials and how to make them available. Use only materials that your organization has approved and made available. Review the Templates page before using any planning file.
Templates
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Project templates and shared materials
A reference point for approved planning resources This gallery example contains no downloadable Northstar files. Before publishing this page for employee use, add the approved materials to the site's file library and configure the file list with their real links. Confirm who owns each material and what event triggers its review. Do not use an unapproved sample as a company standard. Once the appropriate materials are available, project leads can apply them to project work in Workspace according to the confirmed process.
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What teams commonly prepare
Examples of useful project materials; not claims that Northstar has approved files. These examples describe common content, not a required Northstar document set. Use the organization's approved materials when available. Project brief Problem, intended outcome, scope, affected teams, and accountable role. Plan and milestones Activities, owners, dependencies, and review dates. Decision and risk log The question or risk, its impact, the accountable role, and the next review point. Handover notes Accepted outcomes, open actions, receiving role, and support arrangements.
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Apply materials in Workspace
Workspace is where project teams coordinate plans and delivery. No template files or Workspace links are configured by this gallery example. Use the confirmed Workspace project destination and approved materials supplied by your organization.
Governance
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Project governance: example principles
Confirm Northstar's actual decision rights and escalation route before publishing as policy Governance makes clear who can decide, who needs to be consulted, and how a project responds when scope, timing, cost, or risk changes. The roles and examples below are illustrative only. They do not establish Northstar approval thresholds, mandatory forums, or an escalation policy. For each project, confirm the accountable sponsor, decision authority, review cadence, and route for unresolved risks. Record project-specific decisions and actions in Workspace once the appropriate setup is confirmed.
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Illustrative decision and handoff guide
Sample roles and cadence for template demonstration only; replace with approved company facts before use. Situation Example accountable role Example next step A proposal needs an initial fit and priority discussion Project sponsor Clarify the intended outcome, affected teams, and who can decide whether assessment continues. A delivery plan needs coordination across teams Project lead Agree owners, milestones, dependencies, and a review cadence with contributors; coordinate the plan in Workspace. A risk or dependency could change the agreed outcome Project lead and accountable sponsor Record the issue and options in Workspace, then use the organization's confirmed decision route. Work is ready to move to an operating team Project lead and receiving role Confirm acceptance, assign open actions, and record the handoff in Workspace.
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Keep project decisions with the project
Workspace is the app for project plans, collaboration, and delivery records. This template does not configure Workspace access, approval steps, or an escalation contact. Confirm those details with the accountable project owner. Use the confirmed Workspace destination to document project-specific decisions and actions.
How to use this template
- Confirm which project types, locations, and employee groups the guidance will cover, then assign a role to own the site and its review.
- Replace the Northstar example lifecycle, roles, intake route, decision rights, escalation guidance, and cadence with verified organizational facts.
- Add approved planning materials to the site’s file library and configure the file list with working links, since the template includes no downloadable files.
- Provide the confirmed Workspace destination and explain which project records belong there without implying that this site creates projects or approvals.
- Review each page for accurate scope, clear handoffs, accessible headings and link text, and removal of any fictional details that could be mistaken for policy.
- Publish the site with its navigation, tell employees where to begin, and review the content when the process, materials, or destinations change.
Best practices
- Keep the landing page focused on orientation and preserve its links to the four distinct guidance pages rather than duplicating their content.
- Label the lifecycle, roles, timings, and governance table as examples until their accuracy and applicability are confirmed.
- State which project types, locations, and employee groups the guidance applies to; do not infer local coverage from the sample company name.
- Name a content owner and a review trigger, such as a change to the intake route, decision authority, approved materials, or Workspace destination.
- Use the Starting a Project page to request a provisional estimate and affected teams, not as a substitute for a formal intake form or approval.
- Configure real links to approved files and the confirmed Workspace destination before directing employees there.
- Keep project-specific decisions and actions with the project record in Workspace, using the organization's confirmed setup and escalation route.
- Avoid putting sensitive personal information in a general project summary, as the preparation page advises.
What this template typically catches
Issues teams running this template most often surface in practice:
Common use cases
Frequently asked questions
What does the How We Run Projects template include?
It includes five connected pages: an orientation hub, an example methodology, a project-start preparation guide, shared-materials guidance, and governance examples. The hub links readers to each topic, while the other pages explain the sample lifecycle, what to prepare, and how decisions and handoffs might be described. The content clearly identifies Northstar roles and practices as fictional examples.
Who is this project-practice site for?
The sample is written for Northstar employees proposing or leading work that needs coordination across people or teams, including contributors who need to understand the lifecycle and handoff. Before using it as company guidance, confirm which project types, locations, and employee groups the process covers. Replace the sample roles and routes with verified organizational information.
How often should the pages and linked materials be reviewed?
The template does not prescribe a review schedule. Set a review cadence with the owner of the project-practice content, and review sooner when project decision rights, intake routes, Workspace destinations, or approved planning materials change. Assign an owner and review trigger before publishing the pages for employee use.
Who should own the site and run a project intake discussion?
The template does not name a real content owner, intake contact, or governance forum. Assign a role responsible for keeping the pages accurate, and identify the confirmed person or role that receives project proposals. Project-specific accountability, including the sponsor and decision authority, should be confirmed for each project.
Does this template establish a company policy or meet a particular regulatory requirement?
No. Its lifecycle, roles, timings, and decision examples are explicitly illustrative and do not establish approval thresholds or mandatory forums. Confirm applicable organizational policies and legal or regulatory requirements with the appropriate internal authority before publishing. Keep any authoritative policy in its designated home and link to it where the site’s supported navigation allows.
What should we customize before rolling out the site?
Confirm the scope, actual lifecycle, accountable roles, intake route, escalation path, and review cadence. Add approved planning materials to the site’s file library and configure the file list with real links; the gallery example contains no downloadable Northstar files. Also replace the sample Workspace destination guidance with the destination and setup confirmed by your organization.
Does the template create projects or connect to Workspace?
No. The pages direct readers to use Workspace for project plans, collaboration, actions, and delivery records, but this template does not create a Workspace project or configure a connection, access, or approval workflow. Provide the real destination through your organization’s setup and verify that employees can reach it.
How is this better than sending project guidance in an ad-hoc message?
The five-page structure gives the lifecycle, intake preparation, shared-materials guidance, and governance examples distinct places, with a hub and horizontal navigation to help readers find them. A message can be useful for a specific update, but it is easy to lose and can leave competing versions in circulation. Keep authoritative guidance in one maintained location and use messages to point to it.
What is the most common rollout mistake to avoid?
The biggest risk is publishing fictional roles, timings, or decision examples as if they were approved company policy. Another is pointing employees toward Workspace or planning files without supplying confirmed destinations and approved materials. Verify the content, configure real links, name an owner, and state the page’s scope before announcing it.
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Rolled out to every employee at AutoZone (125,000), PetSmart (50,000+), A.S. Watson and Raley's (20,000) — and at larger retailers we are not permitted to name.