Project Management for Startups
From Vision to Execution · Participant Handbook
EPM-JO Bootcamp · PMI Jordan Chapter × INJAZ mySTARTUP
Wednesday 28 October 2026 · 13:00–16:30
Trainer: Deeb Haddad, PMP
| Time | Session | Your output |
|---|
| 13:00–13:25 | 1. Why startups fail on execution; PM for startups | Stage and approach |
| 13:25–13:50 | 2. From vision to execution plan | One-page execution plan (A3) |
| 13:50–14:15 | 3. Assumption testing | 3 riskiest assumptions + tests |
| 14:15–14:45 | Lunch break | — |
| 14:45–15:10 | 4. MVP scope and resources | Top-5 MVP backlog |
| 15:10–15:40 | 5. Risk and founder accountability | Risk register + decision rights (A3) |
| 15:40–16:00 | 6. Agile operating rhythm | Weekly rhythm |
| 16:00–16:15 | 7. PMI tools and learning pathways (CAPM) | Personal learning pathway |
| 16:15–16:30 | 8. Closing | 30-day commitment card |
Cases marked “composite” are realistic teaching examples, not real companies; their figures are illustrative. Real cases are summarised from public sources. This workshop is not PMP or CAPM exam preparation and is not legal advice.
Session 1 · 13:00–13:25
Why startups fail on execution
Execution failure can be diagnosed. Every failure pattern shows early symptoms. Project management spots them early (discovery) and acts on them (resolution).
The Execution Failure Diagnostic
| # | Pattern | Early symptom | Discover it with | Resolve it with |
|---|
| F1 | Building the wrong thing | Features shipped, few paying users | Needs assessment; stakeholder analysis; interviews | Problem statement; acceptance criteria; test before building |
| F2 | Cash runs out before evidence | Nobody knows the monthly burn or runway | Cost baseline; planned vs. actual spend | Spend per proven milestone; runway = cash ÷ net monthly burn |
| F3 | Everything urgent, nothing finished | Many tasks in progress, few done | Visible backlog; Kanban board | MoSCoW; work-in-progress limit; one sprint goal |
| F4 | Nobody owns it / founder deadlock | Tasks fall between founders | RACI matrix | One accountable owner; decision rights; escalation rule |
| F5 | Surprises that block launch | Launch stopped by a legal, tax, data or supplier issue | Risk identification; assumption and constraint log | Risk register with owner and response |
Global data: CB Insights (2021, 111 startup post-mortems) — founders cited running out of cash (38%) and no market need (35%) as top reasons. Not Jordan statistics.
Three types of work
- Project: temporary, unique result (MVP v1, company registration, a pilot).
- Operation: ongoing and repeated (support, accounting, deliveries).
- Experiment: a small test to learn, then decide.
Approach by stage
- Idea / validation: experiments.
- MVP: agile sprints inside fixed milestones.
- Operating: hybrid — fixed: legal, tax, contracts, funder milestones; flexible: features.
Jordan example (composite): an Amman invoicing app spends 4 months polishing screens and leaves the JoFotara e-invoicing integration for “later”; pilot shops cannot invoice compliantly. Fix: treat JoFotara as a fixed, predictive milestone and keep the screens agile.
Why CAPM-level practice helps: the four CAPM domains — business analysis, fundamentals, predictive and agile methods — give a team the shared language and basic tools to find and fix these five patterns.
Session 2 · 13:25–13:50
From vision to execution plan
A plan is a chain: vision → outcome → milestones → owners → resources → KPIs. If one link is missing, execution breaks there.
| Link | Question | Quality test |
|---|
| Vision | Why do we exist? | One sentence, customer-centred, 3 years |
| 90-day outcome | What must change for the customer or business? | A result, not an activity |
| Key results | How will we know? | 2–3 numbers with target and date |
| Milestones | What proven steps lead there? | Dated; “done” = evidence |
| Owners | Who is accountable? | One name, never “the team” |
| Resources | What do we have and lack? | People, cash, runway in months, gaps |
| KPIs | What do we watch weekly? | 2 leading + 1 lagging; no vanity metrics |
Rules that matter
- Output ≠ outcome. “Launch the app” is an output; “20 paying shops” is an outcome.
- SMART objectives; OKR: one objective, 2–3 key results.
- If a key result cannot be counted on a date, it is not a key result.
- Rolling wave planning: detail the next 90 days; re-plan monthly.
Example (composite, Case A)
- Vision: every small shop in Jordan issues a compliant invoice in under a minute.
- KRs by day 90: 20 paying shops; ≥ 95% invoices accepted by JoFotara first time; ≥ 70% of shops active 4+ days a week.
- Runway: JD 18,000 ÷ JD 3,000 burn = 6 months.
Output → outcome across industries (illustrative)
| Industry | Weak output | Strong outcome |
|---|
| Health tech | Launch the booking app | 3 clinics get ≥ 30% of bookings via the app by day 90 |
| E-commerce | Launch our website | ≥ 40% of orders prepaid; returns ≤ 8% |
| Edtech (Tawjihi) | Record 100 videos | 200 weekly active students; ≥ 60% of parents renew |
| AI chatbot | Train the chatbot | Resolves ≥ 60% of chats without a human; satisfaction ≥ 4/5 |
| Agri-tech | Build a marketplace | 10 restaurants reorder weekly from 15 farms |
Session 3 · 13:50–14:15
Assumption testing
Every key result is a hypothesis. Test the riskiest assumption cheapest and fastest. What customers say is weak evidence; what they do is stronger; what they pay is strongest.
Validation cycle
Diagnose → Hypothesize → Experiment → Measure → Decide
Four assumption types
- Desirability: do they want it?
- Viability: will they pay enough?
- Feasibility: can we build and deliver it?
- Compliance: are we allowed (JoFotara, PDPL, licences)?
Riskiest = high importance, low evidence.
Experiment ladder (cheapest first)
- Problem interviews (10–15)
- Landing page or demo video with sign-up
- Concierge / “Wizard of Oz” (manual service)
- Pre-sale, deposit or letter of intent
- Paid pilot
Interview rules
- Ask about past behaviour, not future intentions.
- Don't pitch; listen.
- Interview payer and user separately.
- PDPL: consent and minimum personal data.
Test card: We believe that [segment] will [behaviour]. We will test it by [experiment] and measure [metric]. We are right if [threshold] by [date]. If not, we will [pivot / stop / redesign]. Write the decision rule before the test.
Real cases — lessons learned
Zappos (1999): photographed shoes in local stores and bought each pair only after an online order. Desirability was proven before viability — test the money separately.
Dropbox (2007): a demo video before the full product; the waiting list reportedly jumped from about 5,000 to 75,000. Test the value with the cheapest artefact.
Quibi (2020): raised about USD 1.75 billion and shut down about six months after launch. Money does not replace evidence; reassess when the environment changes.
Abwaab (Jordan-founded edtech): research and focus groups first; usage later revealed demand for subjects the founders had not planned. Market wants cannot be assumed.
Session 4 · 14:45–15:10
MVP scope, prioritisation and resources
An MVP is the smallest thing that proves the riskiest assumption and reaches the first milestone. Everything else waits on a “Won't (this time)” list.
Backlog and user stories
- Format: As a [user], I want [capability], so that [benefit].
- Definition of done = evidence from a real user.
- Non-software work: a simple WBS (deliverables → work packages).
Sizes and capacity
- S ≤ 2 people-days · M 3–5 · L 6–10 · XL > 10 → split it.
- Capacity = people × productive days per week × weeks. Plan ≤ 80%.
MoSCoW
| Must | Without it the MVP fails or is illegal |
|---|
| Should | Important; a manual workaround exists |
|---|
| Could | Nice to have if capacity remains |
|---|
| Won't | Agreed out of scope this time |
|---|
Keep Musts at about 60% of effort or less (DSDM guideline).
Dependencies
Mandatory · discretionary · external · internal. Start external ones first — you cannot speed them up. Watch for scope creep and gold plating.
Real cases — lessons learned
Airbnb (2007): air mattresses in the founders' apartment and a simple website. The smallest MVP with a paying customer beats a full platform with none.
Instagram (2010): cut the Burbn app down to photos, filters and sharing. Usage data tells you what to cut.
Careem (2012): started with corporate car booking and manual dispatch; Uber agreed to acquire it for USD 3.1 billion in 2019. Start narrow, run it manually, then automate and expand.
Juicero (2016–2017): raised about USD 120 million for a connected juice press; the packs could be squeezed by hand. Gold plating is expensive; a Won't list protects money.
Session 5 · 15:10–15:40
Risk and founder accountability
An untested assumption is a risk. A risk without an owner is a surprise waiting to happen. A founding team without decision rights turns every surprise into a fight.
Write and score a risk
- Because of [cause], [event] may happen, which would cause [effect].
- Categories: market · technical · financial · legal/compliance · team.
- Score = probability (1–5) × impact (1–5). Red ≥ 15 · amber 8–14 · green ≤ 7.
- Each risk: one owner, a trigger (early sign) and an action.
Responses (PMI)
- Threats: escalate · avoid · transfer · mitigate · accept.
- Opportunities: escalate · exploit · share · enhance · accept.
Founder accountability
- RACI: exactly one Accountable per milestone.
- Decision rights: who decides product, technology, pricing, spending, hiring, equity; spending limits.
- Deadlock rule: a time limit and an agreed tie-breaker.
Founders' agreement — minimum
- Roles and time commitment
- Equity and vesting
- IP assigned to the company
- Decision rights and deadlock rule
- What happens if a founder leaves
Register with the Companies Control Department and take legal advice.
Real cases — lessons learned
Airbnb (2020): raised about USD 2 billion, cut about 25% of roles and non-core businesses, then refocused. Speed comes from clear decision rights and a known runway.
Snapchat (2013–2014): a dispute with an early collaborator was settled for USD 157.5 million. Write the founders' agreement on day 1.
FTX (2022): the new CEO described “a complete failure of corporate controls”. Even a 3-person startup needs basic controls.
Theranos (2003–2018): technical problems were hidden instead of escalated; the founder was convicted in 2022. Bad news must travel fast.
Session 6 · 15:40–16:00
Agile operating rhythm
Plans don't execute themselves; rhythms do. A short, fixed weekly rhythm turns your A3, backlog and risk register into decisions every week.
Sprints or Kanban?
- Sprints (1–2 weeks): building the product; fixed time, flexible scope; one sprint goal.
- Kanban (continuous flow): operations, sales, support; limit work in progress.
- Most startups use a hybrid: sprints for the product, Kanban for the rest.
Kanban board
Backlog → Ready (top 3) → Doing (WIP ≤ 2 per person) → Waiting (external) → Done. Fewer things in progress = faster finishing.
Decision log
Date · decision · options · who decided · why · review date. Stops re-arguing settled decisions.
Retrospective
What worked? What didn't? What one thing do we change for the next 2 weeks?
Weekly rhythm (Jordan work week: Sunday–Thursday)
| Meeting | When | Length | Output |
|---|
| Weekly planning | Sunday morning | 30 min | Top 3 priorities, owners, WIP limits |
| Daily check-in | Every working day (or WhatsApp) | 10–15 min | Done / doing / blocked |
| Weekly review | Thursday afternoon | 30–45 min | KPIs, risk triggers, decisions |
| Retrospective | Every 2 weeks | 30 min | One improvement |
| Monthly re-plan | End of month | 60–90 min | Budget vs. actual, runway, re-plan |
| OKR reset | Quarterly | Half a day | New OKRs |
Real cases — lessons learned
Toyota: Kanban comes from the Toyota Production System. Make work visible; limit what is in progress.
Amazon: a Weekly Business Review of controllable input metrics (Working Backwards, 2021). Review leading inputs weekly; outputs follow.
Basecamp: 6-week cycles and a 2-week cool-down (Shape Up, 2019). Fix the time, flex the scope.
Google: OKRs since 1999, set quarterly (Measure What Matters, 2018). An OKR without a weekly check-in is a wish.
Session 7 · 16:00–16:15
PMI tools and learning pathways
Apply first, then certify when it helps your role. Project skills are a career asset: PMI's Talent Gap report (2021) projected about 25 million new project professionals needed by 2030.
| Resource | What it is | Access |
|---|
| PMI KICKOFF™ | Free course on project basics (agile or waterfall), templates, badge; about 45 minutes | Free |
| PMI membership | PMI resources, standards and community | Annual fee |
| PMI Infinity™ | PMI's AI assistant over PMI content, with sources | Free for members |
| PMI Jordan Chapter | Amman: development days, seminars, workshops, networking, volunteering | Chapter membership |
| PMI Project Management Ready™ | Entry certification for school and university students | Via Certiport |
| CAPM® | Entry-level certification | Exam fee reported USD 225 members / 300 non-members |
| PMI-CPMAI™ | Project management for AI products, data-first | Course and certification |
| PMP® | For experienced project leaders | Experience required |
CAPM facts
- Eligibility: secondary degree + 23 hours of project management education before the exam; no work experience required.
- Exam content (2023): fundamentals 36% · predictive 17% · agile 20% · business analysis 27%.
- This workshop is not exam preparation and is not presented as counting toward the 23 hours.
Learning ladder
- This week: PMI KICKOFF (free).
- 30 days: run the weekly rhythm; attend one PMI Jordan Chapter event.
- 1–3 months: 23-hour course if CAPM is your goal; consider PMI membership.
- 3–6 months: CAPM exam (optional).
- Later: PMP; PMI-CPMAI for AI products.
Fees and formats change; check everything on pmi.org. Arabic content: see the PMI Jordan Chapter and its Edraak partner page.
Session 8 · 16:15–16:30
Closing: your next 30 days
You leave with a plan, a backlog, a risk register and a weekly rhythm. The value is in the next 30 days. Own the outcome, not the task.
Today's path
Diagnose (S1) → plan (S2) → test (S3) → scope (S4) → risks and roles (S5) → rhythm (S6) → keep learning (S7).
Your team outputs
- ☐ One-page execution plan (A3)
- ☐ Top-5 MVP backlog with rough estimates
- ☐ Risk and assumption register with founder roles and decision rights (A3)
Your 30-day commitment
- 3 actions, each with a date and evidence (a KPI or a document).
- The first tool you will use; an accountability partner; your check-in date with mySTARTUP.
Good: “Hold the first Thursday review on 5 November with 3 KPIs and the top-5 risk triggers — evidence: a decision-log entry.”
Weak: “Work on marketing” (no date, no evidence) · “Finish the app” (an output, not a 30-day step).
M.O.R.E. — the lens to keep
- Manage perceptions: tell your stakeholders your plan and your risks.
- Own success: your 3 actions, with evidence.
- Relentlessly reassess: your Thursday review and retrospective.
- Expand perspective: one PMI Jordan Chapter event; talk to customers every week.
Thank you to the PMI Jordan Chapter, INJAZ mySTARTUP and the volunteers.
Templates · Word
Templates to reuse
Download the Word templates and use them with your team after the workshop. Each is available in English and Arabic.
In the PDF version, download the templates from nxemtech-startup.nextmtech.com.
After the workshop · Take-home
Your 90-day budget, the PMI way
Turn your budget into a decision date: how much you need, what could go wrong, and when you must act.
- Estimate cost items per milestone — analogous (similar past item), parametric (rate × quantity), bottom-up (sum of details) or three-point: (optimistic + 4 × most likely + pessimistic) ÷ 6.
- Phase by month and add up the cost baseline.
- Add a contingency reserve for your top risks: probability × impact in JD (EMV).
- Add a management reserve (about 10%) for the unknown; use only with founders' approval.
- Check the funding limit: cash available ≥ budget? Runway = remaining cash ÷ net monthly burn.
- Write your decision date: “If [milestone] is not reached by [date], we fundraise or cut burn that week.”
Example (composite, Case A, JD)
| Line | Amount |
|---|
| Cost estimates for 90 days | 8,100 |
| + Contingency reserve (EMV of 2 risks) | 900 |
| = Cost baseline | 9,000 |
| + Management reserve | 900 |
| = Project budget | 9,900 |
| Runway after day 90: (18,000 − 9,000) ÷ 3,000 | 3 months |
Monthly check (earned value, simplified)
Compare planned vs. actual spend and planned vs. actual progress. CPI = earned value ÷ actual cost; SPI = earned value ÷ planned value. Below 1.0 means act now.
Jordan reminders: 16% general sales tax on many purchases; Social Security once you hire; registration and licence renewals; an accountant for JoFotara-compliant invoicing.
Glossary and sources
Glossary (English → Arabic)
| English | Arabic | English | Arabic |
|---|
| Execution gap | فجوة التنفيذ | Product backlog | قائمة عمل المنتج |
| Runway / Burn rate | المدى النقدي / معدل الإنفاق | User story | قصة المستخدم |
| Acceptance criteria | معايير القبول | Definition of done | تعريف الإنجاز |
| Outcome / Output | النتيجة / المُخرَج | Dependency | الاعتمادية |
| OKR (Objectives and Key Results) | الأهداف والنتائج الرئيسية | Scope creep | زحف النطاق |
| Milestone | المَعلم | Risk register | سجل المخاطر |
| Leading / Lagging KPI | مؤشر استباقي / لاحق | Trigger | مؤشر التفعيل |
| Assumption / Hypothesis | الافتراض / الفرضية | RACI | مصفوفة توزيع المسؤوليات |
| MVP | المنتج الأولي القابل للتطبيق | Decision rights | صلاحيات القرار |
| Cost baseline | خط أساس التكلفة | Contingency / Management reserve | احتياطي الطوارئ / احتياطي الإدارة |
References
- PMI: PMBOK® Guide, 8th Edition; Agile Practice Guide (with Agile Alliance); M.O.R.E. framework; CAPM exam content outline.
- E. Ries, The Lean Startup (2011); D. J. Bland and A. Osterwalder, Testing Business Ideas (2019); R. Fitzpatrick, The Mom Test (2013); J. Doerr, Measure What Matters (2018).
- A. C. Edmondson, The Fearless Organization; P. Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
- Real cases summarised from public reporting (TechCrunch, Fortune, AP, Axios, CNBC, Wamda and others). Figures marked “reported” are company-reported or secondary.
- Jordan: Personal Data Protection Law No. 24 of 2023; national e-invoicing system JoFotara (Income and Sales Tax Department) — check current obligations with the authorities.
© NextEmTech · Trainer: Deeb Haddad, PMP · www.nextmtech.com