# Getting Ready to Get Ready ### About this export | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | **content_type** | lesson | | **platform** | contentstack-academy | | **source_url** | https://www.contentstack.com/academy/courses/project-managing-a-contentstack-implementation/getting-ready-to-get-ready | | **course_slug** | project-managing-a-contentstack-implementation | | **lesson_slug** | getting-ready-to-get-ready | | **markdown_file_url** | /academy/md/courses/project-managing-a-contentstack-implementation/getting-ready-to-get-ready.md | | **generated_at** | 2026-06-08T14:32:17.788Z | > Part of **[Project Managing a Contentstack Implementation](https://www.contentstack.com/academy/courses/project-managing-a-contentstack-implementation)** on Contentstack Academy. **Academy MD v3** — structured for retrieval; no quiz or assessment keys. #### Video details #### At a glance - **Title:** 01 Getting Ready To Get Ready - **Duration:** 6m 14s - **Media link:** https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/Ow2wGjfR - **Publish date (unix):** 1764771020 #### Streaming renditions - application/vnd.apple.mpegurl - audio/mp4 · AAC Audio · 113440 kbps - video/mp4 · 180p · 180p · 209838 kbps - video/mp4 · 270p · 270p · 275979 kbps - video/mp4 · 360p · 360p · 317111 kbps - video/mp4 · 406p · 406p · 359282 kbps - video/mp4 · 540p · 540p · 491073 kbps - video/mp4 · 720p · 720p · 717874 kbps - video/mp4 · 1080p · 1080p · 1484727 kbps #### Timed text tracks (delivery) - **thumbnails:** `https://cdn.jwplayer.com/strips/Ow2wGjfR-120.vtt` #### Video transcript You know that moment when someone says, don't worry, we'll figure it out as we go? Yeah, that's usually how projects go sideways. And when it comes to implementing content stack, that kind of thinking can cost you time, money, and credibility. That's why we're going to take a moment and talk about something we call getting ready to get ready. Now I get it, pre-project planning isn't exactly a thrilling sounding proposition. But if you get this part right, everything else, your content modeling, your design system, your integrations, they all move faster, cleaner, and with a lot less stress. This is the stuff that separates the projects that fly from the ones that stall. We're going to focus on a planning framework built around six key areas. Now, before I dig in, use the downloadable worksheet to make sure you and your stakeholders are aligned on what's happening, what's expected, and what's still a question mark. Let's walk through each of those six areas. First up, project scope and assumptions. This is your reality check. Ask yourself, have we actually locked in the project scope? Or are there still big unknowns floating around, like who's handling content migration, or whether you're redesigning or doing a lift and shift? This section forces you to get those answers. It also assumes you've already completed the initiation and discovery phases of your broader web project. So you should have alignment on things like budget, goals, and stakeholder roles. But if you haven't, this is where you start asking questions like, do we have a clear scope? Have we documented the project risks? Are we making any assumptions that could come back to bite us? Next is the roles matrix. And here's the truth, most project failures don't come from bad tools, they come from missing people. This worksheet lists every role you need for a successful implementation. Not just your front-end developers or project managers, but also your content strategists, your business analysts, your QA lead, your DevOps engineer, and yes, even your change management specialist. You'll document who's doing what, what gaps still exist, and where you might need outside help. It's also where you'll define executive sponsorship and whether they're truly engaged or just attending the kickoff call. Then we dig into budgeting and scheduling. You'll capture not just the obvious stuff, but often overlooked line items like UI design work, hosting, licensing, legal updates, and third-party integrations. The timeline worksheet helps you account for PTO, approval cycles, and real-world constraints like marketing launches or holiday blackouts, so your schedule stays realistic, not idealistic. Next, website goals and feature planning. If your goal is to improve authoring workflows, or increase conversions, or boost self-sufficiency, great. But have you actually prioritized what features deliver on that? Here's where you'll define your MVP, what launches in phase one, what gets descoped for later. This helps you build momentum and avoid overbuilding up front. Then we get into branding and design readiness. Even if you're not doing a full redesign, your team needs a consistent style guide, brand assets, and clear UI-UX ownership. You'll also do a competitive review, looking at what others in your space are doing well and not so well, and identify inspiration to guide your own experience. From here, you'll inventory your media assets, audit your current content, and evaluate what needs to be rewritten, migrated, or retired. And finally, your technical setup and measurement planning. Here, you'll define your current and future state architecture. What integrations are in play? What hosting environment are you using? Have you planned for SEO, compliance, performance optimization, and analytics? You'll capture your required KPIs, identify tooling like Google Tag Manager or Hotjar, and make sure you're ready to track success right from launch day. Oh, and if you're dealing with compliance or accessibility standards like CPPA or GDPR, this is where you flag them and assign ownership. So yeah, it's a worksheet, but it's also your first deliverable. It sparks the conversations most teams skip and later regret. The truth is, most teams are in a rush to get started, but trust me, this is the start. Getting aligned on scope, roles, goals, and gaps isn't extra work. It's the work that prevents panic later when someone asks, Wait, who is supposed to handle that? So use the worksheet, fill them out, share them, and most importantly, use them to get everyone on the same page. Let's set your team up to win before the real work even begins. #### Key takeaways - Connect **Getting Ready to Get Ready** back to your stack configuration before moving to the next module. - Capture one concrete artifact (screenshot, Postman call, or code snippet) that proves the step works in your environment. - Re-read the delivery versus management boundary for anything you changed in the entry model. ## Supplement for indexing ### Content summary Getting Ready to Get Ready. Getting Ready to Get Ready in Project Managing a Contentstack Implementation (project-managing-a-contentstack-implementation). ### Retrieval tags - Getting - Ready - Get - project-managing-a-contentstack-implementation - lesson 01 - Getting Ready to Get Ready - project-managing-a-contentstack-implementation lesson ### Indexing notes Index this lesson as a primary chunk tagged with lesson_id "01" and topics: [Getting, Ready, Get, Ready]. Parent course slug: project-managing-a-contentstack-implementation. Use asset_references URLs as thumbnail hints in search results when present. Never surface LMS quiz content or assessment answers from this file. ### Asset references | Label | URL | | --- | --- | | Video thumbnail: Getting Ready to Get Ready | `https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Ow2wGjfR/poster.jpg?width=720` | ### External links | Label | URL | | --- | --- | | Contentstack Academy home | `https://www.contentstack.com/academy/` | | Training instance setup | `https://www.contentstack.com/academy/training-instance` | | Academy playground (GitHub) | `https://github.com/contentstack/contentstack-academy-playground` | | Contentstack documentation | `https://www.contentstack.com/docs/` |