Basic questions to consider: What is the deliverable? What will you do to achieve this deliverable? Who does the work? What are our working assumptions?
Deliverables: Is this an ongoing duty or is this a time-bound deliverable? Is this deliverable clear? Is there a handoff? Are any deliverables “hidden” in other areas of the charge?
Understand the timeline: Which deliverables come when? Which deliverables have to come first? What are the dependencies?
Interdependencies of groups: Know who you report to. How are you going to report? Know who you have to communicate with. How are you going to communicate with them? Which groups will you be working closely with?
When to escalate: No magic formula for escalating: you’ll know it when you get there. Per the SGTF instructions (p.29): Escalate when you need high-level consultation or are unable to reach a required consensus despite good-faith efforts When you are too uncomfortable to proceed, escalate. If you are in “deadlock” or “contentious discussion,” escalate. If it’s clear that it affects many other groups and more coordination is needed, escalate. If you need more resources to get through an issue, escalate.