[thelist] Avoiding common pitfalls

Christopher Joseph christopher at ideadesigners.com
Wed Jan 8 09:55:01 CST 2003


The Sh4d0w wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Could all experienced web developers please share with us [the
> list] what some of the common pitfalls are when it comes to the
> business of developing sites for clients that often turn out to
> be very difficult. What are the lessons you have learned that new
> web developers are probably bound to learn the hard way.

- Hold a workshop/meeting at the outset with all parties who stand to
gain from the project e.g.

For a retail company implementing an e-commerce site this may be a
telesales rep, customer service person, retail manager, marketing
manager etc.

This may take half or even more depending on the scale of the project
and it is non-billable - you may not even get the contract BUT it shows
commitment, management skills and you increase cutomer buyin and trust
right at the outset.

- Design a specification for the project/site beforehand based on the
meetings (pages / site structure /functionality) and GET IT SIGNED OFF
BY SOMEONE WITH AUTHORITY.

- Based on the spec clearly identify your tasks and those of the client
- try to estimate your required completion time (following whatever
methodology suits you) BUT get the customer to estimate their parts of
the project.

....put it all in another document and then get it signed off.

Finally - ensure you update the client with a status based on the
document on a regular basis. If your requiresments change then make an
amendment to the document and GET IT SIGNED OFF. That way the customer
can see where the project slippage is occurring.


You may also wish to add costing to the same doc so that:

a) you have the clients signature against the quote
b) the client can see the escalation of cost as they repeatedly change
their minds!

--
Christopher Joseph

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