[thelist] Avoiding common pitfalls

Marc Seyon seyon at delime.com
Wed Jan 8 10:18:01 CST 2003


Message from Christopher Joseph (1/8/2003 03:54 PM)
>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.
>
>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.

I agree this is a key point, Christopher. But I don't think you should be
giving away something this high value as non-billable.

There is a fine line that only experience will help you to find, where you
sell just enough to land the contract, without going through the entire
requirements assessment workshop. To do this you may only need meet to the
relevant decision-maker within the organization.

There is a very valuable section on this topic, completing the sell, and
other useful advice for developers looking to market themselves in a book I
recently read and reviewed. It's called
'The Geek's Guide to Internet Business Success', and the review can be read
on evolt.

http://www.evolt.org/article/Book_Review_The_Geek_s_Guide_to_Internet_Busine
ss/12/46770/index.html


>- 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.

Where possible, analyse each project individually. It's possible for "too
much paper" to scare a client away. Some clients thrive on signing piles of
documents. Others don't. Again, it's an experience thing. When in doubt
though, go with the hefty paper trail.

Kristina also added another important point earlier about patience. In
practically every project I have worked on, getting the client to deliver
the content from their end in a timely manner is usually the largest
headache. Both in terms of the time you lose waiting for it to be
delivered, and in repeatedly contacting them to "remind" them of imminent
deadlines.

And another lesson that I think is difficult to learn is knowing when to
cut a client loose. For poor payment practices, terminal indecision, clear
difference of opinion that compromises your work ethic, etc.

regards.
-marc



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