CHECKLIST

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Scope creep is the biggest killer of your profitability and ultimately your business. Everything starts out rosey and th
5-Point

CHECKLIST

to Avoiding Scope Creep

wpelevation.com

5 Point Checklist to Avoiding Scope Creep. Scope creep is the biggest killer of your profitability and ultimately your business. Everything starts out rosey and then the client starts asking for new features that they never mentioned in the original brief and because the customer is always right you say “Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir” and before you know it, a simple website has turned into a four-month project with no additional budget. This simple checklist will help you avoid scope creep and maintain your profitability.

#1: Ask Why? Whenever a client requests a new feature, ask them why. In fact ask them if they think this new feature is going to help them achieve the goals that they set out at the start of the project. Chances are they have been talking to someone or have seen something on the Internet they think is a good idea and want to include it on their website. By asking them to revisit their initial goals and ask themselves honestly if this new feature will get them closer to those goals you will avoid the vast majority of feature bloat requests.

#2: Get In The Browser ASAP Once a client has agreed to work with you try and get them in the browser as soon as possible instead of writing documents or explain verbally how something will work. Try and explain an e-commerce website in a written proposal versus showing someone how it works in the browser. By communicating visually with your client you will be other get (and stay) on the same page a lot quicker.

231 Chapel Street, Prahran VIC 3181 Australia wpelevation.com

Tools like Notable from Zurb and HotGloo will speed up this process.

#3: Build Prototypes Interactive prototypes allow you to collaborate with your clients on complex functionality such as e-commerce or membership websites without the distraction of design. My preference is to use Canvas by WooThemes and some of my favourite plug-ins to build quick and dirty prototypes to show my client how I propose to solve their problem. Once we agree on functionality I can then send the prototypes to my designer is a brief.

#4: Build (And Bill) Incrementally Adding incremental checkpoints for approval and payment into your projects will also help keep your client on track. The old days of 50% upfront and 50% on delivery are well and truly over. I like to get 50% upfront, and the 10% increments for prototype, interface design, development, debugging and finally deployment. Once the client has paid at a particular checkpoint they have essentially approved that work.

#5: Weekly Sprints One of my web design heroes is Andy Clark from UK agency Stuff and Nonsense. I had the privilege of meeting him when he was in Australia recently and I asked him about pricing and scope creep. He is a big fan of weekly sprints. That is, you hire him for a week and he just works on your project for a week. You should allocate 60% of your time as billable for that week because the other 40% will be taken up with business development, admin, invoicing, research and improving your processes. If the client needs more work at the end of the week they simply hire you for another weekly sprint. This way of working is extremely productive as you are not distracted by managing multiple projects at once and the client gets your undivided attention. 231 Chapel Street, Prahran VIC 3181 Australia wpelevation.com

I'd love to hear your thoughts so please email me at [email protected] Until next time, go elevate!

Troy Dean
 WP Elevation

231 Chapel Street, Prahran VIC 3181 Australia wpelevation.com