Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance
Carolyn’s grandmother called it the 6 P’s. Carolyn’s mother actually had a 7th but she didn’t use it in polite company. And as usual, her grandmother and mother were right.
Your web site may create your first impression of your business. It certainly will create a lasting impression.
Step One in Project Planning — Defining the Project
The Web Project Survey (PDF Format) (click the link to download) offers an extensive list of questions you should consider before beginning an online project. Yes, it’s big and nosy, but completing it will save you time and money. The web site project survey will help you clarify exactly what you need, want and can afford as well as make certain your efforts and money aren’t wasted. It will help your web developer work more efficiently and effectively in finding the right solutions to meet your primary objectives within your budget and time-frame.
Fred Brooks, in his book The Mythical Man Month established two important maxims for project development in general and computer projects in particular:
- “You can have it fast, you can have it cheap, you can have it right. But you can only have 2 out of the 3.”
- “It takes nine months to make a baby, no matter how many woman you put on the job.”
Fast
4 days from domain name registration to launch within budget!
- Let’s be blunt. You can’t have an effective web site in a weekend. Anyone who sells you one has taken your money. You can have an initial web presence in weekend on which you can build. (Check out what we did for Peninsula College Entrepreneur Institute in less than a week!) We can help you establish a project timeline to accommodate your immediate and long-range plans. In many cases, features can be introduced in sequence, allowing additional promotional opportunities to help you get the most PR bang for your web site development buck.
Cheap
Another saying in Carolyn’s family was “If a deal looks too good to be true, it ain’t a good deal.” Be absolutely certain you understand exactly and in detail what work and features you are getting for any price quoted. And be suspicious of flat-rate “customized” quotes. By using the Project Survey PDF , you will be in a better position to understand what you need versus what you are getting in any job quote. So please take the time to read and complete the web site Project Survey.
Right
There are usually ways to cut costs and still do a project right and there are ways to do it right and still hit a tight deadline. And doing it right the first time usually saves a lot more money than doing it over again… and again … and again. Web site re-design is usually more expensive than initial development, especially if you are concerned about Search Engine Optimization. (Many search engines penalize a site when indexed content disappears.) It’s one thing to face a web site re-design because you’re business, organization or project is growing beyond the initial site design; it’s entirely different to face a web site re-design because the site isn’t working.
