Dogs of Creation
project planning
Step I - Project Planning Tips from Barking Dog Studios
Business/Goals:
Work with your own team to define your overall needs/direction. The results should tie in with your business plan and other modes of communication.
Visual/Functional:
Take some time to look at sites, projects that you like. Looking at a wide variety of projects will give your team an excellent sense of what they 'like'. Involve your team in an open brainstorming session, or join our team at the project start.
Budget:
The budget of your site should coincide with its role in your business plan. While we are able to work within a set cost range, it is important that the budget be realistic in terms of the time involved to create the project. A variety of things are possible between $5k and $200k. It's all just time and money. Look at your project plan and prioritize features, you may find that your project is best completed in stages.
Avoid Feature Creep:
Ask your developer to define the boundaries of what they are undertaking. Is their estimate firm? Where items are intangible, how will they handle these in relation to the overall project budget.
The RFP:
Develop a request for proposal if you are planning on having more than one company quote on your project. Several internet sites offer resources for creating RFPs.
Content:
Evaluate current sources of available text content - is it appropriate for the web, does it need minor editing, or should it be rewritten from scratch? You may find that you need to plan for writing time in your project budget.
Evaluate current sources of other content - photography, illustration, video. Images are often overlooked but are KEY to a successful project. If excelllent images are not available, plan to include a component for image development in your budget.
Personality:
Interview a variety of firms until you are comfortable with one team. Our best projects have developed through an open and trusting relationship between our team and our clients' team. When people can easily understand needs and freely discuss ideas - the possibilities are endless.
Legal:
Develop a contract, project timeline, itemizing milestones and deliverables and link this to a payment schedule. When all of your questions have been answered and the details are on paper, you'll be ready to proceed.
Questions:
If you have general questions about planning your project, give us a call at 877.766.0215 or send us an email, we'd be happy to help get you started.
Creating a web site can be an overwhelming task. Let us lead the way.
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