Step 1: Project start
A project begins when something needs to be done. It could be a new site, a redesign, or some kind of adjustment. It can come up in a place that has a dedicated team to handle it, or a new developer will have to be found.
Think about the situation of the person who wants to solve the problem. They are familiar with the issue, maybe they know a little about what needs to be done, but they are looking for someone else who can pull it off. If they have someone in mind and are satisfied with their work, they will likely go back to them to continue the effort. Otherwise, they will start to look around for someone offering to do it.
Agencies and developers promote their services through their networks. They look for people and organizations who may be interested in using their services in the future. They build relationships with these decision makers so they are top of mind when they need help. This is an important strategy of finding the work you're looking for.
A project really begins when the connection is made between the person who wants the work done and the person who will do it. In order to understand what needs to be done, you will need to investigate the issue and talk about what the options are.
The first thing to validate is whether you can do the work. Are you familiar with the problem, or is it something you will need to learn about? Someone else with experience in that area may be able to do it better, but maybe they are not available and that option is expensive. There is a tradeoff between the risk of what you will get when you spend the budget and the demonstrated capabilities of the vendor.
One of the important things to discuss is budget. You may want to help this person, but you have bills to pay. If you can't solve their problem within the budget, you aren't going to be able to help them.
A project is part of your relationship with the client. If you're in the business of building things, but break contact after that, you are missing out on an opportunity to grow with the organization. Some businesses only see their website as an expense, but it is really an opportunity to measure your audience and refine your approach to them.
Planning a project is like planning an event. Who will be coming, and what are we doing? How long will it take? Here's an example dialog of what this might look like.
Client: I want to rebuild my website, the last developer wasn't very good and it's a bit of a mess.
Developer: I'm happy to help you with that, can you tell me what the problem is?
Client: It is difficult to edit and some of the information is hard to find.
Developer: I can work with you to figure out how to organize the content and build a site that is easy to edit and navigate.
Client: Great, where do we go from here?
This might be the connection if you were connected with a glowing recommendation and already have some familiarity with the client. They are explaining what is wrong with their site as they are experiencing it and you can start there to scope out a project.
Developer: I charge ($10k) monthly and this looks like a 2 month project. I would start off with a deep analysis of what you need and what your audience is looking for. We would come up with a design and structure that fits your needs, then work in priority order to deliver the most valuable things first. This process can be hard to estimate, but working in this way ensures we give you the most bang for buck and we can always contract again later to extend the project.
Client: Great, I'm ready to begin when you're ready.
Here you lay out the project scope - the cost and timeline are defined and you will define the rest through your analysis. It's important to make sure your client understands the process and remains engaged as you share your findings and present options.
Step 2: Design
In order to figure out what you're going to build, you need to go through a design process. At this point, you should be familiar with the client and the project goals, and are now trying to put together the pieces you have to work with. It's important to understand the objectives of each idea and figure out how everything will fit together.
Part of design is aesthetic. It's important that the site represents the brand and looks good. The rest is functional design and ensures the features are easily used.
Start with the primary use case. Who is involved and what are they doing? What are they thinking and feeling before they engage with the system? What do they want to do and how can you help them?
Don't be afraid to use conventions when they fit. Are you making a site for a shoe store? Are there other sites available to look at and see how they are organized?
Creating a design system will help solidify the look and feel and make it easy to extend.
What are the layouts and components that are needed?
Step 3: Development
When you have a plan in place and tasks to complete, you are in the development phase. Work in priority order of value so that you can ensure the project delivers the most it can.
The best relationship you can have with your client is to be like their left arm. When you meet with them, carefully understand them and make sure they understand you. Let them know what you're going to do with your time and show them what's been done with it so far.
The client and team will be counting down the days and dollars until the project is nearing a close.
Step 4: Project end
A project draws to a close as you approach a deadline or run out of budget. You will need to pick your head up a little more often and help coordinate the project release.
After the site is launched, you can follow up with the client to ask how things went from their perspective. This is an important time to reflect on what you did and how to improve next time.