Project Scoping
Before you contact a web design firm you should have several things in place. You should understand the scope of your project, you need to know who, on your side, will have what authority, and you should have a budget. You should have a small list of capable vendors who have experience in your area, or at least have handled projects of similar size and technical complexity.
Ideally, you will approach each of these vendors with a well-crafted Request for Proposal. If not, you risk having your project defined by the web design firm you are paying to complete it. While most firms are honest, it's human nature to believe that waht is best for them is also best for you. The web design firm wants to make money, raise prestige, and showcase design talents. Your needs may not be the same. A well-crafted RFP also allows you to compare vendors. If your RFP produces wildly varying responses, some offering to do the project for 5K while others tell you it will be more like 50K, the fault could be with your proposal. There may be goals or technologies that are not well defined, and you are getting someone's best guess.
A good RFP not only tells the vendors what your technical requirements are, it also tells them the basis. You may find more reasonalbe solutions if the vendor understands what you are trying to accomplish. Sometimes it is better to suggest a range of solutions rather than requiring the vendor to bid on an exact configuration.
If you are going into your web design or redesign process without proper planning, the hidden traps could lead to process failure, budget or scope creep, and a loss of focus on why you are building what you're building.
Contact me if you want to do any or all of the following:
- Determine your real internet needs.
- Create a range of possible solutions.
- Establish a budget.
- Clarify your internal lines of communication.
- Develop a list of potential vendors.
- Craft an effective Request for Proposal.
