WebGunForHire.com: Project Management 3

Advice Archive: Project Management (p. 3 of 3)
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Subj: Establishing Project Parameters

Last week Amrit sent out a post asking questions on a number of areas. These questions are also frequently asked in other forms by other people on the list. Perhaps the answers might therefore be of use to others also. These questions and answers are particularly relevant to anyone in the consulting arena.

1. "How to draw out the plan so that the client can understand." First of all, the first and most important task in developing your plan (proposal, project plan, etc.) is to GET THE REQUIREMENTS FROM THE CLIENT.

What problems are they trying to solve? How do they do things now? How do they want things to work? Get the initial requirements and make up a 1-page Project Scope document. Get it approved from the client (ask "Is this how you were thinking about the project or not?"). Revise that document as necessary, and keep soliciting comments from the client on what they 'really' want.

Once you understand what your client is trying to accomplish, you can propose the solution. Start any plan with the client's goals/problems/objectives, and then lay out how your solution solves those problems or accomplishes those goals. You needn't lay out all the technical details, just how your proposed solution meets the client's needs. If you've worked with them on what those needs are, your plan should be understandable by the client because much of the plan actually came from them

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2. "How to decide what software and hardware tools are required for which functionality." No silver bullet here--research, research, research. Of course don't forget the 'reality factors' that often dictate the actual selection of technology tools: Price, in-house experience, compatibility with existing platforms/applications, and the many 'soft' factors that influence a buying decision (i.e. "I hate Microsoft so I don't want to use one of their products.")

3. "What to look for while negotiating with the hosting service." Look for full disclosure on pricing (no hidden fees) and SLAs (service-level agreements). Check forums and other 'Net sites for user reviews of various Web hosts. Try to get some information on how a host is AFTER you sign on with them--you'll get a lot of contact from their Sales people, but some places will act like they don't know you once you've signed up.

4. "How to then install or use those tools." Again, no easy answer. Follow the instructions. View the ReadMe file.

5. "Is the cost borne by the client if I buy a new tool to develop his/her site? For instance, an e-commerce development software." Generally, the client is expected to pay for all third-party software and hardware costs. The difficult thing is to explain to clients that they may be paying for a server license for an app that sits on your server, and they don't actually 'own' the application. They just have the rights to use the application on your server.

"What legal documents to prepare before getting on with things." Write up a formal proposal with an executable contract.

--WebGunForHire, 04/00

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Fine Print: WebGunForHire reserves the right to answer or not answer any given post. WebGunForHire makes no warranty, either expressed or implied, and no claim as to the results of heeding his advice. This advice is given freely and its actual value may therefore be directly proportional to the fee charged for it. WebGunForHire may offer legal, business, technical, or personal recommendations. However WebGunForHire holds no accreditation nor license from any recognized authority in any of these fields, apart from a PMP in Project Management and lessons learned from a long and varied life.