Has your project spiraled out of control? Whether you’re an agency or client, you’ve probably experienced this at least once, and want to keep it from happening again! But how? We’ve got a quick checklist to keep your project on time, under budget, and with fewer roadblocks.
1. Is that feature still needed?
Maybe you learned something during the course of the project that changed your initial assumptions. There are so many situations where a client comes to the table with ideas, then finds that some of their ideas are not as important as they thought. Or maybe the agency provided some different solutions to their problems, and some features can be dropped from the “must have” list.
2. Can that feature wait?
Delaying implementation of nice-to-haves can get a new project in front of customers sooner. Say your client wants the screen to have a confetti explosion when a customer order is submitted. Sure, that may be an awesome feature, but if it takes an extra two months and twice the budget to complete, is it worth it? Or does it make more sense to deploy with a simple order submission screen, and add the bells and whistles in Phase 2?
3. Have you gotten feedback from anyone outside of your team?
Fresh eyes are a great way to validate your progress. The old saying “You can’t see the forest through the trees,” definitely applies here. It’s easy to get sidetracked when a project is the main thing on your plate, but getting reviews from outside your team is a great way to ensure you’re sticking to the script.
4. Have you kept tabs on features that could break your project?
You’re only able to plan for the risks you know about. For example when you’re creating a new website, some themes allow tons of customization, while others have stricter limitations. It’s easier to identify what could cause your project trouble down the road than find huge issues later.
5. Can you measure the impact of individual features?
Removing features that aren’t engaging your customers is a great way to prepare for future growth. So many clients have a vision of features that could make their project stand out. But sometimes those features that seem cool provide little value to the end customer. Be sure you aren’t spending a lot of time and money on a feature that doesn’t contribute to your end goal, whatever that may be.
